My mum was a guide in the 1970s/80s and when we were growing up she would impart her ample knowledge of places onto us throughout our childhood. At the time my brother and I found it dull and we didn’t really mind when this particular cathedral was built or whether that small hill had been an Iron Age fort or not. As I got older though, my mind started to change. The more we went to London in particular (we grew up in Somerset) the more I wanted to know about it. I found myself becoming more interested in the stories Mum told. Especially about the downfall of Charles I. In Westminster you can literally follow his footsteps of his last days. The place he was tried at Westminster Hall, the place where he spent his final night at St James’s Palace, and where he was executed just outside Banqueting House. Mum used to point to the third window from the left and say “there, that’s where it happened.” Looking back I’m pretty sure she didn’t know it was that window for certain, but she said it with such confidence I could do nothing but believe her.
My interest in history had grown but I still didn’t realise being a tour guide was a job I wanted. I didn’t even think of it. I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to move to Stratford-Upon-Avon and join the Royal Shakespeare Company (because it is as easy as that) and live my life as the next Judi Dench. I moved to London after training in Dublin and as I worked in pubs and bars and restaurants all over the place I realised acting wasn’t the job for me and so then I tried temping in an office. I didn’t like being cooped up. I thought teaching would be the way to go, but needed a degree so I enrolled in a university course and did theatre studies. Part-time degrees take FOREVER to complete so I had to work whilst doing it. One evening I was having dinner with my friend and she said “you know those buses that drive around London and have people on top telling you what that building is and stuff? You should do that.” So I did. I worked on the buses for a year before going freelance doing walking tours. I had never had a job that gave me more pleasure or a job that I actually truly loved until I found guiding.
I adore London and all its glorious history. I love standing in the Tilt Yard behind Horse Guards Parade waiting for the New Guard to arrive, telling my group about Henry VIII jousting in the very same spot. I enjoy all the “ooohs” and “aaahs” I hear as we watch the band of the Grenadiers as they escort the New Guard to Buckingham Palace, and the beautiful shine of the sunlight bouncing off the helmets of the Blues and Royals as they make their way back to their barracks.
It never gets old. I will never stop being fascinated by Henry VIII, I will never not inhale sharply when I first catch a glimpse of the Tower of London and I will never not point to the window, third from the left, to every group I take past Banqueting House and say “there, that’s where it happened” with Mum’s unwavering confidence.
Gilbert Tours 