Robert Elms

In 1972, when Robert Elms was 13 years old, he saw the Jackson Five play live. At some point during the performance, he describes experiencing three minutes of "divine delirium" - where he found himself in a state of otherworldly perfect synchronicity with everything happening around him. Unbeknown to him then, this would set him off on an endless pursuit for that same height of pleasure.

The 2020 edition of the Journal of the London Society has gone to the printers - and we have to say that the contents are impressive and the design is absolutely stunning. Members of the Society should receive their free copy by the end of the month. If you're not a member you can join here. Alternatively, order your copy at the special pre-publication price of just £7.50 including p+p (it will be £10 from April). Click here to order and we will send you a copy as soon as it is published.

All cities are shapeshifters, but London is special. London is a palimpsest of places gone but not lost. Even as it is taken apart and rebuilt reaching to the skies, London remains rooted in the lay of the land, shore ditches, hills and fields still giving their names to the neighborhoods upon them, and all bisected by the great snaky tidal river.