I don’t know if other countries have blue plaques to commemorate associations between famous people and places, but we do in the UK, and London is home to many. What I realised only today was that within just 60 seconds walk from my office building I can visit 7 of these plaques.

This one, marking Lenin’s brief residency, is in Tavistock Place, on what is now a rather shabby hotel building.

It doesn’t say how long he lived here in 1908. For all I know it might only have been a week or two. But someone obviously thought it worthy of commemoration.

I wonder if he looked back with any fondness on his (brief) time in Tavistock Place? Personally, I suspect he had other more significant things on his mind after this, but you never know.