OSCAR WILDE - 18th Sep 2010 6:09pm
Did anyone know that Oscar Wilde gave a lecture on his tour of America at the Mechanics Institute in October 1883. The carpark near Moodz Bar Charing Cross now occupies the site. The Mechanic Institute later became the Astoria Music Hall. A young man in the audience and his father were so taken with Wilde that they invited him back to their home in Prenton Lane West. The house still stands. The young man was Richard Galliene - later styled le Galliene. His father was John and was a brewery manager. Ricard achieved his own fame as apoet but mostly in the states. Wonder what Oscar would make of Charing Cross on a Friday night now.............