David’s reflections on 7 years with Unseen Tours

This week marks 7 years since I led my first walking tour of London Bridge. I was asked to share my favourite memories of this time, but finding good memories is difficult as the majority of tours have been very good, so the bad memories stick out more easily. One thing that comes to mind though is the few occasions I have been asked to sing the lyrics to “Sisters are doing it for themselves”, which the customers seemed to have really enjoyed. I usually mention the lyrics on the tour because I believe that it is a song about women’s roles in society and can explain how times have changed.

I have always said that Unseen Tours has given me a voice instead of feeling like no one is listening to me, which used to be the case in other jobs and other places, it does still happen at other times, but I don’t know what I can do about that. Unseen Tours has also given me confidence, I have done public speaking in the past, so I wasn’t scared, but I have done a lot more since I have been working for Unseen Tours.

I’ve had a really enjoyable experience working with Unseen Tours, with many new opportunities to learn. The team have been supportive and even tried to get me additional jobs during quieter times. They also helped provide meaningful work through the pandemic when we weren’t able to run our walking tours, through the Not-In-A-Pub quizzes which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I would recommend anyone thinking of becoming a tour guide to get in touch. Unseen Tours will help get you back on your feet, and share your stories with the world.