A Personal Guide to Britain’s Capital

Tired of wading through general guidebooks to find the specialized information you want? A retired Memphis postal manager will create a somewhat homespun but unique London guidebook, tailored to your interests, for about $50.

On an order form, customers can choose from 34 subjects such as children’s London, Sherlock Holmes’ London and various cuisine and shopping interests. Thomas B. Wheeler, 66, then searches his computer database and outputs an 8 1/2-by-11-inch “book,” packaged in a plastic binder like a term paper, and adds a discount dining card. How accurate is his information? Wheeler says he goes to London three or four times a year to check things out, but he also gleans unverified tips from e-mail, magazines and other sources. Information: tel. (901) 759-3452.