spring break

Between the Easter weekend and the upcoming Royal Wedding, not to mention the impending end of semester, this is a short, and busy week for all of us here in London. As a result, this blog is going on break for a couple of weeks - we'll be back in May with the London Summer Program.



Until then, take care, have fun, and stay in touch.

(If you have any questions you'd like us to answer when we return, please drop us a comment!)

* Photo by Mexicanwave, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London-y things this week - Dr Holt

Question of the week: What's the most London-y thing you've done in the last week?

"Several London-only things this weekend:

- On Saturday morning I was greeted by all my usuals at Borough Market
- Waving down and then riding buses in my powered chair
- Because the lift was out of order, I got to see a bit of backstage when staff escorted me out of Westminster Tube Station via the emergency exit
- Attended Evensong at Westminster Abbey
- Bought my tea at Fortnum’s"

- Dr Holt

* Photo by jypsyjen, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London-y things this week - Miss Alice

Question of the week: What's the most London-y thing you've done in the last week

"I took advantage of an unavoidable early start this morning and the glorious weather to take a different route into work. Rather than taking the tube, I took the train to Fenchurch Street, on the east edge of the City, and walked the rest, leaving my usual river-side route in favour of exploring some different City roads and lanes. I stopped off at London's Mithraeum (currently surrounded on three sides by building site), nodded to the London Stone, grabbed a coffee inside the and appreciated the view of St Paul's, framed by the buildings of Watling Street instead of the soaring bridge struts of my more usual approach, and picked up a coffee at One New Change, although I didn't have time to go up to the roof terrace to enjoy the views from there.

A tiny bit 'touristy', maybe, but changing the angle, even if just by a few streets, is a wonderful thing to refresh how you see somewhere. Even though my phone was low on battery so I don't have photos, I spotted dozens of details and angles and people and moments during my morning's walk, and reminded myself how much I love this place and why."- Miss Alice

* Photo by RachelH, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London-y things this week - Kris

Question of the week: What's the most London-y thing you've done in the last week

"Last Friday evening James (my husband) and I went to our first-ever Rugby League match. I had won two tickets to see Harlequins play Castleford, and we decided that free was the best reason to try something new, and given that it was a nice evening, we headed out.

Even after reading the rules synopsis we found online, we sometimes didn't know exactly what was going on. But that didn't stop it from being a lot of fun to watch, and we got into the swing of things after a few minutes, and cheered with the best of them. It's a faster game than Rugby Union, and seems to have elements of both soccer and US Football, but that is simply from observation, not from a real knowledge of the game.

It was a really fun evening out, and the other fans were great. If you're looking for something new to try before you head home - get out into the nice weather and head to a Rugby League match. You won't be disappointed."- Kris

* Photo by David Howlett, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

Favourite London possession - Kris

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite London possession?

"Strangely, my favourite London possessions did not come from London. There is no proof that they had ever come to London or been seen by a Londoner before I brought them here when I moved from the US.

I have two Baedecker guidebooks for London (one from 1905, the other from 1908) that I bought from the $1 discard table at Hesburg Library. For $1 each (not total - that would be undervaluing them!) I have an insight into a lost London. I know what steamers were running from New York to Plymouth, and how long I should plan to be on board (at least 5 days, 17 hours and 13 minutes). I can plan to have dinner in the 'Ladies' Room' at Simpson's Dining Rooms, which serves 'in the English style'. (Simpson's is still on the Strand, serving meat off the joint, little changed... Though ladies are allowed in all the dining rooms now.) I know how much a taxi will cost, or what bus to take to get me around the city, and I can plan which rooms in which museums I can't miss.

All of these things have gone now. And there is very little way to see this lost London without things like guide books. Normal Londoners wouldn't keep records like these - like you and I, they would just know where to go, what bus to take and how much things cost. But it's a goldmine for anyone with an interest in history, especially the history of 'small things', the way people lived.

Time changes everything, social revolutions and bombs speed things up, but in my two little books I have a window into a little-thought-about London that had disappeared forever."- Kris

London posession - Dr Holt

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite London possession

"London's possession, as in it is here in London and nowhere else? Westminster Abbey

My London possession, as in something I acquired in London and nowhere else? My room-sized, walled garden."- Dr Holt

* Photo by Lawrence OP, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London possession - Ric

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite London posession

"My favourite, and most useful, London possession is my bicycle.

I am prepared to concede accusations of madness resulting from my love of cycling in London, however it remains the fastest way for me to get from A to B. I realise such a possession is not at all useful for LUP students who do not have access to bikes whilst in London, but I cannot imagine life in London without my bike, a chain free (therefore oil free) Trek District." - RPW

* Photo by Phil Gyford, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London objects - Miss Alice

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite London possession?

"If you mean something that might be classes as a souvenir, if you squint, then - I have a pair of earrings that just mean London to me. They're by Amelia Parker, and are made from fragments of 16th/17th century pipe stems, which have survived being buried in the mud alongside the Thames. The pair I have are a fantastic smoky grey-blue, which reminds me of the river and the grey city streets, as well as being a little bit of wearable history. I got them at a crafts fair at the Museum of London Docklands, for an extra dash of London."- Miss Alice

* Photo of a mudlarking squid with some pipe stems by articulatematter, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.