Spread The Good Cheer

Question of the week: “Can you recommend a tree lighting, jolly fair, or festive market to boost your Christmas spirit in London?”

"The first Christmas tree lighting I saw in London was the one right next to the London Centre, Trafalgar Square, and it has since been my favourite! Every year, London is presented with a Norwegian tree as a symbol and gift reflecting Norway's appreciation for Britain's assistance during World War II. This Thursday's lighting marks the 65th year of this long standing tradition, and starts at 5pm. It will surely bolster your holiday spirit to pop out of your last class tomorrow and enjoy the festivities by listening to Christmas carols and seeing a tree lit not only by its own twinkling lights, but by the magnificent surroundings of Trafalgar Square."-Christina

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

Spread The Good Cheer

Question of the week: “Can you recommend a tree lighting, jolly fair, or festive market to boost your Christmas spirit in London?”

"From December 7th-14th, Petersham Nurseries hosts a wonderful Christmas fair, which is lit by candlelight and accompanied by a carolling choir. Doesn't get much more Christmassy than that!"-Jamie

* Photo by Skokie Public Library, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

Spread The Good Cheer

Question of the week: “Can you recommend a tree lighting, jolly fair, or festive market to boost your Christmas spirit in London?”

"It’s not a Christmas Market per se, but I always find myself drawn to Spitalfields Markets at this time of year, for the wide variety of stalls, shops, and a sprinkling of festive events. I’m thinking the Crisis Christmas Market on the 10th in particular, which sounds like fun, and for a good cause. (Crisis is a major housing and homelessness charity).

Plus, visiting Spitalfields puts you within easy reach of the Geffrye Museum, a museum about ordinary people’s homes through history. For Christmas they decorate each of their period rooms in appropriate historical Christmas style, and, especially if you haven’t already visited them, it’s a Christmas must-see."-Miss Alice

* Photo by Daquella manera, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

Road Load

Question of the week: “What is your favourite road in London?”

"My favourite road is the central high street of Southall called the Broadway. It is the hub of London's 'Little India' and has incredible Indian and Pakistani food, fabric shops and so much more. It is an incredible experience visiting Southall, I recommend it to everyone!"-Heather

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

Road Load

Question of the week: “What is your favourite road in London?”

"I have so many favourite roads all over London, but I will pick one very close to the London Centre: Cecil Court. It is a one-block courtyard street lined with bookshops and print shops, located just off Charing Cross Road a few minutes walk up from the National Portrait Gallery. It’s the best single block in London for concentration of wonderful book and print shops. At Story’s Antiquarian Prints, you can still buy eighteenth-century prints for reasonable prices (they make fabulous gifts!). Travis Emery Music specialises in musical scores and early as well as contemporary books on many different types of music. Stephen Poole’s Fine Books offers many first editions of great literary works. Drummond’s Theatrical Bookseller is the best place in London for books, posters, advertisements, and all kind of paraphernalia connected with London’s theatrical world from the early nineteenth century to the present. This is just a taste of the pleasures of Cecil Court. You could spend hours there. Charing Cross Road is not what it used to be in terms of long rows of bookshops, but it still features a substantial assortment of bookshops running up from Cecil Court. "- Prof Kucich

* Photo by ulle.b, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

Road Load

Question of the week: “What is your favourite road in London?”

"It isn’t particularly pretty, but Whitechapel Road, which turns into Mile End Road and then the ubiquitous ‘High Street’ as you head east. It’s been the main road home to everywhere I’ve lived in London for the past decade, and there’s just something about sitting on the night bus watching the familiar blend of history, modernity, and the ordinary slide past.

It’s a wonderful mix of personal and public landmarks for me – the side road to the studio where the band used to rehearse, the campus where my best friend went to uni - jumbled up with public history and current culture, like the Whitechapel Gallery, Altab Ali Park, Mile End’s Green Bridge, the East London Mosque, and the bell foundry where Big Ben and the Liberty Bell were cast. I wouldn’t recommend it for a picturesque tourist stroll, but if you’re heading east to Brick Lane for a curry, do take a little time to explore a little further along Whitechapel Road."- Miss Alice

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

Road Load

Question of the week: “What is your favourite road in London?”

"One of my favourite roads/streets is Great Russell Street. Surely the imposing British Museum and its majestic front entrance is a valid reason for liking this street, but it's also the petite and quiet subtlety that make it memorable. It is decorated with shops and cafes opposite the museum, along with charmingly built residential flats. The street is almost always crowded with sounds of cameras and flashes of light, but if you care to stroll after the museum closes, the experience of walking through transforms from crowded to restful. And the fact that Oxford Street is just around the corner, doesn't hurt ;-)"- Christina

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

Road Load

Question of the week: “What is your favourite road in London?”

"If you look on a map you'll see that The Mall, The Strand, Fleet Street, and Ludgate Hill form essentially one long road that runs all the way from Buckingham Palace at one of its majestic end to St. Paul's at its equally majestic other. If we could count that as continuous whole then I think it would take some beating. Not the prettiest road in London perhaps, but certainly the grandest!"- Jamie

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

British Sunday Roast

Question of the week: “Can you recommend a place that serves a tasty British Sunday Roast?”

"The Bull in Islington is a yummy place for a Sunday Roast. This relaxed pub is located on the corner of Upper St and Theberton St, a great location for both good British food and people watching! Upper Street is full of joggers, couples, friends, and strollers on Sunday mid-morning/afternoon. I would recommend the aged beef with the Yorkshire pudding and a refreshing drink to top off this ultra-British experience."- Christina

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

British Sunday Roast

Question of the week: “Can you recommend a place that serves a tasty British Sunday Roast?”

"This is a tough question for me, especially as a vegetarian, Mildred’s in Soho do some appropriately ‘traditional English’ veggie dishes (like their mushroom and ale pie answer to the traditional steak and ale), but they’re not open on a Sunday. I hear good things from my omnivorous friends about Hawksmore Seven Dials – not cheap and very meat-based, but recommended by several groups of friends.

I think this is definitely one of those areas where learning to cook can pay off many times over. The trick is getting everything to be ready at the same time. Nigella Lawson has an excellent timetable in “How To Eat”. I highly recommend it: it makes everything so simple & I’ve edited my copy to cover the timings for a Quorn roast with all the trimmings ;p Once you’ve got a timing plan, it’s a very impressive meal but relatively simple - and inviting friends and family round for a Sunday roast is always going to get you top hospitality scores!"- Miss Alice

* Photo by sea turtle, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

British Sunday Roast

Question of the week: “Can you recommend a place that serves a tasty British Sunday Roast?”

"Room 1-03, Conway Hall, Waterloo."- Jamie

* Photo by andybullock77, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

British Sunday Roast

Question of the week: "Can you recommend a place that serves a tasty British Sunday Roast?”

"Conway Hall is very near one of London's top Sunday Roast spots! The Anchor and Hope (on the Cut) is renowned for serving up incredible food and outstanding Sunday lunches. There is only one sitting on a Sunday (at 2pm) and you will need to book. However it is fairly pricey, so for a cheaper local roast head down to the Dog House in Kennington, a great pub for a relaxed Sunday afternoon."- Heather

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

New Annual Celebrations?

"Just to follow up on Miss Alice's recommendation to commemorate the Great Fire of London, I would suggest visiting The Monument, located on the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill. Only about sixty metres from the place where the fire started back in 1666, you can climb the 311 steps up to the top of the Monument where you can enjoy great panoramic views of the city!"- Christina

* Photo by Thamer Al-Hassan, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

New Annual Celebrations?

Question of the week: Guy Fawkes Day has just passed reminding us all of his failed plot! In your opinion, which historical event deserves an annual day of commemoration in the UK?

"I think you could make that case that Remembrance Day (11th November) should be a public holiday, although it is already an annual day of commemoration, and sometimes two : a two minute silence is traditionally held at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, whilst wreaths are laid and services held on the nearest Sunday. Originally the anniversary of the end of the First World War (Armistice Day) Remembrance Day now commemorates the memory of those who have been affected in all conflicts.

If you wanted something London-based, then maybe the anniversary of the Great Fire of London should be celebrated each September – the accidental fire has had so much impact on the architecture of our City, although I guess fireworks and bonfires would be pretty inappropriate."- Miss Alice

* Photo by jon smith, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

New Annual Celebrations?

Question of the week: Guy Fawkes Day has just passed reminding us all of his failed plot! In your opinion, which historical event deserves an annual day of commemoration in the UK?

"Just as Armistice Day (11th November) and VE Day (8th May) are poignant landmarks in British history, commemorating the end of some of the bloodiest periods that contemporary records will reflect, Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo (18th June) marks the welcome closure to one of the more violent and prolonged stretches of attrition that made much of Europe and its surrounding environs a battleground for over a decade – technically lasting longer than either of the 20th century’s World Wars.

Wherever your sympathies lie, it’s undeniable that the end of the Napoleonic era had a considerable effect on the world, be that in simple terms such as the threat to young men’s lives or to more subjective terms such as the arts & culture in general. With so many casualties amassed on both sides and with such a landmark shift in near-global politics attributed to it, it seems a pity that this date may pale into eventual insignificance.

For those less inclined to commemorate the Napoleonic Wars in particular, you may note it’s also the date that the Americans officially declared “war” on the British (which arguably has yet to be resolved) alongside being the date seminal rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix burnt his Fender Stratocaster onstage at Monterey."- Hal

* Photo by Simon D. Gardner, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

New Annual Celebrations?

Question of the week: Guy Fawkes Day has just passed reminding us all of his failed plot! In your opinion, which historical event deserves an annual day of commemoration in the UK?

"Would it not be nice if we could celebrate William Shakespeare by having an annual day of rememberance? All offices/businesses should close and England can join in a national celebration of one of Britain's greatest treasures! It's not very common to have a day dedicated to a literary figure, but there's no harm in acknowledging the massive impact Shakespeare had and continues to have on literature, culture and universal truths."- Christina

* Photo by Lincolnian (Brian), used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

House or Museum?

Question of the week: Can you suggest a house-turned-museum based in London?

"The Georgian home of Charles Dickens in Holborn is a biased recommendation! 'Oliver Twist' was one of those books I read countless times as a child and luckily enough, this house-turned-museum is where Dickens wrote the book from start to finish. Although Dickens only lived at this residence for two years or so as he then moved on to homes that more closely reflected his increasing wealth, it is the only one still standing. The museum displays paintings, manuscripts, and orginal furniture--and of couse, a persevering sense of literary creativity."- Christina

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

House or Museum?

Question of the week: Can you suggest a house-turned-museum based in London?

"Top of my list to visit is Two Temple Place. It’s just down the road, looks absolutely stunning, and I’ve never been there – because it only opened to the public this past weekend!

It used to be William Waldorf Astor’s London home, and the building itself is ornate, luxurious, and beautiful. It’s now going to host exhibitions of world-class art from regional British collections, and they begin with an exhibition on east-London arts and crafts star William Morris. Which makes this a two-for-one. The William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow is lending the art and objects for this exhibition as they’re currently closed for refurbishment, and they are also one of my favourite houses-turned-museums: William Morris’ own.

I know I’ll be paying this house a visit as soon as I get back to London – if you beat me to it, let me know what you thought. "- Miss Alice

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

House or Museum?

Question of the week: Can you suggest a house-turned-museum based in London?

"I recommend the Freud Museum in West Hampstead. It's the house he spent his last years in and much to the annoyance of Freud museums elsewhere they have managed to hold on to most of his personal possessions, including (most importantly) his famous couch!"- Jamie

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