Libraries in London - Dr Holt

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite library in London

"I thoroughly enjoy my visits to the Heythrop Library, not least because of the beautiful square one traverses en route to Heythrop College, not least because of the flowers blooming abundantly in the garden one must cross to get to the building that houses the library, not least because of the laughter of children playing out of sight. No, the library itself is quiet and it has everything I could possibly need for my research. So -- it is my favourite both for the destination itself and the very pleasant journey getting there."- Dr Holt

(LUP students who want to visit the Heythrop Library should see this factsheet for details)

* Photo by Dimitri B, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

Libraries in London - Kris

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite library in London

"Okay, yes, there are bigger libraries in London. And possibly even prettier ones. But my choice for *my* favourite library is Lambeth Palace Library. It is, in origin, the personal library of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and is one of the first public libraries in England (open to the public since 1610), and has books and manuscripts dating from the 9th century to the present. You'll need a letter of introduction to get in, and, if you want to see anything old, delicate or important, another letter detailing why you want to see it. (They don't just hand the Gutenberg Bible out to anyone who asks.) But other than that, the Library is a free resource open to the public.

It is not a lending library, so anything you see will have to be left there (including the Gutenberg Bible), but if you are interested in English history, Church History, or family history, it is a great resource. The librarians are very helpful and can suggest things to help you in your research, as well as help you read tricky hand-written documents.

Or, just take a look at the pretty pictures on the website. Hopefully they'll inspire you to head south of the river and delve into England's past."- Kris

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

favourite guide books - Prof Kucich

Question of the week (wrapping around from our late start last week): Do you have a favourite type or line of guidebooks?

"My favourite guide book line, by far, is the Rough Guide series, which provides books on individual cities as well as regions and countries. It began years ago as a student generated production, designed to identify lower cost and off the beaten tourist track establishments. It has morphed into a somewhat more middle-class range of expenditure, as its popularity has soared, but it is still superb at warning readers away from uninteresting tourist traps and highlighting compelling places to eat, sleep, and visit. It is not as strong on cultural backgrounds as Michelin Guides, but it's absolutely first rate at locating authentic, local restaurants, hotels, cafes, and sites to visit."- Prof Kucich

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

Favourite guidebooks - Ric

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite type or line of guidebooks?

"In the past, especially when visiting university towns and cities, I found some recommendations on student websites run by student unions and universities in those places. This can be a useful way of acquiring local knowledge, especially if you can also read the language."- Ric

And now it's your turn, any and all of our students who are reading this. The LUP Library's travel collection is for you to use, so I'd love to know- what sort of guidebooks do you like best? - Miss Alice

Favourite guidebooks - Dr Holt

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite type or line of guidebooks?

"Not only do I admire the authors' skill at saying a lot with a few words, I especially like the illustrations in the Knopf Guides (I have both Florence and Venice to hand, kept long after long-ago visits for that very reason), but think they are too heavy to carry about. No, these are the books to read en route, or in the morning before setting out, or later, after you've seen to figure out what you've seen."- Dr Holt

Favourite guide books? - Kris

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite type or line of guidebooks?

"My favourite series of guide books is the ‘Secret’ series. James and I have a number of titles: Secret Paris, Secret London, and our newest find, Secret Venice.

While they’re not best as a primary guide book – they won’t tell you where to stay or how to get to the train station – they’re wonderful as a supplement to see little things that you wouldn’t have noticed, and make your understanding of a place richer and more complete. Each book is divided into area-based sections, and all of the sites discussed are placed on a map in the beginning of the section. So, if you’ve stopped for a coffee or a bathroom break, you can easily flip to the section covering where you are, find something interesting, and impress your friends once you pass some small, but fascinating, piece of history. (I was able to point out the house of a 17th century Venetian executioner as we passed, which made me feel pretty good.)

There are other titles in the series, and more coming all the time. So, the next time you’re looking for something to keep in your pocket while you walk around a new place, try one of these guides. You won’t be sorry."- Kris

Favourite guide books? - Miss Alice

We're back from break, a little late back to the blog, and as travel is on everybody's mind, the question of the week is: Do you have a favourite type or line of guidebooks?

"When I'm planning a trip - or just dreaming of a destination - paging through one of the DK Eyewitness guides is always a visual treat, but to take with me when I travel? I'm a big fan of the Knopp/Everyman Mapguides, which are small enough to keep with you, and which give you just the key information area by area, with good clear maps, which is never a bad thing when you're as geographically challenged as I am!

I also like to try and find a couple of novels set in my destination, preferably by authors who live there, which often leads me to out of the way corners, or a particular local delicacy I might have missed otherwise. bibliotravel.com can be a great source for finding those."- Miss Alice

British Pie week - Ric

Question of the week: Apparently this week is British Pie Week, which is as good a reason as any to ask about pie recommendations - pies to make, places to buy pie, places to eat pie ...

"One local to the flats, and a good 'un: Clarke's Pie and Mash Shop, Exmouth Market

Weekday opening times: 10:30am to 5:30pm
Weekend opening times: Sat: 10:30am to 5pm

This place is something of a locals haunt. One tip: when they ask if you want 'liquor' on your pie and mash they mean 'parsley sauce' or 'parsley gravy'.

It is not the kind of place you go to as a tourist and take lots of photos, but you've all been here long enough to not feel like tourists any more, right? The brave amongst you may even try some of their other speciality: jellied eels."- Ric

* Photo by secretlondon123, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

British Pie week - Kris

Question of the week: Apparently this week is British Pie Week, which is as good a reason as any to ask about pie recommendations - pies to make, places to buy pie, places to eat pie ...

"First, I would like to say that this topic inspired my husband and me to go out and get pies for dinner last night. (We went to Waitrose, if anyone cares, and the pies were very, very nice.)

Now, on to the topic: Where to buy and eat pies: football matches.

Believe it or not, I would not have put myself in the 'pie fan' camp before I moved to Britain. They were okay, I liked apple and pumpkin, but that was pretty much the end of my pie vocabulary. Then, one bitterly cold afternoon, James convinced me to go to a football match. And a great love was born.

If you haven't been to a football match in Britain yet, I highly recommend it. It is a lot of fun, especially if you understand the rules (or sit near people who do). But one word of warning: no matter how nice a day it is outside of the football ground, it will be freezing inside. This goes double for lower division stadiums. I don't know why this is, but it is a generally accepted fact.

The match we were at was Coventry vs. Plymouth Argyle (not a match for the ages, but fun nevertheless). About ten minutes after half-time, James could see that he was losing me - I was cold and very confused about the off-sides rule (again). Coffee at the half had helped, but not enough. He knew that if he wanted to stay until the end of the game he would have to do something. (Pubs around football grounds are not a nice place for a lone American woman on game day. Not necessarily dangerous, but no one would understand why I was there, including me.)

Thinking on his feet, he hurried away, and returned with, you guessed it, a hot chicken and mushroom pie. It warmed me up, made me feel better about my total lack of understanding about the finer points of football, and we stayed until the end. Everyone was happy.

(I can't tell you who won, I was too wrapped up in eating my pie to care...)"- Kris

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

British Pie week - Cathering

Question of the week: Apparently this week is British Pie Week, which is as good a reason as any to ask about pie recommendations - pies to make, places to buy pie, places to eat pie ...

"I have a weekly date with The Ginger Pig to stock up on their amazing pies. They have a few locations across town, but I love the selection at their Marylebone store, where they have a number of different pies as well as desserts."- Catherine

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

British Pie week - Miss Alice

Question of the week: Apparently this week is British Pie Week, which is as good a reason as any to ask about pie recommendations - pies to make, places to buy pie, places to eat pie ...

"I know at least some of our students have already discovered Borough Market, down by London Bridge, and that's my recommendation for somewhere to buy a pie, as well as the veg to go along side and something delicious for desert.

Specifically, I like Pieminister and their delicious individual pies and punny names - they even have a couple of limited edition Royal Wedding pies - a Kate & Wills pie, and The Royal Pear for desert. My favourite? Their award winning Heidi Pie."- Miss Alice

* Photo by Gary Mccafferty, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

Desired European destinations - Catherine

Question of the week: Is there a trip somewhere in Europe that you'd love to take but haven't yet?

"A Scandinavian destination for a "Northern Lights Tour" would be amazing - but tricky to get the timing right."- Catherine

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

European desired destinations - Kris

Question of the week: Is there a trip somewhere in Europe that you'd love to take but haven't yet?

"When my husband and I wonder where we should go on our next trip, one of the best ways we've found to choose somewhere is to head to one of the places where my great-grandparents left to head to the US. This has led us to places as diverse as Hungary and Much Wenlock in Shropshire. One place we haven't gotten to yet is Sweden - we don't know where in Sweden my great-grandmother Christina came from, so it's kind of an open book.

We've looked at Stockholm, Gothenburg, and my husband would like to see the Northern Lights. Me, I would like to see some of the Viking sites like Birka or the artifacts in the Stockholm museum.

So, try looking into your family history - you may find some interesting places you might want to visit."- Kris

* Photo by karstenkneese's buddy icon
karstenkneese, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

European desired destinations - Miss Alice

Question of the week: Is there a trip somewhere in Europe that you'd love to take but haven't yet?

"Dozens! Top of my list at the moment, though, is Iceland - I really want to visit Reykjavik, and some of the surrounding countryside - amazing landscapes, natural thermal spas, the Northern Lights, Icelandic horses, whale watching, Vikings, the thriving music scene - really - what's not to like! I'm going to just have to make my peace with being a tourist and not speaking the language, and it's not in my budget for this year, but maybe 2012..."- Miss Alice

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

London departure points - Ric

Question of the week: Whether it's heading out of London for a day trip, setting off for a weekend elsewhere in the UK, or travelling further afield, do you have any particular favourite points of departure?

"I'd plump for anything that leaves Paddington or Euston train station late at night because these are the sleeper trains. Sleepers enable you to make long distance journeys while having a relaxing night's sleep. You arrive early at your destination, saving a day's travel - or the early morning dash to the airport.

Sleeper services operate nightly Sunday to Friday and link:

* London Euston with most principal business and holiday locations in Scotland
* London Paddington with Southwest England and Cornwall

In addition, consider a similar kind of journey in Europe: London to Paris to Venice anyone?" - RPW

* Photo by Rain Rabbit, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London departure points - Prof Kucich

Question of the week: Whether it's heading out of London for a day trip, setting off for a weekend elsewhere in the UK, or travelling further afield, do you have any particular favourite points of departure?

"My favourite departure point for air travel to many continental destinations is London City Airport.

Less crowded and more efficient than London's larger airports, it is also fairly close to Kamen-Minerva and can be reached by Docklands Light Railway, bus, or taxi. Take offs and landings are dramatic as you soar over the river, Canary Wharf, the O2 Arena and the London Olympics site."- Prof Kucich

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

London departure points - Catherine

Question of the week: Whether it's heading out of London for a day trip, setting off for a weekend elsewhere in the UK, or travelling further afield, do you have any particular favourite points of departure?

"Those of you on a student budget might agree with me that the best starting point for travel out of London is the cheap option. Although Gatwick and Stansted are much more attractive when you arrive there on the Gatwick Express and Stansted Express trains they have running every 15 minutes from the city centre, heading out of London on one of the many coaches will keep your costs low. If you book early enough with Easybus, for example, you can get £2 fares, and they have a few different pick-up locations -at £2, I say any of those locations is the best starting point for your trip!"- Catherine

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

London departure points - Kris

Question of the week: Whether it's heading out of London for a day trip, setting off for a weekend elsewhere in the UK, or travelling further afield, do you have any particular favourite points of departure?

"I'm from a bit of the world that, strangely, doesn't really 'do' train travel. Utah, where the transcontinental railroad was completed, isn't known for ease of rail travel...

So, when I moved to Britain, I discovered that I love taking trains. If Alice hadn't just written about St. Pancras, I would have. That said, I also love Marylebone Station, as it has managed to maintain some of the old-fashioned magic that I like to associate with riding the rails. As you come up to it from the outside, you can see the replaced glass awning that links the station to the Landmark Hotel. All stations used to have beautiful hotel attached to them, so you could rest before or after your journey, and the Landmark is a beautiful reminder of the tradition. But even the tube station still bears witness to its connection to trains - its original name was Great Central, in honour of the train company that originally ran from the station.

Inside the station you can still see care and attention that the Victorian craftsmen put into designing and building it. It has most of the standard little shops, flowers, cards, WH Smith's, and a variety of food - including a really good cheese shop.

Where can you go from this little piece of heaven? All the way to Birmingham, and beyond - and tickets tend to be cheaper than if you leave from other stations (but the trains stop more frequently as well...). You can also get to places that aren't served by other stations, like Warwick (and its famous castle) and Stratford-upon-Avon (of Shakespeare fame).

Also, the station has been used in many films and TV shows, mostly to represent other, bigger stations like Paddington and Waterloo. My favourite film fact about it is that it appeared in the Beatles' film 'A Hard Day's Night'. For me, that's hard to beat."- Kris

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

London departure points - Miss Alice

Question of the week: Whether it's heading out of London for a day trip, setting off for a weekend elsewhere in the UK, or travelling further afield, do you have any particular favourite points of departure?

"So much depends on where you're going to, but maybe St Pancras, for trains to the midlands and Sheffield, local trains North to Luton and South to Brighton, high speed trains east to Dover, and international trains to Paris and beyond. Not to mention its spectacular restored Victorian architecture and the mini shopping centre that's sprung up around it - the Sourced deli and Foyles bookshop covers almost all my hostess gift needs, plus the 24 hour Starbucks that makes the earliest of starts easier to manage."- Miss Alice

* Photo by minor9th, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London historical dramas - Prof Kucich and Dr Holt

Question of the week: “The awards heaped on The King's Speech this weekend makes me wonder, could you suggest a favourite London-ish historical drama?”

"I would enthusiastically nominate The Madness of King George."- Prof Kucich

"If they're not too cheesy to include...
Shakespeare in Love
Perfect Strangers
and Sliding Doors." - Dr Holt

* Photo by Ed.Ward, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London historical drama - Ric

Question of the week: The awards heaped on The King's Speech this weekend makes me wonder, could you suggest a favourite London-ish historical drama?”

"Can it be historical comedy?

If so, let's cross reference London with the holdings of Blackadder DVDs in the library!

Whilst it is does not reference many specific London sights in its four season passage through more than five centuries of English and Scottish History, the historical comedy Blackadder is based in and around London for much of its setting. It is well-written, educated wit that will also 'contextualise' the rise to prominence of a man you now know as one Gregory House of Princeton, New Jersey...

The series is available from the library, with DVD players obtainable from the Rectors."- Ric

* Photo by wootang01, used under Creative Commons, with thanks. (The picture shows Samuel Johnson, author of the 'Dictionary of the English Language', in honour of an episode from series III)

London historical drama - Kris

Question of the week: “The awards heaped on The King's Speech this weekend makes me wonder, could you suggest a favourite London-ish historical drama?”

"Watching the old Sherlock Holmes series on PBS was, I think, one of my introductions to Britain and Britishness. What this says about me, I don't know, but my love of the Baker Street detective has stuck with me ever since.

The series I saw was produced in Britain, for ITV and starred Jeremy Brett as Holmes. It used lots of London locations for filming, and when I watch it in re-run, I play 'where are they?', and sometimes I can figure it out. But while this series is a good adaptation of the stories, it certainly isn't the first, last, or (possibly) the best.

Holmes has been taken out of his own period to fight the Nazis - many of the Basil Rathbone films have this as a plot point. But in 1942 it was topical and patriotic. Guy Ritchie's recent film takes another view of Holmes, and while leaving him in his time period makes his London out of pixels. My favourite reworking, though, has to be the new BBC series Sherlock which brings Holmes and Watson into the present day. (Not on topic for this week's theme, but do check it out.)

So, if you're interested in London on screen, try some variety of Sherlock Holmes. Even if you don't play 'spot the London location', the stories are usually good enough to keep you interested until the last clue is revealed."- Kris

(The LUP Library has dvds of the Jeremy Brett adaptations, versions of Hound of the Baskervilles from 1959, the 1980's and from 2002, plus the BBC's Sherlock. A replacement copy of the missing Guy Ritchie film, and also one of Rathbone's second world war adventures, are on order.)

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

London historical drama - Hal

Question of the week: “The awards heaped on The King's Speech this weekend makes me wonder, could you suggest a favourite London-ish historical drama?”

"Providing perhaps the more extreme alternative to what’s on offer with ‘The King’s Speech’, I’d nominate Mike Leigh’s seminal film ‘Naked’. It’s an extremely bleak yet darkly comic view of London in the early nineties from a visiting misfit’s eyes and is an absolute tour-de-force from lead actor David Thewlis.

I should warn; it doesn’t make for easy viewing but if you can stomach seeing some of the darker undercurrents of London’s night-life then you’ll be treated one of the best screenplays that era had to offer – the acerbic, protractedly intellectual & cunningly brutal wordsmithery is really second to none.

Time Out has just rated it as #11 in their list of all time best London films"- Hal

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

London historical dramas - Miss Alice

Question of the week: the awards heaped on The King's Speech this weekend makes me wonder, could you suggest a favourite London-ish historical drama?

"It is pure drama, and should absolutely not be taken as a serious history of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, but Desperate Romantics comes immediately to mind.

This 2009 BBC mini-series turned everything up to the max, as the personal and professional lives of the four members of the brotherhood spin increasingly out of control. The casting's fantastic, too - Aidan Turner as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Tom Hollander as John Ruskin particularly. From a London perspective, there's some lovely location work, and this is really an intrinsicly London story - the energy and opportunities and hardships of the Victorian metropolis are part of the warp and weft, and the creative relationships it made possible are its driving force. The dvd is in the LUP Library."- Miss Alice

* Photo by Jim Linwood, used under Creative Commons, with thanks, showing Dante Gabriel Rossetti's La Castagnetta, now in the Guildhall Art Museum .

Cheap eats - Kris

Question of the week: "Do you have any suggestions for cheap eats in London?"

"Okay, I admit that sending you to a hostel for cheap eats is a little unusual. Most of the hostels I've stayed in (and possibly it's the same for you) have had basic food at the very best of times.

Prepare to be surprised by the Indian YMCA. For around £5 you can have a great home-style Indian meal, and while the dining room may not be five star, you will not leave hungry. The canteen is open to non-residents, and is well worth the trek into Bloomsbury. (It's very near UCL, so if you're looking for a place to eat before hitting the surrounding student pubs, you could do a lot worse.) Vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals are always available, but they have been known to run out of popular dishes by the end of service.

They are open: Monday to Friday Saturday/Sunday/Bank Holidays
Breakfast 7.30 - 9.15 a.m. 8.00 - 9.30 a.m.
Lunch 12.00 - 2.00 p.m. 12.30 - 1.30 p.m.
Dinner 7.00 - 8.30 p.m. 7.00 - 8.30 p.m.

Check it out - and enjoy!"- Kris

(For bargain Indian food close to Kamen/Minerva, don't forget Indian Veg, on Chapel Market - Miss Alice)

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