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UNDER CONSTRUCTION
From upper left: City of London, Tower Bridge and London Eye, Houses of Parliament
This is London.
Buy a map*...and pick up a free copy of 'London Planner' - the Official Monthly Guide to London. 'Experience London' is free from Tourist Information. It has an adequate London Street map, with attractions marked + a tube map - check out the rates for day passes to various zones - much cheaper for multiple journeys.
Throughout The City, and central London, there are Information 'You are here' displays. Another excellent free guide is 'Transport for London's 'A visitor's guide to travelling around London' - with bus routes and tube maps.
Information on latest exhibitions / events are at the bottom of the page.
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-191501822-london_vacations-i
Images: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=images&va=London
One of the greatest Capital Cities in the World
In London, naturally, there are some 'must do's'. The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, for example. Times vary from summer to winter and are displayed outside Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall; the road that runs from Trafalgar Square and Admiralty Arch at the end of The Mall, southwards towards The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.
The Sights can be seen from a number of sight-seeing tour busses, but the fare for the 90 minute - 3 hour excursion is 250RMB or more per person. In most cases, Central London is best viewed at leasure, on foot.
Central London is based on Trafalgar Square, with China Town situated to the north-west. It is distinct from The City of London to the east, which is the One Square Mile of the old city and is the heart of London's business and financial district.
Since Roman times, 2000 years ago - or perhaps before, it was developed first by William the Conqueror (1066) and is distinct from it's neighbour, The City of Westminster - Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliament and the former Palace of Westminster.
Downstream, the old docklands area has been re-developed and transformed into an expensive residential area, home to Bitains financial wizards, actors and the like. Newspapers have moved from their former cramped premises in Fleet Street to Canary Warf by the River Thames (pronounced Tem - s).
To the north and west of Trafalgar Square, lies China Town, as I have said. Restaurants and the main shopping area of bond Street (clothing and jewellery), Regents Street, Oxford Street and Knightsbridge - home of 'Harrods', probably the most famous store in the world.
At the east end of Oxford Street lies Marble Arch, once the site of Tyburn, where criminals were hanged in public. Nearby is Hyde Park with the Serpentine Lake. Incidentally, London has more open green space than any capital city in the world.
North of Trafalgar Square lies London's Theatre Land, Picadilly Circus and Leicester Square. Discounted theatre tickets can be purchased on the day at a kiosk (stand) in the square. There are a number of luxury cinemas, showing the latest and greatest; and a statue of Charlie Chaplin in one corner.
Lets Take a Walk...
A relaxing sight-seeing tour on foot begins in Trafalgar Square, in front of the National Gallery. Nelson, an heroic Amiral defeated the French at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and lost his life, uttering the immortal words 'Kiss me Hardy' on his death bed..
Begin with your back to the National Gallery and turn right under Admiralty Arch to The Mall and on to the Victoria Monument infront of Buckingham Palace. If the Royal Standard (flag) is flying, The Queen is 'at home'. Watch the Changing of the Guard - 10 or 11am (check the time).
Return through St Jame's Park on the north side of the lake. From the bridge, there is a spectacular view of the Palace, year round and whatever the weather. At the end of the park cross the road and pass through the Horse Guards into Whitehall - a photo opportunity here, I think. The Royal Guards must be amongst the most photographed people in the world. It was near here that King Charles 1st was executed for treason by beheading. If the thoroughfare is closed, turn right to Birdcage Walk, then left into Great George Street. Westminster Abbey and The Parliament buildings are visible on your right. Infront is Westminster Bridge. Do not cross the bridge.
Turn left by the statue of Queen Boedicea of the Iceni Tribe, who fought against the Romans. Along the Victoria Embankment are various sights on both sides of the River, Stately Government buildings, statues, monuments, ships and quiet gardens where you may hear musicians play during lunchtime from noon to 2pm.
Alternatively, take a waterbus down river to Tower Pier, visit the Tower, anTraquare.
At Blackfriars Bridge - there are actually two bridges; one is a road bridge, the other a rail crossing, turn left into New Bridge Street, then right into Ludgate Hill at it's junction with Fleet Street. You pass The Old Bailey Central Criminal Court on your left, to St Paul's Cathedral ahead.
Behind St Paul's via Cannon Street, turn left by Cannon Street Tube Station, you'll find the Mansion House, official residence of the Mayor of London. The Bank of England in Threadneedle Street, London's Stock Exchange and Royal Exchange - London's most elete and expensive shopping mall, are nearby. An exclusive pub 'The Royal Exchange' boasts the largest range of real ale in the world, some 58 varieties or more. You are now in the Heart of The City of London. There are no roads or avenues - they are all named 'street', many after artisans, craftsmen or trades.
By the river, you'll find the Tower of London, home of the Crown Jewels, still officially a Royal Residence and one of Britains premier tourist attractions. In the past sinister things happened in the Tower. Two Princes were murdered in the 14th century, their bones later discovered hidden beneath a stone staircase. Queens were decapitated and noble men who fell out of favour with the Monarch, lost their heads. Most recently, during World War II, traitors were executed by firing squad in the moat by the Bloody Tower - but we don't talk about that!
Make your way back by tube (Underground) from Tower Hill station to Trafalgar Square. Relax in Covent Garden, formerly London's fruit, vegetable and flower market, but now an area for entertainment by street players, and the home of specialist shops, boutiques and cafes.
This walk is a comfortable, casual stroll of about 3 hours, at a leisurely place, excluding time-out to listen to music, visit places of interest, or just watch the world go by. It is an excellent way to discover some of the delights and mysteries that London has to offer.
Don't forget to wear comfortable clothing, flat shoes and pack your 'brolly', because you might get wet!
* Maps is available everywhere on the streets and at attractions. Maps are readily available on vending stalls @ around £4. Free maps are available from Tourist Information centres in London and at provincial information centres.
London Picture Gallery - Dawn to Dusk ~ 15 magnificent images
Cash-trapped families turn to free days out. 2009.02.25.
Bucking the general recession trend, Britain's top attractions saw more visitors in 2008 than 2007. Many of the most popular attractions, such as the British Museum (1), Tate Modern (2) and the National Gallery (3) are free, with voluntary donations for entry but no turnstiles or ticket tills.
Robin Broke, director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), which compiled the figures, said: "If you are a half-switched-on father, you are going to say 'I've got an idea – let's go to the Science Museum. And oh ... it's free!" He also thought the weakness of the pound had combined with the recession to produce a "silver lining" for British tourism – that more people were deciding to holiday at home. He said: "We have definitely had a bit of benefit from the weak pound, that's what we saw at the back end of last year. A foreign holiday looks like opulence now – it's much easier to justify having your holiday at home."
The British Museum topped the list for the second year running, with a 9.5 per cent rise in visitor number to 5.93 million. Other big risers in the top 10 include the Tower of London (+9.6 per cent), which charges for entry; the National Maritime Museum (+21 per cent) and the National Portrait Gallery (+15 per cent).
Liverpool's big museums and galleries have reaped the rewards of the city's year as European Capital of Culture, with both Tate Liverpool and the Merseyside Maritime Museum seeing visitor numbers leap by two-thirds. But he criticised the Government for reducing the budget of Visit Britain, which promotes tourism, by 18 per cent over the next three years. He said: "This is stupid. They get about £35 million to market Britain to the world and they have a return on investment of about 30 to one. They should be investing more in it, not less."
Britain's top 10 most popular visitor attractions 2008
1. British Museum (5.93m, +9.5%)
2. Tate Modern (4.86m, -6.0%,)
3. The National Gallery (4.38m, +6.0%,)
4. Natural History Museum (3.70m, +2.7%)
5. Science Museum (2.71m, +1.0%)
6. Tower of London (2.16m, +9.6%)
7. V&A Museum (2.07m, -15%)
8. National Maritime Museum (2.05m, +21%)
9. National Portrait Gallery (1.84m, +15%)
10. St Paul's Cathedral (1.69m, +4%)
All except the Tower of London and St Paul's are free
Source: ALVA
LONDON ATTRACTIONS: 2 FOR 1 OFFERS WHEN YOU GO BY TRAIN.
In hotels, travel agents, tourist centres and train stations you will find a booklet called 'LONDON ATTRACTIONS: 2 FOR 1 OFFERS WHEN YOU GO BY TRAIN. ' It is divided into sections by interest, e.g. Must See, On The Thames, Museums etc. It is a very good way to save money on your sightseeing.
Ticket booths in Leicester Square. It is usually cheaper to purchase tickets directly from the theatre box office in advance or on the day. Eg., this week I bought tickets for 'Billy Elliot' @ £19.50 each, agencies were charging £40.
The London Official Ticket Agency is on the south side of Leicester Square. In April 2010, some agencies had significantly increased the price of discount tickets for popular shows like 'Billy Elliot' and 'Sister Act' by 100% for matinees (afternoon) and evening performances.
TOURIST TIPS AND ETIQUETTE.
'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.', as the saying goes. All this means is that your experiences will be more comfortable and rewarding if you don't stand out in the crowd. Forget skin colour and language - they won't be a factor as you will be aware immediately you step off the plane at London's Heathrow Airport. Britain, perhaps more than any country in the world, is a multi-racial, multi-cultural country.
British people tend to be reserved and polite. If your pants fell down in the street, people would probably act as though they hadn't noticed. However, it is not 'the done thing' to walk around your hotel in night wear and slippers. Those are very broad generalisations; like anywhere else, we have our fair share of people who are rude, loud, or, as we say 'riff-raff', - badly behaved people. Generally, genuinely friendly, 'Brits' do not tend to show the enthusiasm or curiosity that foreigners generate in China.
British people tend to dress more casually than their counter-parts in China, but not as much as Americans. This is particularly so, when they are not working, and is partly due to the climate. For much of the year, over most of the country, it is neither very hot, nor cold. We have a temperate climate, which is generally determined by the islands proximity to the sea. Moist air, cloud, rain and drizzle (persistent light rain), come from the west, across the North Atlantic Ocean. Even in summer, rainfall is fairly regular, you will need a light jacket, sweater and umbrella ('brolly' - for short).
Only when other climatic conditions come into play, does the UK experience extremes of temperature, bringing hot weather from the south during summer and icy cold winds from the Arctic in the north, or snow from the Russia and The Baltic from the east during winter months. White Christmas' are rare, but 'keep dreamin..'
Here is a list of things to be mindful of... OK! I'll be blunt. They are 'Don't do's'
1. Coughing loudly, clearing your throat and spitting, are not acceptable.
2. Don't drop litter - use waste/litter bins (trash cans). On-the-spot fines can be imposed.
3. Don't smoke at the dinner table, in public buildings, shops, chruches or places where smoking is not permitted. Don't smoke in bed. Our 'Nanny State Government' is extending that to most public places early in 2007. If you want to smoke visit, Germany or France instead.
4. Don't put chewed food on the table, or eat with your mouth open, or speak with your mouth full, or drain soup from the dish.
5. Don't eat food from the knife - always use a fork or spoon to put food into your mouth.
6. Don't slurp food or drinks - it is considered impolite.
7. Don't be rude to waiters / waitresses and don't forget to leave a 'tip' - usually 10% of the bill.
8. Don't act loudly in public places or on the phone. Switch your phone off in restaurants, cinemas, theatres and churches.
9. Don't jump the queue (line) in banks, post offices, check-outs in supermarkets, check-ins at airports, ticket offices. Wait your turn.
10. Don't take items from your hotel room; towels, hair-dryers, condoms, pictures, light-fittings or tv sets - as in China, you will be charged for damage and missing items.
- Tickets
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There are six centres, providing live travel information and maps. Advisers can help you with:
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Attractions and tours
Get discounted tickets to a range of top London attractions and tours. You can get:
Fast-track tickets
For popular attractions such as Madame Tussauds, the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, The London Dungeon, Hampton Court Palace, London Zoo and Windsor Castle.
London Eye
Standard flight open tickets sold for adults and children.
London Pass
A smart card which allows you entry into 55 London tourist attractions, and discounts at selected restaurants. Available for one, two, three or six days.
Sightseeing tours
Discounted tickets for open-top bus tours of London operated by Big Bus and Original London Sightseeing Tours, and guided coach tours to places of cultural and historic interest in London and Britain.
Locations
| Address | Opening hours |
|---|
Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street Underground station | Monday to Saturday:
07:15-21:15
Sunday and Bank Holidays: 08:15-20:15 | Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus Underground station | 7 days a week:
09:15-19:00 | Euston
Opposite platform 10
Euston rail station | Monday to Friday:
07:15-21:15
Saturday: 07:15-18:15
Sunday and Bank Holidays: 08:15-18:15 | Victoria
Opposite platform 8
Victoria rail station | Monday to Saturday:
07:15-21:15
Sunday and Bank Holidays: 08:15-20:15 | Heathrow Terminal 123
Heathrow 123 Underground station
Heathrow Airport | 7 days a week:
07:15-21:00 | King's Cross
King's Cross Underground station
Western Ticket Hall near St Pancras | Monday to Saturday:
07:15-21:15
Sunday and Bank Holidays: 08:15-20:15 |
 In the footsteps of Samuel Pepys - best known for his dairies spanning the Great Plague of London (1665) & The Fire of London (1666) - see below.
Portrait of Samuel Pepys by J Haylis - 1666 - National Portrait Gallery.
Another of London's many walks. This one, by Dan Cruickshank is reproduced from 'The Times', 09.01.2010. Follow London - old and new, on the Pepys walk. '350 years after he started his diary, Samuel Pepys still keeps the city alive'. Taking about two and a half hours, it begins near Pepys house in Seething Lane, criss-crossing the old City of London.
Although the buildings of before 1666 were destroyed by the fire, most of the street layout is the same. Look around you; on the ground, at eye level, and over your head - there is much to discover. Look particularly at the street names, and imagine what life was like in London 350 years ago.
Near St Paul's Cathedral, take time out and divert a few hundred metres northwards, and visit The Museum of London (entrance free - allow 90 minutes). Take a packed lunch, especially if you go at the weekend. Rest and enjoy the tranquillity of the many small graveyards, remnants of the old city's hundreds of churches and now public parks.
For ease of orientation, in the City of London, roads and routes running North - South are 'Lanes'. Those running East - West are 'Streets'.
On September 2nd, 1666, with London already threatened by plague and war, Samuel Pepys found himself engulfed by one of the most tumultuous events in British history. As he recorded in his diary, 'About three in the morning', while in the family house at Seething Lane, near the Tower of London, he and his wife were awakened and told of 'a great fire in the City'.
Pepys at first failed to realise its seriousness, but became aware when, several hours later, the blaze still raged. 'So I made myself ready...and walked to The Tower, and got up on one of the high places [and did see]...and infinite great fire.' So began 5 days of terror and grief as he saw the City consumed by a remorseless and 'most horrid malicious flame [that] made me weep to see churches, houses...all on fire and flaming at once.'
While all that was familiar around him disappeared, Pepys conducted an heroic struggle to save his house in Seething Lane, the nearby St Olave's Church, and his place of work - the Navy Office - the loss of which would 'much hinder the King's business.'
Pypys initially had little hope of success - he ordered his possessions be carried away and dug a hole in the garden 'to put our wine in...and my Parmesan cheese'. But eventually, with a workforce from the naval yards at Deptford and Woolwich, he was able to create firebreaks around Seething Lane by blowing up houses so that, although fires raged all around, the street was saved.
Pepys started his diaries in January 1660, and kept them methodically until 1669 recording, not only personal triumphs and disasters, but also momentous events in national history - the Restoration and coronation of Charles II, the plague of 1665, the Great Fire of 1666, and the sporadic fighting of the second Dutch war.
Nothing appears to have been above or below Pepys's sphere of interest - from the sewage arrangements of his neighbour in Seething Lane to the high politics of the Stewart court. The chronicle is such that it is still possible to piece together a walk from his words, and identify surviving fragments of old London.
Although 350 years have passed, there are still things about Seething Lane that Pepys would recognise; notably St Olave's church, where in 1669,he buried his wife, Elizabeth. It was on an outing from Seething Lane to Covent Garden on 7th June, 1665 that Pepys saw a frightful sign. 'I did in Drury Lane see two or three houses marked with a red cross upon the doors. 'Lord have mercy upon us' writ there, which was a sad sight' The plague had arrived in London, and it spread slowly and remorselessly, ultimately killing 75,000 people.
Pepys's household survived, but he was unnerved by the experience of living in a city where death was triumphant. On January 30th, soon after the plague had subsided, he went to St Olave's, but found the experience shocking rather than calming. 'It frighted me indeed...to see so many graves lie so high upon the churchyard, where so many people had been buried of the plague'. The churchyard survives, its banked-up surface a reminder that it is still bloated with the bodies of plague victims.
On the afternoon of Sunday, August 18th, 1667, Pepys went for a walk from his home to 'White-hall': he left from a street that had undergone the horrors of the plague and survived the Great Fire, and crossed the fire-ruined city. He turned west into Hart Street, then north along Mark Lane to Fenchurch Street, where his physician, Dr Barnett had lived, and whose household, as Pepys observed on 10th June, 1665, was one of the first to be struck by plague.
To follow Pepys route, pass into Fen Court and along the side of St Gabriel's Church, which was destroyed in the fire, and not re-built. Head west along Fenchurch Avenue to Lime Lane, south past Leadenhall Market (worth a look), across Fenchurch Street and down Philpot Lane, where on 27th August, 1666, Pepys and his wife went to 'a great cook's shop' as guests at the wedding of Mr Longracke, the purveyor (supplier) of timber to the Navy. As was his habit, Pepys ogled the City girls, among them Mr Pett's daughter, 'a pretty, modest girl'.
Cross Eastcheap, down the narrow and cobbled Lovat Lane to St-Mary-at Hill, a church rebuilt by Wren in the early 1670's. Turn west to Botolph Lane, which slopes southwards towards the nearby River Thames, and Monument Street, which in turn, leads to Pudding Lane and the soaring Monument. Started in 1671, this 667m (202ft) high stone Doric column marks the site where the Great Fire started. Open to the public, the top offers panoramic views of the city - entrance in 2010 £2.
Head west along King William Street, along Arthur Street and north into Martin Lane, where nestles the Olde Wine Shades Tavern that claims to date from 1663, a rare pre-fire survivor in the City. It certainly looks the part and could have been around to offer Pepys refreshment on his walk.
Pass to the side of the tavern and across Laurence Pountney Hill, which cuts through the most evocative bur rial ground in the city.
Pass a spectacular pair of Georgian houses in Laurence Pountney Hill - both built in 1704 (the year Pepys died) - and pass into Cannon Street, where Pepys had a dramatic encounter with the Lord Mayor when the fire was at its height. Pepys told him of the King's order to sweep away houses to create fire-breaks, and so halt the spread of the inferno. The Lord Mayor merely "cried out like a fainting woman, ' Lord, what can I do? I am spent! People will not obey me.' " This bleak collapse of order, accompanied by mounting scenes of chaos made all seem hopeless. 'So he left me', recorded Pepys who, 'seeing people all distracted, and no manner of means used to quench the fire,' walked home in despair.
Cross Cannon Street, pass into Abchurch Lane, and across the yard in front of St Mary Abchurch. The medieval church would have been ruined in 1667, but after reconstruction started in 1681, St Mary's was to be one of Wren's most evocative domed churches.
Walk down Sherbone Lane on the west side of the church to King William Street and the Royal Exchange, then west to the stone-clad 1740's Mansion House. Follow the lane that runs down its side, and along its more economical brick-built rear elevation. This brings you to the third of Wren's domed parish churches - the miniature masterpiece of St Stephen Walbrook. Walk down Walbrook Street, across Cannon Street to Dowgate Hill, where Pepys came during the fire and witnessed, 'Mr Isaccke Houblon, that handsome man - prettily dressed and dirty, at his door at Dowgate,' where he was receiving goods from houses already on fire and fearing - rightly - that it was soon to be his turn to flee.
Head west to College Street, past Wren's St Michael Paternoster Royal of 1686 - 94, north up College Hill, past a pair of spectacular late 17th century stone-built carved gates, topped by round-headed windows - all very Parisian - and into Cannon Street, then west towards St Paul's Cathedral. (from here, you can divert north to The Museum of London)
Cross Queen Street, north up narrow Bow Lane, past Wren's Gothic-detailed St Mary Aldernay to Watling Street (site of .an old Roman Road), on the corner of which stands Ye Olde Watling Tavern, housed in a pair of re-fronted late 17th century houses, which also may have served Pepys needs.
It was while Pepys walked along Watling Street, as the fire continued to rage, that he saw, 'every creature coming laden with goods to save - and here and there - , sick people carried away in beds.' Head west along Watling Street, past the south side of St Paul's and west down Ludgate Hill to Fleet Street. Pass the site of Pepys birthplace in Salisbury Court (1633), off the south side of Fleet Street, to St Dunstan-in-the-West. And this, because of an unfortunate incident, is as far as Pepys's walk to 'White-Hall' progressed on that Sunday in August 1667.
St Dunstan's Church was rebuilt after 1829, but contains some timber fittings, such as part of the stalls, that date from Pepys's visit. What took place here is described by Pepys in his inimitable manner. 'Being weary, turned into St Dunstan's Church... and stood by a pretty, modest maid, who I did labour to take by the hand and the body; but she would not, but got further and further from me, and at last, I could [see] her take pins out of her pocket to prick me if I should touch her again, which seeing I did forbear [stop].'
When to sermon stopped, so did Pepys's 'amours' [sexual advances]. Exhausted, he trudged home to his wife and supper - ending our route too, on the mischievous not that characterises so much of his diary, and brings to life the layers and lanes of London that have long since vanished.
From: 'The Secret History of Georgian London: How the Wages of Sin Shaped the Capital' by Dan Cruickshank. Published by Random House @ £25.
Quick reference (Links)
| Born | 23 February 1633(1633-02-23)
London, England |
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| Died | 26 May 1703 (aged 70)
Clapham, England |
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| Resting place | St Olave's, London, England |
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| Nationality | English |
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| Education | Huntingdon Grammar School, St Paul's School and Cambridge University |
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| Occupation | Naval Administrator started off as Clerk of the Acts working his way up to Chief Secretary to the Admiralty and Tory Member of Parliament for Castle Rising and Harwich |
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| Known for | Diary |
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| Political party | Tory |
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| Board member of | President of the Royal Society, Master of Trinity House, Freeman of the City of London, Freeman of Portsmouth, Treasurer of the Tangier committee |
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| Religion | Anglican |
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| Spouse(s) | Elisabeth Pepys (née de St Michel) |
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| Relatives | Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, Sir Richard Pepys, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe among others - Cousins of Samuel Pepys |
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The Great Plague (1665-1666) was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. The disease is identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector. The 1665-1666 epidemic was on a far smaller scale than the earlier "Black Death" pandemic, a virulent outbreak of disease in Europe between 1347 and 1353. The plague of 1665 was only remembered afterwards as the "great" plague because it was one of the last widespread outbreaks in England.
The Great Fire of London (1666) was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall. It threatened, but did not reach, the aristocratic district of Westminster, Charles II's Palace of Whitehall, and most of the suburban slums. It consumed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul's Cathedral, and most of the buildings of the City authorities. It is estimated that it destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the City's ca. 80,000 inhabitants. The death toll from the fire is unknown and is traditionally thought to have been small, as only six verified deaths were recorded. This reasoning has recently been challenged on the grounds that the deaths of poor and middle-class people were not recorded anywhere, and that the heat of the fire may have cremated many victims, leaving no recognisable remains.
Detail of painting from 1666 of the Great Fire of London by an unknown painter, depicting the fire as it would have appeared on the evening of Tuesday, 4 September from a boat in the vicinity of Tower Wharf. The Tower of London is on the right and London Bridge on the left, with St. Paul's Cathedral in the distance, surrounded by the tallest flames.
 Map of London in 1666. Pink shows the area destroyed by the fire.
References: www.pepys.info - general information about his life and work
www.britainexpress.com/history/plague.html - an excellent site with good links to similar information on The Great Fire of London (1666) and Sir Christopher Wren, the architect responsible for creating much of the London we see today.
www.historylearningsite.co.uk/plague_of_1665.htm - similar, but suited to younger students.
London Street Photography
Until 4 September 2011, FREE entry
Street photographs are at the
heart of our understanding of London as a diverse and dynamic capital.
They are characterised by an element of chance - a fortunate encounter, a
fleeting expression, a momentary juxtaposition, capturing an
ever-changing city.
This major new exhibition at the Museum of London showcases an
extraordinary collection of London street photography with over 200
candid images of everyday life in the street. From sepia-toned scenes of
horse-drawn cabs taken on bulky tripod-mounted cameras to 21st century
Londoners digitally ‘caught on film’, explore how street photography has
evolved from 1860 to the present day. Examine the relationship between
photographers, London’s streets and the people who live on them, and
reflect on the place of photography on London’s streets today as
anti-terrorism and privacy laws grow ever tighter.
Click on the thumbnails below to view full size versions of some of the images in the exhibition:
  
Planning your visit
Please note that at busy times customers will be required to
queue for entry to the exhibition. If you are planning to attend at peak
times, in particular at the weekend, please allow extra time for your
visit.
London Street Photography brings together the works of 59 photographers including:
Valentine Blanchard experimented with a small-format
stereoscopic camera in 1860s London to produce the first photographs of
busy city streets in which everything in motion was arrested in sharp
definition.
John Thomson produced a ground-breaking survey of London’s poor with the publication of Street Life in London in 1877.
Paul Martin pioneered candid street photography in
London when, in the early 1890s, he began using a camera disguised as a
parcel to photograph people unawares.
Horace Nicholls was an early independent press
photographer whose candid photographs of well-to-do Edwardians at
leisure are particularly revealing.
Wolf Suschitzky came to London from Vienna in 1935
and began a personal project to photograph the life of Charing Cross
Road, both day and night
Roger Mayne sought to record a way of life as he
photographed a rundown area of North Kensington before it was
redeveloped in the 1960s. Mayne became a familiar figure as he hung
around the streets, camera at the ready.
Henry Grant was a freelance photojournalist with a
profound interest in the everyday lives of ordinary peoples. He
photographed London’s changing streets from the 1950s to the 1980s
Paul Trevor moved to Brick Lane in the East End in
the early 1970s and photographed life on the street almost every day for
the next 10 years. His photographs are a unique record of the area
before large-scale immigration and gentrification wrought their changes
Paul Baldesare frequents London’s busy shopping
streets, looking for remarkable gestures and expressions by individuals
going about their everyday lives.
Nils Jorgensen is a professional news and celebrity
photographer who always has his camera to hand to capture street images
in between assignments.
Stephen McLaren seeks out quirky and colourful
street images, while also leading a career directing and producing for
television. He is co-author of the book Street Photography.
Nick Turpin is a great advocate for contemporary
street photography, founding the In-Public collective in 2000 as well as
a publishing company to promote the genre.
London Street Photography runs until 4 September 2011 and entry is FREE.
London Street Photography Metro competition
In conjunction with Metro (external link), create your own street photography image and win an Apple iPad along with a chance to see your work on display at the Museum of London!
This competition is now closed, winners will be
announced on the 4 March, the winner will be chosen by a panel of
judges. To view entries to the competition visit our Flickr album (external link).
Listen to our special Spotify playlist chosen by our Facebook and twitter followers!
Check out selected images from the exhibition on our Facebook page here (external
link) and see how they inspired our social media followers to suggest a
particular song the best of which have been added to our Spotify (external link) playlist (listen here - external link).
The Big Issue vendor project
As part of the exhibition, the Museum of London is working with The Big Issue
(external link) on a project to capture London streets from a different
perspective. As a magazine and movement that was born and lives on the
streets, The Big Issue has a unique take on life in the capital so the
Museum has invited Big Issue vendors to photograph London’s streets from
their own point of view.
A shortlist of the resulting images will be published in the magazine
between April and May, and the most popular photographs, as voted by
readers, will be projected within the London Street Photography
exhibition. You can follow the vendor's experiences via a weekly entry
on our Museum blog between January and April 2011. National Museum, Cardiff until April 13th. 'From Steep Hillsides'Ancient Rock Carvings from Dazu, China. A scoop for the National Museum of Wales, these 9th - 13th century carvings have never been seen outside China. Their arrival coincides with a major refurbishment of this, one of the best Museums in the UKClimate change exhibit Atmosphere may be pretty but it lacks punch
Atmosphere at the Science Museum in London promises 'calm and considered discussion' of climate change but fails to deliver
 An Antarctic ice core containing air bubbles from 1410 takes centre stage at the Atmosphere climate change exhibit. Photograph: British Antarctic Survey/PA
Early last month, the Science Museum opened a new gallery on climate science, Atmosphere. Writing for the Guardian in May, museum director Chris Rapley reflected on the emotive nature of public debate on climate science, and promised the new gallery would provide a "forum" for people to learn more about the issue, whether they came from a position of believing in man-made climate change, or not (or, perhaps most importantly, were unsure). They wanted to avoid "polarised and shrill" commentary, and instead offer "calm and considered discussion".
The challenges facing the museum in creating this gallery reflect some big questions. Should museums aim to teach their audiences, or simply offer space for self-directed learning and debate? Should publicly funded science communication avoid taking sides on controversial topics, or work as advocates for a scientific view? Should climate science present a united front to the public, or reflect diversity and uncertainties within the scientific community?
I don't have definitive answers to these questions, and doubt the museum does either. Having visited Atmosphere, one thing I can say: it is very blue. As with the rest of the Wellcome Wing in which the gallery is situated, the space is bathed in a deep blue light.
Blue is, apparently, the colour of mystery. I was told this when the Wellcome Wing first opened, back in the millennial angst of the year 2000. At the time I had a job in the museum's hands-on galleries and although the blue looked stunning in press photos, it was rather a headache to work in. When staff grumbled, we were told that the wing's designers had decided on the lighting "because blue is mysterious and so is science".
Ten years later and the Wellcome Wing has had a bit of a polish, including the glistening new Atmosphere gallery. It remains very blue, but is it still mysterious?
I should stress that Atmosphere is not darkly mysterious. This is perhaps wise considering issues of public trust surrounding climate science, which is sometimes painted as shadowy by its detractors. Rather, the gallery is filled with flickering colours, sounds and shapes. Even the floor seems to move as lights shift under your feet. The multi-touch, multi-screen, multi-player, multi-coloured experience it provides is not unpleasant.
It is poetic, even, although maybe more of an aesthetic experience than an educational one. It's all too easy to float in and out of surfaces without digesting much content. Pretty, but a long way from "calm and considered discussion".
The gallery is largely structured around questions, such as "What's the difference between climate and weather?" and "When did scientists discover the greenhouse effect?" But these questions come ready-made, as do the answers. The framing of the gallery might be one of debate, but the museum still seems to be set on feeding information to its audiences.
Because there is so much on offer and it's hard to concentrate on the gallery floor, you can have short, text-based articles emailed to yourself from the gallery to read later. However, the "donotreply" email address says something about how far the museum is prepared to discuss its content.
Providing information in this way is, in itself, not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe we ask too many questions of climate science rather than taking time to listen. But if I want to read about climate science, I go to the newsagent, my favourite blogs, or a library. Museums have objects and space to play with, and I left wishing they had done more with this.
So, exceedingly pretty as Atmosphere is, the highlight of my trip to the museum was gawping at the Apollo 10 capsule. A humble-looking object, it has actually been around the Moon. You can see scorch marks from when it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.
I thought about its history, and the many times I'd stood there before. I remembered conversations I'd had with people about it. I remembered being moved to read more about the history of space travel, including the ways images from Apollo missions had inspired green activism in the 1970s, presenting Earth as a fragile, beautiful and, indeed, blue sphere in space.
Time spent quietly pondering the history of an object is an old-fashioned idea of a museum, but it still has power.
Titanic artefacts go on show in London
More than 300 relics from doomed luxury liner will be on display, as well as recreations of rooms and parts of the ship
 The ship's bell is one of more than 300 artefacts from the Titanic on display at the O2 Bubble, London. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian
They are some of the most mundane of objects – a dozen clothes pegs, a hairbrush, buttons from a trilby, a clarinet – but they are far from dull and their journey has been part of one of the most enduring of all disaster stories.
The items will go on display in London on Friday, as part of an exhibition displaying more than 300 artefacts from the most famous ship in the world; items retrieved by diving teams in seven expeditions to the resting place of the Titanic on the Atlantic ocean floor, 963 miles short of its planned destination in New York.
As well as artefacts, there are recreations of rooms and parts of the ship, such as a funnel (pictured), and personal stories of some of the 2,227 people travelling on board the luxury liner which sank on its maiden voyage 98 years ago.
The show, at the O2, has been put together by RMS Titanic Inc, the US company which has sole rights to recovering objects from the wreck. Cheryl Muré, its vice president of education, said the exhibition had been seen by something like 22m people.
"What you see here are just some of the 5,500 artefacts from the seven expeditions we've made since 1987," she said. "The everyday objects are really compelling. When you're looking at dishes and a china service, it makes you start thinking about the chefs on board, the 33,000 meals they had to prepare during the crossing, who might have eaten off the plate. Then there's, whose hairbrush was that? Whose pipe?"
Muré said they hoped to give visitors an idea of how grand it would have been to step inside the pride and joy of the White Star Line; how noisy the boiler room was; how cold and black it would have been outside at 11.38pm when the crow's nest bell – part of the exhibition – was rung, warning of an iceberg.
"What is it about the Titanic that's still fascinating?" asked Muré. "I think it's all the would haves and the could haves and should haves about the story. What could have happened if it had gone to New York and completed its journey? These are the things that intrigue people. And then when you get to know the passengers and crew and the ship itself, you develop an affection for it and you want to know more."
Some of the objects are being seen for the first time, as is footage from the latest expedition over the summer which was an attempt to map the debris field of the ship. Such is the pressure on the ship that experts believe she will implode and collapse in on herself within 40-90 years. Muré said her company wanted to do as much research as possible in those remaining decades. "We want to learn more about how she sank and why she sank, and also continue to honour her legacy."
Visitors will make what they will of some of the interactive gimmicks in the show. For example, you can touch a freezing iceberg model which represents how cold it was for people in the lifeboats, with more people dying from hypothermia than drowning. Visitors will also receive a White Star Line boarding pass with a real name and can check at the end if they perish or survive.
The show was praised today by David Haisman, whose mother Edith Brown was a 15-year-old girl from South Africa travelling with her parents to start a new life running a hotel in Seattle. Haisman said: "They shopped in London for all the linens and silverware for their new hotel – that's all at the bottom of the Atlantic today of course."
As is the Gladstone bag containing $50,000 for their new life. "There's a Gladstone bag in the exhibition, which makes you wonder," he joked. Edith lived to 100 and Haisman recalled: "She talked about it if you probed her enough and she always ended with the same thing – 'I'll never forget those screams and cries for help.' That haunted her, she always brought that up."
Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition is at the O2 from 5 November until 1 May, 2011. Click the link
Egyptian Book of the Dead exhibition reveals secrets of lost civilisation
British Museum's show including objects on display for first time sheds new light on ancient beliefs
  The Egyptian Book of the Dead of Hunefer exhibition at the British Museum contains papyri thousands of years old. Photograph: Graeme Robertson
Posters for a new show at the British Museum cheerfully posed the question: what happens after death? Visitors may hope it's a bit less stressful than the perilous journey depicted in the museum, taking them through a dark, terrifying underworld populated by vigilant baboons, an Ibis god called Thoth and crocodile-headed devourers who threaten to eat the damned.
- Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
- British Museum,
- London
- Starts 4 November
- Until 6 March
- Details:
020 7323 8181
- More details
The images are part of a landmark exhibition opening on Thursday which explores in more detail than ever before the ancient Egyptian beliefs revealed in the Book of the Dead, an illustrated map for the afterlife, promising to guide the spirits of the deceased rich through the spells and challenges necessary to achieve – or so they hoped – eternal life.
The British Museum has an unrivalled collection of the Book of the Dead papyri, but many of the documents have never been on public display, not least because they are so fragile. "This is an extremely ambitious exhibition because we've never been able to look at this subject in such a comprehensive way," said curator John Taylor. "We've wanted to, but so much of this material is so light-sensitive. It's also a question of space – you do need a lot of it to do it properly."
The "books'' were used for something like 1,500 years between around 1600BC and 100AD. Taylor said they had to make some tough choices on what could and could not be shown. "There are some, still, that we would love to put on show but they have pigments that are so sensitive that exposure for a couple of months would damage them. The colours would fade."
One of the wow moments in the exhibition is the display of the world's longest Book of the Dead, the Greenfield Papyrus, which until now has never been displayed in its entirety. Until March, all 37 metres – 96 plates – are on show for the first time.
At the first view yesterday there was a reverential hush in the dimly-lit galleries – people whispered to each other. But the visitors were all adults and given that the museum expects a mighty lot of mummy-fascinated children, the noise levels could all change from today.
Taylor believes visitors can learn a lot. "We've shown how much the Egyptians planned for the afterlife; how much they tried to impose control over what was unknown to them. So you learn a lot about human psyche, I think. There are lots of things here that we all recognise as fears and hopes and it's interesting to see how they dealt with them – and it's sometimes not that differently to the way we do."
Taylor said that staging the exhibition had led to discoveries. "We've had the chance to really scrutinise some of these documents very, very closely and the fact we can put some of them back together in their entirety – we've never had the chance or the space to do that. "So we've been able to study the changing artistic style on one Book of the Dead, the fact that there was more than one artist. It's much easier to compare the styles when you have it all lined up."
Infra-red photography has also revealed the painted out name of one document owner. "We don't know why it was painted out. One possibility is that his family didn't pay for it so the scribes said we'll use it for someone else, but never got round to it. It could also have been an attack on this man's memory. The Egyptians did this type of thing. There is lots still to learn because these documents have been scattered all over the world for 200 years." There were no rules on who could have a book, but they were expensive. "If you could afford it, you would have one. If not, you'd have to make your journey to the afterlife on your own native wit," said Taylor.
The show also has a striking display of coffins, amulets, tomb figurines, gilded masks and mummy effects with loans from museums in Paris, Boston and Leiden. Given that ancient Egyptians are now studied at key stage 2 in schools, the museum is opening just for school visits at certain times and holding a free teachers' private view. It has also, for the first time, produced a separate family multi-media guide in addition to the adult one.
Journey through the afterlife: ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. At the British Museum until 6 March.
Adam Vaughan guardian.co.uk, 27.11.2010.
 An image from the London Futures exhibition showing Buckingham Palace surrounded by a vast shantytown. Photograph: Robert Graves/Museum of London
Wind turbines lining the Mall; a shanty town at the foot of Nelson's column; the Thames frozen under Tower Bridge; and a nuclear power station in Kew gardens. These are some of the artistic visions of a future London loosely inspired by the predictions of climate science.
The provocative images are part of the Museum of London's London Futures show, a series of 14 photomotage pictures exploring how the capital might be affected by global warming.
They are intended to provoke debate and help people to connect with the implications of climate change, said Antony Robbins, the museum's head of communications. "I think that many of us still think climate change is something that happens to other people, living thousands of miles from our shores. So I was also really pleased to see the potential this exhibition has for connecting with wider audiences. It even proved popular with the tabloid newspapers, which don't often cover museum stories."
He said he hoped people would come to the museum to see the images for themselves, so they could decide whether the display "adds to the climate change debate or simply clouds the issues".
But the pictures have been sharply criticised by groups representing refugees and asylum seekers who say they present a negative image of migrants. Vaughan Jones, the chief executive of Praxis, a London-based charity that provides practical support for displaced people, said: "Producing sensationalist pictures which fall back on cheap stereotypes of refugees do not help anyone's cause. The issue is too serious for this inaccurate treatment."
Jonathan Ellis, policy director at the Refugee Council, called them "lazy and unhelpful". "We need fresh and creative messages, and a fair and rational debate based on the facts," he said.
The digitally manipulated images in the show were created Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-Jones, who work at London-based communications company GMJ. The museum says the photomontages bring "home the full impact of global warming, food scarcity, rising sea levels and how all Londoners will need to innovate and adapt to survive".
Hannah Smith, refugee project manager for the Climate Outreach and Information Network, said the images were not realistic depictions of climate change's impact on the displacement of people. "The actual patterns of migration are far more likely to be the movement of people inside existing national borders or, in the case of the UK, from within the European Union. To suggest that there will be mass migration from the [global] south is misleading and feeds xenophobia," she said.
Graves and Madoc-Jones had not submitted comment at the time of publishing this article.
The display runs until 6 March 2011, and the illustrators are giving a talk on their motivations and inspiration behind it on 2 November at the Museum of London
The Chinese Community in London
Welcome to Chinatown
An information source on all things Chinatown for visitors and residents alike. You'll learn that there’s more to this vibrant part of London's Soho than meets the eye, with a huge range of shops, bars, restaurants, events, courses and experiences that you might not realise are there.
Here are a few features to be getting on with:
Chinatown prepares for Chinese New Year celebrations
On Sunday 6th February thousands of people will descend on London's West-end to wish each other "Kung Hei Fat Choi" (or Happy New Year) as London celebrates the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit with a series of spectacular celebrations. Read more >
Chinatown welcomes the ECC!
The fantastic Parisian Experimental Cocktail Club arrives in London this month! Read more >
Chinatown prepares for Chinese New Year celebrations Read more >
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