Advice for going to London? (1 Viewer)

[Jon Robertson]

It's also customary to tip street-sweepers (about 20p should do it) as you walk past.

 

[Jason_Els]

Much more going on than boring New York City.

Huh?! The Big Apple boring? You're prolly still mad we burned down Atlanta....

 

[Neil Joseph]

How about a bus trip to Stonehenge if you want to get away from the city for a day?

 

[Grant B]

Living in England I developed a bad case of asthma. Came back to California and it went away as fast as it came.
I think CA pollution mainly comes from autos where as in England it comes from coal (maybe more so in the North where I lived in).
Anyways have fun. I liked Chester and York, both a little of the beaten path, guess that's why I liked them
Grant

 

[TheoGB]

Grant, I would have thought it could easily have been anything causing your asthma - pollen, etc. Allergies and the like seem pretty annoyingly easy to develop. :frowning:

 

[Rob Gillespie]

It's also customary to tip street-sweepers (about 20p should do it) as you walk past.

Is it?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

That's why I might enjoy London. Rain, wet, cloudy. Sounds like my kind of town

 

[andrew markworthy]

I'd advise slight caution re: Stonehenge. I don't think anyone hates it, but some folks are a bit disappointed because it's far smaller than a lot of people expect. If you are into neolithic stones, etc, then of course it's a must-see. Also try to see Avebury stone circle which is reasonably near by.

 

[Mark Romero]

Drink some good beer while you are there.

Larry, just which mythical country did you visit, please? For a start, almost everywhere is non-smoking *only* in the UK. Food is not universally awful, and the weather is not 'crappy'. These comments are only valid if you assume that America has the only 'correct' climate and range of foods. However, not everyone on this planet thinks that temperatures in the 80s + are optimal and that a myriad range of over-sugared and salted food products in portions which practically force obesity on the population are desirable.

LMFAO!!! Nice one, Andrew.

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Remember that french fries are chips and potato chips are crisps. Everything else will take care of itself.

See as much theatre as possible while you're in London. The West End smokes Broadway bigtime; it's really the strongest bastion of the dying English-language theatre scene. Go see shows you've never heard of.

Back in the 80s when I was in London, there was a half-price ticket booth in Leicester Square (just a couple blocks from Picadilly Circus) where you could get cheap day-of-show seats for most of the shows on West End stages. I got to see Alec Guiness and Edward Herrmann in A Walk in the Woods from the front row. One of the great thrills of my life. I bet some HTF Londoner can tell us if it's still there.

Buy Lego while you're there. Europe gets Lego sets about a year before we get the same sets in the USA.

Go to record stores and spend your savings on CDs you can't otherwise get in the USA.

Have a day every now and then where you have no plans. Just go somewhere that sounds interesting and see what's going on. Covent Garden on a weekend is a good example.

Pat's the best.™

 

[Jon Robertson]

I absolutely love to stroll around London - Islington, Clerkenwell, Embankment (and the South Bank in general) and Bloomsbury are all completely gorgeous. Covent Garden and other tourist hotspots are massively overrated, IMO. Be different, take a look around the city.

 

[BrianB]

I bet some HTF Londoner can tell us if it's still there.

It's still there.

 

[andrew markworthy]

If you can't get to Stratford-upon-Avon, then try to see the Royal Shakespeare Company in their London residence at the Barbican Theatre. They're the same shows as at Stratford (typically Stratford gets them one year, London the next, though some times it's vice versa). [I *think* this is the last year the RSC will be based at the Barbican, but I'm happy to be corrected.] The RSC has done some complete lemons of productions, but generally the standard is superb.

Something else worth noting is that on the London stage at any one time is a pretty high percentage of famous Brit TV and film actors. In between playing villains in Hollywood productions, they fill in their time in 'prestige work' for relatively modest wages (i.e. still more than most of us would consider a dream salary).

Almost forgot - if you're here in the right season you *must* pay a visit to the reconstruction of the Globe Theatre.

And finally, advice on what you must do in London:

(a) advance the opinion loudly in a pub that you think Jeffrey Archer has been wrongfully imprisoned and should be released.

(b) likewise, tell everyone how much you admire Stephen Byers and feel that he should be running the country.

(c) do not just tip road sweepers but also traffic wardens.

(d) policemen are known affectionately as 'wallies'. When passing one, be sure to say 'good evening, Wally'.

I can guarantee that all of the above will get an interesting reaction.

Oh yes, and remember at all times that British humour is based on sarcasm and giving misinformation to non-Brits.

 

[TheoGB]

Remember that french fries are chips

French Fries are french fries. Chips are chips. The two are different though sometimes interchanged. If you want what Maccy D's serve then you're gonna have to look for French Fries. If you want something that's made from chopping up a potato straight into a fat frier then you're after chips!!

 

[Jon Robertson]

A general term of endearment to any friend you might make is "nonce".

"Norks" means eyes, as in "I like those new glasses, they really suit your norks", or "Hey good-looking! Say, those are two lovely norks!"

If you feel like you need a haircut, we call a general trim a "mullet" in this country.

Don't forget, as stated before - potato chips are called crisps here, french fries are called chips and beer is called piss.

A cool new dance is the horizontal tango and is a sure fire winner if you wish to ask any girl to dance in a club. You'll pick it up soon enough!

Enjoy your stay!

 

[Iain Lambert]

heh. Glad to see I'm not the only I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue listener on the boards. Personally, I like such classics as

"Please discourage the professional beggars operating on trains, who approach you with the words 'Tickets Please'"

"If you're visiting Glastonbury, the last weekend in June is quite quiet"

"The citizens of Glasgow love to hear foreigners imitating their accent, especially in a pub on a Friday night"

and of course the most vital one for this discussion...

"American motorists: remember that in Britain you won't be able to fill your car up with 'gasoline' - we call it 'diesel'".

 

[Philip_G]

personally I'd visit the triumph motorcycle factory (can't recal the city though) then a trip to italy to tour Aprilia and Ducati's factories, but that's just me

 

[Yee-Ming]

I would've suggested watching a football match (real football, not that nonsense that Americans play with their hands ), but the footy season is over and the Brits will be too busy watching the World Cup in Korea/Japan at odd hours.

 

[Paul_D]

(a) advance the opinion loudly in a pub that you think Jeffrey Archer has been wrongfully imprisoned and should be released.

Good stuff cropping up in this thread. Also, If you want to take a stroll in London, you can't go wrong with Hampstead. (I strolled past Anthony Hopkins and a female friend on Sunday on Hamp. High Street) Its a beautiful little village within a city, and Hampstead Heath can be wonderul on a warm day. Enjoy your stay.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Erm, Paul, parts of Hampstead Heath can be a wonderful place if you are on a gay cruise. I'm not making a homophobic comment, but it can be a little disconcerting if you're not expecting it to see gentlemen disappearing into the bushes together. However, I agree that Hampstead itself is rather nice and the Heath on a sunny day is v. agreeable. If you visit Hampstead, be sure to visit Keat's house, which is (if memory serves correctly) just by the Heath. A college friend of mine when he first moved to London was given run of a 5 bed house in Hampstead by a (filthy rich) friend of his father's who in effect needed a caretaker (he used the house for about 2 weeks per year). I used to visit quite often and gained a rather rosy-tinted vision of what London living standards were like.
Anyway, back to advice to visiting tourists:
Brixton, Peckham and Tower Hamlets are what are called garden suburbs and are famed for their tree-lined avenues and Georgian architecture. Notable features include a thriving classical music scene and a wide variety of antique and designer clothes shops.
Kensington is a severely deprived area of London and is best avoided. For example, long-term dietary deficiencies have resulted in an almost total loss of chin in the male inhabitants and deformed larynxes resulting in a characteristic braying tone to the voice.
As in Tokyo, cab drivers will take great offence if you try to tip them.
Campari and soda or shandy are the traditional masculine drinks of choice in an East End pub.