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all you need to know about london and much more..

the link above will take you to 'the london guide' an honest appraisal of the capital for the new visitor - the good and the bad - the inexpensive and free admissions to countless entertainment and galleries, advice on where to go - with many links provided by the tourist board....

Extract from the London Guide - the markets

London is justifiably proud of its markets, most of which date back to mediaeval times. They tell the history of London: Borough Market, the oldest, has lost its mediaeval clamour but retains its Dickensian air - it's currently seeing a revival as an organic produce market and film-lot. Some, like Camden and Portobello are thriving,Camden's turnover makes it Britain's 4th largest retailer. Others have not stood up to the 21st century as well: the same processes which worked on Les Halles in Paris have been at work here: disrepair and displacement, followed by commercial development. Covent Garden market moved out of its central location to the wastes of Vauxhall years ago, to be replaced by a tourist-orientated market; Billingsgate, the fish market famous for the bad language of its traders has moved to the Isle of Dogs, and the original waterside building been taken over by city businessmen. Smithfield alone has remained in the centre: this huge temple of meat has retained its ancient working practices (see our City Walks section) but it too has seen the encroachment of the twentieth century: the advent of Mad Cow disease, and deadly E Coli bacteria strains have seen it much ...
you must get up early in the morning - by 03:00 hours Smithfield is well underway, and the pubs and cafes are doing good business. For the general markets, the earlier you visit a market the better chance you have of a bargain: grubbing around with a torch as a stallholder opens 04:00 is the norm. The shortlist: 1) Spitalfields / Columbia Road (SUNDAY ONLY) 2)Portobello 3) Camden 4) Covent Garden 5) Greenwich over the past few years - it has in the process lost much of its character.

Bermondsey Antiques market, famous for once being where thieves could sell their goods with impunity (a royal license meant that stolen goods bought here did not have to be returned, and subsequent legislation - repealed as late as 2000, restricted that to being before sunrise, hence the market's early hours) which has suffered a lot since that privilege was withdrawn and the site developed. Frankly it's over-rated and not worth the trip - don't believe the hype. Lots of small stalls. Come here early in the morning (from 04:00) for the best bargains, bring a torch. Reasonably good for silver (but not as good as the South Molton Street area - by Bond St Tube, or Portobello's off-road markets).. Friday 04:00 -12:00 Tube: London Bridge (Northern/Jubilee) Train: London Bridge Bus: Tower Bridge Road Berwick Street Tiny, cheap, fruit and vegetable market in the heart of Soho. Comsumables need to be eaten on the same day. Haunted by the ghosts of the 1960s. It's difficult to lay a finger on why everyone loves it. Not really worth a special visit, but if you're after vinyl or CD the shops on Berwick Street are the best places to start. Mon-Sat 09:00-17:00 Tube: Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly.

If hotel and food prices are London's big disappointments, here's the good news: the best things in London are mostly free. It is possible to spend a fortnight here and not pay a cent for admission to anything, including galleries, museums and historic buildings. And you won't miss out on much. The Guardian newspaper published a list of tips in July 2009, which is worth perusing. See also HERE for some general and very specific money saving tips. FREE CONCERTS: loads of free summer concerts, open air films etc. along the river, at the National Theatre, Coin Street and near Tower Bridge by the 'Beehive' office of the London Council. See here for details. There is a late cafe/bar/lounge at the National Theatre until 0100. Take a stroll from the Wheel to Tower bridge and pick up the brochures - the area is buzzing at night, especially on the far side of Tower Bridge. Also, in season, free outdoor screenings at Canary Wharf Check the listings magazines for other free events - there are a load each year in Trafalgar Square organised by the Mayor and his crew.... They coordinate and subsidise lots (and we mean lots) of other free events as well - see HERE There are lots of great free events up and down the UK - eg: if you are early and crafty enough you can get to Liverpool for about £5 and enjoy the Marshall St Festival (150 bands - Late August bank holiday) which is entirely free. All it takes is a bit of planning. Museums - Most of the Big museums are free - that includes the Science, Natural History and Imperial War Museums, The British Museum, The John Soane Museum Museum of London. The Department of Culture has invested millions - raised by gambling tax and other taxes, to keep Britain's museums free - don't miss out! Places that do charge usually have a free period or day eg. The Old Naval College in Greenwich is free on Sundays after 15:30. See our museums page for full details. Galleries - Virtually all free, including the National Gallery, Both the Tate galleries. Those that do make an admission charge usually have a free day (eg The Courtauld), or a free period (the Guildhall, from 15:30). Full details on our Galleries page Salsa - Free Salsa (latin dance) lessons all over the place. Bar Salsa on Charing Cross road on Wednesday evenings from about 7pm (Salsa suffers from manana-syndrome and classes never start on time): gives a 30 minute introduction to each of Lambada, Merengue and Salsa, there's a club afterwards with bands. More on our Entertainment page 

for free in London - although most of the Royal Palaces make a charge, there are plenty of historic buildings and houses that don't (Sir John Soane's museum is housed in his 18th C house for example) and London's rarely explored churches are exquisite (you can even visit Westminster Abbey, which makes a charge, for free if you attend evensong services there). We recommend you do spend a little money and visit either the Tower of London or Hampton Court. Punch and Judy Sorry, we're being irreverent, but the political business in the Houses of Parliament can seem that way some times - it's surprisingly rowdy. Admission when the house is sitting is free - you queue up outside (see our itinerary page for details) but you won't get into Commons much before 16:30 - better to go later in the evening when the queues have gone down. Skate Two free skate cavalcades (Wednesday and Friday nights about 2000 -2200) are an excellent way of spending an evening, for free (see our activity page for details). Also free skating lessons on Wednesdays for beginners. Shopping Ok, the prices in London are often astronomical, but the London shopping experience is still largely free. Harrods' Food hall is a cornucopia of Victorian victuals, Camden and Portobello road markets are attractions in themselves, and you can wander down Bond Street anytime fantasizing about that distant relative and her will.... See Markets and Shops pages! Theatre - Theatre in London is one of the few reasonably prices things we have to offer, nonetheless, there's plenty for free. From the street entertainers in Covent Garden (under the porch of the Actors' Church where Britain's first Punch & Judy show was performed) to the innumerable festivals, there's lots going on. Free foyer events at the South Bank Centre and Barbican are usually of the highest standard. For the theatre of life, head for the markets. TV Shows The BBC needs audiences for its shows - tickets are available for recordings of TV programmes at TV Centre, in White City and for radio shows at various venues. Email them with a list of dates and an address to send tickets to (this is pot luck) if you're booking way ahead tv.ticket.unit@bbc.co.uk or radio.ticket.unit@bbc.co.uk or fax them on 0208 576 8802. You can also look what's available and book online, for free BBC Symphony orchestra concerts, TV 

shows etc etc HERE. That said it has happened that the BBC has put adverts in the Job Centres (for unemployed people seeking work) offering money to attend some shows - mainly talk shows. Tickets for commercial productions (including those that end up on the BBC can be got from freetix@standingroom.com or tel: 8870 0111. You can also visit TV Recordings.com which allows you to book AND print free tickets for TV shows online. If tickets are available you can print them off at any time and just head off for the show, even on the day of the record. You know if you have got your tickets instantly...no waiting around to see if they turn up in the post. Some good comedy shows available. Music - Again, the price of concerts in London is, considering the high quality, very reasonable (from July to September you can see the world's best at the Proms for £5 a ticket) with huge subsidies (all tickets for the BBC orchestras are cheap, thanks to the TV licence fee and a government grant) but still there's a lot for free (for example the BBCSO hold free concerts at the BBC Maida Vale studios -tickets for which can be obtained by calling BBC Audience Services on 020 8576 1227 - just don't cough as it's being taped for radio transmission). Recent free events at the Barbican and South Bank have included concerts by the NY Phil, London Philharmonia, Top Jazz and folk bands. Grab a programme. Occasionally you'll catch a famous band busking or recognise someone you saw busking last week on MTV (Fairground Attraction started out as buskers). The Royal Academy of Music runs a 'Free on Friday' programme of concerts with 'the performers of the future' ie: their students under the baton of some top conductors (viz: Sir Colin Davis, Sir Charles Mackerras and Barry Wordsworth). They start at 13:05 in the college on Marylebone Road, by Baker Street Tube. For details visit their Website. The quality of regular buskers in Leicester Square is very high (the local council charges £400 a week for the pitches) - Covent Garden actually auditions for its buskers as quality control. Many pubs have a good reputation for free music. See our music pages Free Bus tour The Bus tours we mention on our A-Z page can cost a family £50. However by combining a few scheduled bus routes you can see the same sights, and if you've got a travelcard (Zones 1 & 2) or an Oystercarc, then it's 'hop on hop off': First download this free map HERE LONG VERSION At Liverpool Street take the Number 11 bus which runs through the City, past the Bank of England, past St Pauls Cathedral, Fleet street, The Strand, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall past 10 Downing Street and Horseguards, Westminster past Parliament and the Abbey, then through Victoria including Westminster Cathedral, close to Buckingham Palace, through Pimlico to the Chelsea Hospital and Physic Garden, Sloane Square, King's Road through World's End and finishes up on Fulham Broadway. From here a short interconnect via the Number 28 bus takes you to Olympia where you can catch the number 9 bus back into town. That follows Kensington High Street, past Kensigton Palace and Gardens, Hyde Park, Knightsbridge, up Piccadilly, though Piccadilly Circus, to the Strand, where you hop off and onto a number 15 bus to the Tower of London. You can, of course do the route in reverse, or simply start at the Tower instead of Liverpool street, in which case you take a number 15 Westwards and change for the 11 on the Strand (perhaps popping up to Covent Garden in between buses).
SHORT VERSION From the Tower take bus #9 - these are heritage Routemaster buses with drivers and clippies (ask them about the best place to change to the 15...), and are usually vintage vehicles. Change at the Strand for a #15 bus to the Royal Albert Hall. The route takes you from the least liveable Royal Palace (The Tower of London) to the most liveable (Kensington Palace) where Lady Diana used to live. Walk London isn't quite as unspoilt as Paris so we advise to get the best out of simply wandering round you follow one of our walks.

part 2  later

KIDS ON THE BLOCK

KIDS ON THE BLOCK

When my parents died I guess I drifted about the inner city with people I didn't really
know or care much about. I say that because the feelings were mutual. Family obligation they called it, but maybe it was 'make use of' earn your keep the hard way
and think yourself lucky. Sure, I have no violin for that, most of my friends on those
mean streets were in the same boat with a family or not. Housing was in short supply
so that many overcrowding; mother and father and their parents, uncles and aunts,
all sharing a couple of rooms in a street that went on forever. The street of thousands
I called them. So, it was quite common that when we left the school gates we just hung around the streets which was our recreation ground. The 'rec' had everything.
Discarded old cars and bikes and pushchairs and plenty of tyres and old rope to
hitch up to the lampost and swing about all night long. Most of my early days was 
spent on those streets mostly during the cold months when coal was in short supply.
We kept warm by improvising the imaginatin. Money was scarce. Running errands
all week for the neighbours usually brought in a few coins to get into the cinema....
the saturday matinee we called it. It was there that I became a great fan of the
american. Cowboy and gangsters was what we were allowed to see. For us kids
it was a great place to find our heroes and build our own characters. We all went in
the cinemas wild and wicked but when we came out we all stood tall and dignified
mimicing those great actors in the cellulide. Cagney, Bogart, Raft and many more
became our regular family and seemed more real to me than those I lived with
from one day to another. later, these films were called Film Noir and fondly i still
watch them today. The films were a balance of darkness and light and came across
as moody and atmospheric. The Third Man was a great example. Suspense and
mystery and intrigue mixed with evocative and enigmatic shadow on a big screen
drew you in. When I see those clips today or when I see those black and white
photographs I think about all my friends, row upon row, in the late evenings, often
poorly dressed and under nourished, feet up on the back of someone else's seat;
totally absorbed in the old church, come cinema, content in the near dark. 
We all lived on Gum street. When asked what most were going to do in life, they
would reply.....nothing! I am stuck on Gum street!

Memphis Belle taking off from Duxford in the UK - see more at the end of the page of The London Guide.

snippets from an article published in the US

I have just returned from Duxford after seeing many brave displays of aircraft and as usual a packed house for everyone. Dreary weather, but a huge success as always as old and new aircraft take to the skies and put on an acrobatic display. Especially the old wartime mustang that was so successfully supportive to the flying fortresses and liberators following many losses. Set within the most complete First and Second World War airfield in the world, Imperial War museum Duxford takes you back on an incredible journey of aviation in times of war and peace. The battle of Britain celebrates its 70th anniversary. In the hangers all makes of aircraft. In many brick huts there still remains an extraordinary collection of objects on display. In 2007 the Airspace tells the story of British and commonwealth aviation and home to the spitfire, the Lancaster bomber and fast-ever Concorde.
Duxford, really is a good day out for the family. The whole day may be needed to
see everything so they have shops and a eating house with ample parking. One of my favourite modern hangars is the American Air Museum. A memorial telling the story of the american air power and its modern effect on the world. Home of the largest collection of american combat aircraft outside of the United States. You will find a flying fortress B17 on display at Duxford with its artwork and the name Sally B on its nose.

I am sure this aircraft was used in the film Memphis Belle and filmed partially at Duxford. Entrance is £14 per adult. Children get in free. It is a great experience if you are visiting from abroad and want to include this in your itinary. Cambridge is just 20 minuLiving in south Norfolk in England I have appreciated learning about the many used and disused airfields throughout this beautiful county. Today, most of those busy airfields have gone back to the land save for glimpses of perimeter track and runway that now serves for hay bales and beetroot and potatoes and if you were a visitor to the area or driving through you may not know about what happened there during 1943 nor would know that every few miles there were other airfields and bomb groups and air crew taking to the skies - the skies were never still, Norfolk was tagged Little America and noteably the airfield Thorpe Abbots - the 100th bomb group that was tagged the jinxed outfit, the bloody hundreth, because of the heavy losses sustained during the early campaigns. Despite many bases have long disappeared under the weeds and furrows there are many still in existence and most used for glider clubs. There are two air towers. Both have been lovingly cared for in the postwar years. The upkeep has been hard, surviving on local contributions and donations from veterans and their familes. Volunteers come from the boys that were mesmerised by their american heroes during the war years. These boys, now men, contribute to keeping these towers in good order. Both have become museums and a visitor will easily be taken back in nostalgia and in the present atmosphere with no shortage of personal letters and photographs. I have my own website featuring lovely Norfolk with pictures of its stately homes and idylic cottages, countryside and coastal beaches. I have donated a page to the american bomb groups with videos and pictures and music plus links relating to the airfields past and present. It is worth a look. You can navigate from there and see other pages in my site. I hope you enjoy your visit. 

When I moved into South Wymondham from an industrial town, I soon began to
relax. What better way to relax at the sight of the postman trundling down a
narrow country lane towards a couple of thatched houses on the fringe of an
old airfield. I recall, getting out of my car on a warm day and retracing my
steps back from the night before; when lost in the country, I turned off up
this dark lane and suddenly found myself in an expanse of nothingness. I got
out of the car and a cold open wind nearly cut me in two. A few wooden signs
left over from the war, told me I was about eleven miles from the town and
with that, I almost got back into the car, under a lot of pressure from my
partner. Something did not feel right about this. No trees, no bushes and no
houses or buildings at all. I was at the crossroads where the darkness hung
heavy and a atmosphere was brewing. I got in and drove off and eventually
got home and that was that.
A year later, again on a warm day, I drove out the car and fancied a walk.
I eventually went on to walk many miles around that neck of the woods......
idylic surrounds, peaceful and relaxing, a few wild red poppies sulking in
the hedgerow and the usual unmistakable rural noises...Then suddenly, I came
onto a wide expanse of field mostly yellow with rape seed beginning to grow
high. The mystery was now over. This was the place I had landed on a year
ago. It felt very much the same, only more colourful and gentle, hay bales
were in a row on what I could see was a part of a runway. And then further
on another wide expanse of concrete until I figured that this was once a very
large airfield.

A day later, I went into Wymondham library and secured myself a book from
the local studies librarian. Airfields in the South of Norfolk. I skimmed through
and then I saw that indeed that was an airfield used by the americans during
1942 where the Flying Fortresses flew off into the open skies from two runways.
The village next door was Deopham Green. A Picturesque village that must have
had a rude awakening when the bulldozers moved in to lay all those miles of
bending concrete. Once I had the book, I was able to go back and see the actual
design of the base with its layout of runway and perimeter track. Then the
imagination took over. I was able to position where the bomb dumps were kept.
The dispersals. The main runway, but sadly no look-out tower. Only a bald patch
where it had once stood with all that activity. Then on the fringe I saw a few left
over nissun huts and brick huts, one I later understood was the cookhouse. I had
walked around several times in the space of two days and really enjoyed it.
I later found out, that there was a man who took visitors around the site and
filled them in on its history. Sadly, as the years have gone on, very few have
arrived from the States and elsewhere to link up with the locals and the memories
of those traumatic times. 
This was an interest to me for some while as there were other airfields to see
some still in very good condition and though most of the tracks and runways
have gone, gliders still use what's left. 
I moved out of Wymondham some years later. Two years ago I went back to
walk about but this was not on a sunny day. It was leading up to Christmas and
darkness sank heavy on the old site. Now, it looked desolate and forlorn and
brooding under a grey sky. A cold wind like I had met before, went inside of my
clothes and a chill masked my face. I was standing on this piece of runway and
felt the tall dry grass snap and crackle about my turn-ups. The wind seemed to
carry forth a mixed sound of memories. But the cold broke the spell. I walked
quickly back to the car as if spooked by something..........

The link below will take you to my website The London Guide that has an honest appraisal of the capital - the informative guide tells you more than what the average tourist gets to see and know about - with links on just about every attraction, where to go and what to see or even study and work in the city and so much more - then places to go outside the capital such as Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, Roman towns such as Bath., lovely Norfolk plus places of heritage and of course Duxford where presently stands the Memphis Belle - the famous US bomber together with its history, photographs.....please visit the link below before you leave.

LON
                                                          A Childhood

 ...in the winter months, we would go to the cinema just to get off the cold streets. The cinemas around the sixties in my city were in abundance and a walk or a bus ride would get you there. So, a few errands to run, to get the entry fee and maybe a stick of liquorice or a toffee apple thrown in. The demise of the Victorian churches led speculation to local business men,(hardly well-off themselves) into changing the sombre looking dwellings into a community of excitement and fun. The bringing together of many people filled the buildings with a much more enlivened congregation all sharing the same purpose but not being sombre about it all. The front outside walls were whitewashed, poorly but acceptable, with small boxes fixed to the walls containing a few photographs, probably no more than about four clips from the film. Eventually, large white posters were hung up onto the walls which drew people to the doors. From the front, it looked like a picture house. From side and back it looked like a church. In my district, there were three cinemas. One big one that had a little more investment than the others and attracted the grown-ups or families. The cheaper 'to get in ones' did look a sorrowful sight and sometimes, you could go a week later and still see the same film on. Not that it mattered to us kids, we were out off the street and in the warm and making mischief. I cannot remember the first film I saw, no doubt a cowboy or a gangster; you had to be over sixteen to view the adult films. If you were under age, you would need to stand outside in all weathers, waiting for an adult to take you in. Many a time, I asked and was told to 'push off' of course later on in years, this method was outlawed due to the child's vulnerability. Not that kids thought that much about that, they gave as good as they got and more. Most days, you didn't have the entrance fee so the kids waited till the cinema filled up and gave one kid enough to get himself in. We would all wait at the side entrance and wait. The big bar would be lifted slowly and one by one each kid would disappear behind the heavy curtain and off to the cheaper seats. Of course, this did not always work. The manager would charge down and the culprits were quick to leave their seats towards the exit. It was quite funny sometimes, as long as you didn't get caught. To me, sitting under a big screen with the antics of Cagney and Stewart and a whole other list of favourites was like heaven. The house I lived in was very tiny so this provided a lot of space for me and I liked the volume being high. A lot of people smoked in the cinema then and it was fascinating being in the dark and yet seeing a few faces in the projection stream and all that smoke twisting and twirling and all those that were smoking lifting up their heads to blow out the smoke into the circling tube of light. Looking back, I guess, a whole 2-3 hours of community habits was acted out in that one collective establishment. And not all went to see the films. Not that I took much notice when I went there. Out of respect for the church and the Queen they insisted everyone stayed after the programmes as the anthem was played. Usually, I always found the place empty within seconds of the music playing. Then one day, I stopped going, due to my starting work. But when I returned some months later I noticed many had been taken over by enthusiasts for Bingo. There was something a little more tangible to be gained by that I suppose.....THE LONDON GUIDE updatesTHE LONDON GUIDE

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