China Town for Chinese New Year approx 1999
by easyoar
Chinese New Year occurs in late January/early February, and the Chinese in China Town really know how to throw a party. China Town becomes a seething mass of people, and there are dragons roaming around and music playing and everyone having a great time. If you are in londo at this time, it is well worth finding out what is on and where and going to watch for a bit.
Of course with so many people from many different places all squashed together, make sure you take good care of your possessions. This is comment is not aimed at China Town, just a sensible piece of advice in any big city where there are lots of people squashed tightly together. The Dragons, which are several people dressed up in a costume moving very slickly throughy China Town.
Would you Adam and Eve it?
by CliffClaven
Cockney rhyming slang, which supposedly began in the dock area of the East End of London in the 16th century, uses a word or phrase which rhymes with the word it replaces: "apples and pears" for "stairs", "whistle and flute" for "suit", and so on. To make things harder, the second half of the phrase is often omitted: Right, I'm just off up the apples to change my whistle. The language is still evolving. Down the pub you may hear someone ask for a pint of Gary (Glitter = bitter) or even a pint of Winona (Ryder = cider).
Visit Madame Tussauds, the wax...
by O.KATALINA
Visit Madame Tussauds, the wax museum! This is really a first class wax museum with fantastic records of the historical and current personalities ever to exist and the origin of the museum is fantastic as well! I remember there was this museum guy who posed as one of the wax figures near the entrance of one of the rooms and when visitors walked in unaware, he suddenly shifted his position and came alive! This usually shocked the visitors so much that it was hilarious! The wax figures were that real-looking. I found Van Gogh - my favourite artist! Take a picture of me with him please, I want to remember how he look like!
A city of many villages
by KennetRose
It has often been said that London is not so much one big city as a collection of interconnected villages.
There's a lot of truth in this, and recognising it is one of the keys to making London manageable. When I lived in Notting Hill, it was seldom necessary to travel outside an area bounded by the Grand Union Canal to the north, Kensington High Street to the south, Queensway to the east and Shepherds Bush to the west. In fact, nearly everything one could need for shopping or entertainment was within a ten minute walk.
There are districts well within the bounds of London that are interesting towns in their own right and worth exploring; places like Richmond, Hampstead or Greenwich. Even within the central area where tourists normally go there are distinct neighbourhood, like Bloomsbury, Chelsea or the City. A good strategy is to pick one and devote a day to it, rather than flitting about all over town.
Tube etiquette
by bzh
The London tube can be very crowded at times, especially in the centre. There are a number of etiquette rules that Londoners use when travelling on the tube that are worth knowing as they will make your journey more relaxed.
Stand on the right of the escalator. Escalators in tube stations are just wide enough for two people to stand side by side. The rule is if to stand on the right to let people in a hurry walk up or down on the left.
Let the people off the train before boarding. Don't rush into the train if it is packed, let the people off first. Not only is it polite but it will make boarding quicker because you will not have two flows of people trying to go into opposite directions in a confined space at the same time. Don't worry, the train driver is keeping an eye and will only close the doors when people who wanted to get out are out and as many people as possible who wanted to get in are in.
Take you backpack off your shoulders. If you have a rucksack and are standing, take it off and put it on the floor. In a busy train, every movement you do will whack your bag into some fellow passenger. Don't think you will be able to stand still as the train's movement can be unpredictable at times.
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Teepees in the Diana memorial playground
Captain John Smith, citizen and cordwainer
One of the many restaurants in Chinatown.
Covent Garden Market, West End
