Lighting Festival - Switched on London
by HORSCHECK
"Switched on London" is a new Lighting Festival which takes place for over a week at the beginning of February in the Pool of London.
For the first time it took place in 2007 and annual repetitions are planned. During the event various sights in the area are temporaily illuminated in artistic and exciting ways. Among other landmarks the Tower of London, HMS Belfast, London Bridge, City Hall and the Design Museum were involved in the event in 2007.
In both February 2007 and 2008 I visited some of the illuminations with a lovely bunch of VT members and we really enjoyed a walk along the banks of the river Thames in between Tower Bridge and London Bridge (Pool of London).
Please check the following website for more info about the event:
http://www.switchedonlondon.co.uk/
See the Tower of London, it is...
by traveltom
See the Tower of London, it is amazing!!! I have so many memories from siteseeing to running into a guy who knows my cousin in Media, PA. The best thing is just walking around all of London and seeing everything there is to see!! The changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace was pretty cool, too.
Harrods
by CandS
We had to visit Harrods at least once while we were in London...we'd heard about it on movies and in TV shows so we couldn't miss it. I'm glad we went too...the whole shop was covered by Christmas decorations (it was early November when we were there in 2000) and they were selling some amazing Christmas decorations in the shop too...great for my collection! :)
Ghost of the Tower part 2
by rickyvilla81
More chilling is the tale of the Princes in the Tower, Richard and Edward, who disappeared from the Tower where they had been imprisoned for their protection by their Uncle Richard III - legend and shakespeare would have it that he ordered their murder, though no proof has been found. Their skeletons have, a couple of centuries later, and two sad, ghostly boys have been spotted on several occasions.
Finally we come to Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, who was executed on Tower Green accused of adultery, witchcraft, incest and anything else they could pin on her. Her wraithlike spectre regularly haunts the ramparts. Her head was cut off not with an axe, as was tradition, but with a sword. She requested this because the axe could be a dirty and painful death - the Duke of Somerset for example needed about six chops before his head would go, and even then they had to cut the rest off with a scalpel - not nice. So Henry agreed to her wish that a French swordsman would do it, and he paid a man to come from Calais (Calais! Cheap daytripper) to do the honours. She was standing upright when this monsieur swung his sword, and her head was cut off so cleanly that when it hit the floor, her eyes were still blinking, and her mouth still uttering a prayer.
American English PART 3 (The End)
by Elena_007
queue: an orderly line of people patiently waiting their turn. In America, as well as the UK, it is only polite to respect the order of the queue (line). Please don't be rude!
rubbish: garbage or trash to be thrown away. (preferrably in a bin or trash receptacle)
shattered: either very tired, (similar to knackered) or emotionally drained, in a hopeless or helpless, depressed state of mind.
tea: UK- the evening meal or a cup of hot tea.
tea: USA- a cup of hot tea or a glass of iced tea.
underlay: the carpet padding underneath the carpet.
vest: UK- What Americans call an undershirt, T-shirt.
vest: USA- What Brits call a waistcoat.
wally: A friendly, joking way of calling someone silly, or daft.
yonks: a long time, either minutes, hours, or years, depending on use. (waiting for yonks)
zed: UK- the last letter of the alphabet, pronounced, "zed".
(Z): USA- same as above, only pronounced, "zee".
I once said, "Nice Z car!" but in the UK, it is a "Zed."
A bonus for some, an effort for others:
willie: UK- (Well, if you live in the UK, Surely, you know this one!)
willie: USA- A nickname for William or the dolphin in the film, "Free Willie."
If you are an American, and don't know, you will need to look it up in the dictionary provided below. (A treasury of little known differences in our "English" language(s), and humourous / humorous definitions throughout). I highly recommend this site for American English translations and a good laugh.
Another funny story, Someone from the UK told me once they had to go cook their tea. As an American, I asked,"Don't you just add water?"
In America, it is thought that tea is the kind you drink, not eat. I was then told I needed to learn how to cook properly!
Tea, as you now know is the evening meal,and preferably not instant. (just add water) I hope you have enjoyed this bit of information, Perhaps you've heard or will hear some of these sayings in the future.
More "TransAtlantic translations" listed alphabetically after the American Observations and Pubs tips.
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Abney Park, Hackney, London, UK.
HMV - 360 Oxford street - London
The entrance by the bus terminal.
Approaching St Paul's from the Thames
