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 London sunset from my window by sue_stone
Be careful, London will find its way under your skin and you may never want to leave!!
There is so much to discover here.....I have barely begun to enjoy all this amazing city has to offer.
Enjoy! Leave a Comment
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A problem in London is unlicensed minicabs which hang about outside bars and nightclubs especially in the centre and tout for business.
There are several problems with this. Firstly, the vast majority of them are not covered by insurance for "hire and reward" i.e. taking paying passengers, so if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident you are not covered.
Secondly, if they do manage to get you to where you want to go, they charge extortionate fares, and can be quite "forceful" about collecting the money.
The third, and most serious danger, is that of sexual assault on women. Police in London estimate that on average one woman per week is raped by a bogus minicab driver. 91% of women attacked is under 35 years old, and 50% of them under 24. These bogus drivers deliberately target women who are obviously a little drunk, and who are on their own.
The advice is simple - DON'T DO IT. Leave a Comment
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 Look at the "right" side of
the road! by irisbe
The first hours walking and crossing the street is really hazardous when you are used that every one is driving at the right side, not the wrong mmm sorry not the left side !
So be really very careful when you cross the streets that you look at the right directions to see the traffic coming.
For "dumb foreigners" they have been so kind to paint the cross-the-street-instructions on the road.
I must say I feel great gratitude because I am convinced it must have saved my life a couple of times! Leave a Comment
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If you are in the West End after midnight, you won't be able to catch a train because few trains leave after midnight. There is night bus service, but it is sketchy. You'll have to attempt to catch a taxi.
My daughter Jill and I were attending a theatre at the West End seeing Jekell & Hyde; afterwards, we had a snack and listened to music in a small place that catered to up-and-coming bands. Before we knew it, midnight had come and gone. We started walking and saw a bus. We tried to "flag it down"; the bus stopped but would not pick us up because the driver was going back to check out for the night. So, we kept on walking, trying to catch a taxi.
I tell you, we walked through some pretty frightening neighborhoods.
At last, a Taxi stopped. The driver said, "What are you doing in this area; it's like being in Harlem in New York." He was very kind and "fatherly". We were so relieved to make it back to our hotel safely.
You need to know that licensed cabs must carry a "For Hire" sign that is lit up. You can find them at "ranks" (stands); you can hail them as we did; you can phone for them.
The licensed cabs have meters Surcharges are added for luggage, extra passengers, and off-hours (such as when we hailed the cab much after midnight). Fares should always be on display.
I have nothing but admiration for the London Taxi Drivers. Leave a Comment
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Do not be tempted into buying hot dogs or burgers from any of the street vendors that plague the West End of London.
They are unlicensed and therefore unregulated and the standards of food preparation and hygeine would, quite frankly, make your hair stand on end. I know a number of people who have become very ill after eating from these stalls.
There are plenty of proper eating places in town, open all hours, and you really should have no need to resort to using these vendors.
As a side issue, most of the vendors are controlled by Eastern European criminals (and treated pretty appallingly by them). Many of the vendors are illegal immigrantsrun by "Gang bosses." Not only are you running the risk of sickness, you are also supposting organised criminal activity. Leave a Comment
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 no need to feed! by irisbe
..............
Early each day to the steps of Saint Paul's
The little old bird woman comes.
In her own special way to the people she calls,
"Come, buy my bags full of crumbs.
Come feed the little birds, show them you care
And you'll be glad if you do.
Their young ones are hungry,
Their nests are so bare;
All it takes is tuppence from you."
Feed the birds, tuppence a bag,
Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag.
.................
But all that is over now!
If you don't get it yet! Here it is in many languages and in a pictogram!
No feeding the pigeons! What you eat must come out again and that goes exactly the same for these birds. In big masses they can produce quite some piles of bird poop and this ***ty mass of poop is so strong that it will damage the surrounding buildings, the statues and maybe smut your new outfit. So one good advice: don't!
I caught this sign at Trafalgar Square, a pigeon paradise! Leave a Comment
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 Sucked up by an automatic
staircase by irisbe
The first floor with the shops and the friendly supervisors who came up to me telling it was not allowed to take any pictures in the store, unless I bought anything? ok? here goes my old saying again: ?no pictures, no business? and off I went.
Shops! I must be an exceptional female as I really hate shopping and if I had the choice I would have whisked myself somewhere else in the greenery, but it was chilly, windy, dark clouded and raining, in one sentence: no weather for a walk in the park. In here it was dry at least.
A psychedelic automatic stairs: neon lights and glass gave it a tunnel vision; sucked me up completely and before I realised I was up the 2nd floor. All around me in the darkened room: the beeping, ringing and other undefined sounds; flickering lights of game machines, car simulators, soccer games, all hitting my iris without any mercy: money-eating machines, and money losing people, people grown one with the handle of the game machinery, body snatched and mind blown. All that came poured over me and I had only one thought and that was to find the way out!
Can you imagine four of these floors of video games, each the size of a city block? That's exactly what you get when you visit Trocadero, London's modern nightmare game hall!
The way out was perfectly hidden. I realised I was not at second floor; the automatic staircase must have covered more floors! I walked around the whole level, searching for the one that ought to go down, but it just didn?t exist! I finally had to ask one of the dangerous looking ?men in black? and he pointed out that if I go around that corner and around that corner? ok? let?s try those 2 corners first?
Indeed, there were hidden metallic stairs covering half floors, so I had to search many around various corners, but after number two I got the hunch tracing them. Leave a Comment
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 Note this is NOT my car!! by mazzap
For a fine payment of £65 you can have your car released - but personally, I'd rather pay the parking fee in the first place and prevent the embarrassment never mind the cost!! Leave a Comment
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 Don't Stop on Red Routes by easyoar
If you are on a Red Route (two red double lines - see the picture), then do not stop, and definitely don't park (see my previous two warnings for the consequences).
I believe the latest fine is £100 and that is before the clamping or towing fee. This is taken very seriously as they are painted on roads in the most congested parts of London that are considered important to keep the traffic moving on. Leave a Comment
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- Twenty Nevern Square
20 Nevern Square Earls Court, London - Holiday Inn Maidstone Sevenoak
London Road Wrotham Heath, London - Acacia House
14 Queensberry Place, London - Amberley Castle
Amberley, London - Radisson Edwardian Hotel At Heathrow
140 Bath Road, London - Melita House Hotel
35 Charlwood Street Victoria, London - Quality Hotel Hampstead
5 Frognal Hampstead, London - Abbey Lodge Hotel
51 Grange Park Ealing, London - St George's Hotel
5 St Georges Drive, London - Star Hotel
97-99 Shepherds Bush Road, London - Hilton London Canary Wharf
South Quay, Marsh Wall, London - 22 Jermyn Street
22 Jermyn St. St. James's, London - Bankside House
24 Sumner Street, London - Thistle Hyde Park
90-92 Lancaster Gate, London - Queen's Gate Gardens
39B Queen's Gate Gardens, London
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