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  • Pantomime – A Traditional British Christmas Treat For All The Family

    Would you like to go to a theatre where you were allowed to shout back at the actors on the stage? The opportunity to do so comes between November running all the way through Christmas until the start of the New Year when Pantomimes take place in many village halls and theatres across the United Kingdom.

  • Claude Monet Exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery in London

    London has been a smokeless zone for over sixty years. The city used to be famous for its ‘London fogs.’ They were described by the novelist Charles Dickens and even led to the creation of a type of American rainwear called London Fog. Then the Clean Air Acts were passed in the late 1950s and 1960s, largely as a reaction to the ‘great smog’ of 1952 and London Fogs gradually became a thing of the past that will hopefully never be seen again.

  • William Shakespeare – A London Eastender

    It is not known to many people, but William Shakespeare began his theatrical career in the East End of London rather the place most often associated with him – Southwark, the area to the south of London Bridge. Sam Wannamaker, the American actor and director, felt that Shakespeare deserved a monument in London, the city where he made his fame and fortune. Wannamaker decided to rebuild the Globe Theatre in Southwark near the Tate Modern Museum and raised the money from donors to do so.

  • Fourth Plinth In Trafalgar Square – Filling The Most Famous Empty Space In London

    Blue Badge Tourist Guides on a tour of London will probably go through Trafalgar Square in the centre of the city. One of its most striking features is the sculpture on display on the northwest side of the Square. Known simply as ‘The Fourth Plinth,’ it remained empty until 1999. It was consistently rumoured that a statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II was planned for this space but she had a very long life and died at the age of 96 in 2022.

  • New Uses for Red Telephone Boxes in London

    Most London Blue Badge Tourist Guides have had clients who want to get a snap of themselves by a red London phone box, often with Big Ben in the background. It is almost a rite of passage for a visitor to London and so the red boxes at the end of Whitehall often have long queues of people waiting outside for the chance to take a picture of themselves. The phone booths are rarely put to their original use – namely, to make phone calls. Now, of course, the mobile phone reigns supreme and most people have a smartphone in their pocket.

  • London’s Tallest Buildings: A Journey Through the City’s Iconic Skyline

    London was built on clay so it was harder to build high than in New York, which stands on rock. For many years the tallest architects could construct a skyscraper was 5 – 600 feet. Then new technology allowed them to build higher and London’s tallest building is currently The Shard next to London Bridge, which is over 1000 feet tall. One Undershaft in The City was built to match The Shard in height and it too will have a viewing tower with an education centre operated by the recently renamed London Museum (formerly Museum of London).

Blog Posts

2023 Christmas Tree at Somerset House in London. Photo Credit: © Ursula Petula Barzey.

8 Christmas Trees in London for the 2023 Festive Season

Like every major city in the Western world, London celebrates Christmas. For the visitor the most obvious sign of this are elaborate Christmas trees around the capital. Here are a few of them:

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Sky Garden Restaurant in London. Photo Credit: © rhubarb, Sky Garden.

Best Places To See London From Above

A viewing gallery has opened on top of the new skyscraper at 22 Bishopsgate.  Visitors to London can get views of the City without paying if they find the London Eye or The Shard too expensive. It joins the Sky Garden on top of the Walkie-Talkie building as a viewing platform which is accessible to the general public and free of charge. Café/bars serving hot and cold drinks can be found in both locations, but visitors are under no obligation to buy anything. Both viewing platforms have free toilet facilities.

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Entrance to Borough Market in London. Photo Credit: © Ursula Petula Barzey.

Borough Market in London: A Culinary Oasis in the Heart of Southwark near London Bridge

London has many street markets that visitors can visit. Smithfield Meat Market and Billingsgate Fish Market are probably the most famous wholesale markets in the capital, but both are facing great challenges. Despite operating for centuries, they face an uncertain future, with supermarkets preferring to deal directly with their suppliers these days.

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Margaret Ann Bulkley aka James Barry. Photo Credit: © Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

The Extraordinary Life of Margaret Ann Bulkley aka Dr James Barry

I recently visited The National Portrait Gallery, which re-opened in June 2023 to much fanfare – and it is duly deserved. It was apparent whilst viewing the rooms that more women across the centuries were featured. Before the gallery’s closing in 2020 for refurbishment, exhibits and images of women were approximately 20% of the collection; now, it is 48%!

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View of London Millennium Bridge from Tate Modern. Photo Credit: © Ursula Petula Barzey.

London Millennium Footbridge, also known as The Wibbly Wobbly Bridge

Officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, this iconic pedestrian bridge gracefully spans the River Thames, connecting the Tate Modern Art Gallery to St. Paul’s Cathedral, two of London’s most recognizable landmarks. But to many Londoners, this bridge has another, more affectionate name – “The Wibbly Wobbly Bridge.” This moniker hints at the bridge’s unique history, a tale of design, engineering, and the resilience of a city that embraces its quirks.

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Kensington Palace - In front of the east front public entrance stands a statue of Queen Victoria, sculpted by her daughter Princess Louise.

History of Kensington Palace: from Jacobean Mansion to Royal Residence

Kensington Palace, nestled at the western edge of leafy Kensington Gardens, has been a royal home since 1689. Today, it is the London base of the Prince and Princess of Wales and the nerve centre of their operations. It is also home to the Dukes of Kent and Gloucester and Princess Michael of Kent.

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Whispering Gallery at Saint Paul's Cathedral in London. Photo Credit: © St Paul's Cathedral.

The Whispering Gallery at Saint Paul’s Cathedral Reopens

It is no more than appropriate that in Sir Christopher Wren’s tercentenary, the star feature of his masterpiece, the Whispering Gallery at St Paul’s Cathedral, should have been re-opened after four years of renovation. London’s great sotto voce experience is back.

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UK Honour System: Damehood and Knighthood medals. Photo Credit: © UK Cabinet Office.

The UK Honours System: A Comprehensive Guide to the Orders and Medals

The United Kingdom’s honours system rewards those who have rendered significant service to the country. These awards are typically in the form of lifetime titles that cannot be passed down to the recipient’s children. However, in very rare cases, a hereditary peerage is granted, allowing the recipient to leave a title to their offspring.

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Afternoon Tea at Brown's Hotel in London. Photo Credit: © Brown's Hotel London.

10 Facts You Didn’t Know About The History of Afternoon Tea in England

Many visitors to Britain like to partake in the ritual of afternoon tea, which is a long-standing British tradition. It combines the British love of drinking tea with a fondness for cakes and other sweet dishes in the middle of the afternoon. Many hotels and well-known shops, such as Fortnum and Mason on Piccadilly, offer afternoon tea packages.

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Afternoon Tea at The Wolseley Hotel in London. Photo Credit: © The Wolseley.

Afternoon Tea in London: Where to Indulge in the Ultimate English Treat

What could be more quintessentially English than afternoon tea? This is often one of the top items on London visitors’ itineraries, but many are unsure of where to go or surprised by how expensive it can be.

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Prince William and Charles at Garter Day 2008. Photo Credit: © Ibagli via Wikimedia Commons.

Knights Of The Garter: The Oldest Order In The United Kingdom

Throughout British history, there have been just over a thousand Knights of the Garter. According to tradition, the order was founded by King Edward III in 1348, not long after he laid a claim to the throne of France. King Edward and his son, also called Edward, began the Hundred Years War against the French for control of their country.

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View of Millennium Bridge from Tate Modern looking towards Saint Paul's Cathedral. Photo Credit: © Ursula Petula Barzey.

Mission Impossible Films: Scenes Shot In London And Around The United Kingdom

The Mission Impossible film series is famous for its use of exotic locations around the globe. Tom Cruise, portraying the top secret agent Ethan Hunt and his team save the world in the world’s tallest building in Dubai or at the Vatican. However, they also use British locations in their films, some of which are seen in the latest instalment, Dead Reckoning: Part One. The second instalment of the film has been made and is due to be released in June 2024.

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