Last November, fellow London Blue Badge Tourist Guides Tim Hudson and Jo Hoad organised us one early morning for an outing to look for the body and hear the story of Richard III at Bosworth and Leicester.  Richard was the last king of England to die in battle, the last Plantagenet monarch and, after a short reign of just over two years, died calling out “Treason! Treason!” not, as Shakespeare has it, “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”

The Victoria & Albert Museum has unveiled When Soak Becomes Spill, a major new installation by leading Indian contemporary artist Subodh Gupta.  

Using the work of Monet as a starting point, The Royal Academy of Arts landmark exhibition Painting The Modern Garden: Monet To Matisse examines the role gardens played in the evolution of art from the early 1860s through to the 1920s.

Major department stores in London give their shop windows a makeover in December to celebrate the festive Christmas season and become retail theatre.  The unveilings are highly anticipated and people often queue for hours waiting for the moment that stores like Harrods, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason unveil their Christmas masterpieces.

Christmas trees, Christmas lights and festive decorations are seen all across London during December.   It makes the city extremely inviting in the late afternoon and evening for shopping and exploring.  Featured below are 8 Christmas trees across London during this festive season.

London welcomed nearly 18million international visitors in the last 12 months, and this number is expected to increase.  Many visitors come to see the artwork and cultural artifacts at major museums like the British Museum, National Gallery and Natural History Museum.  Others are interested in exploring major attractions like the Tower of London, Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Hampton Court Palace.  However, an increasing number are visiting London for international sporting and culture events.

Did you know that Kew Gardens was home to one of the very first decorated Christmas trees in England? It was Queen Charlotte in the 1790s who dressed branches in one of the largest rooms at Kew Palace, and when the tree was lit and all aglitter, the whole court gathered round.

The Palace of Westminster is synonymous with politics in the United Kingdom and has seen some of the most momentous events in the history of the country. From the ill-fated 1605 Gunpowder Plot to speaker William Lenthall’s defiance of King Charles I in 1642 and from suffragette Emily Davidson hiding in a ventilation shaft in the building to the inspirational “We shall fight on the beaches” Winston Churchill speech delivered to the House of Commons on 4 June 1940.

Interested in comic art?  Then consider organising a Bath tour with one of our Blue Badge Tourist Guides and be sure to check out the High Spirits: The Comic Art of Thomas Rowlandson exhibition at Holburne Museum of Art. 

Launching on 13th November 2015 at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace is a new exhibition titled: Masters of the Everyday: Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer.

  From 24 October 2015 until 3 December 2015, the Crystal Sceptre given by Henry V to the City of London in grateful thanks for their help in loaning him money for the Battle of Agincourt will be on show at the Guildhall Art Gallery.

The 800th Lord Mayor’s Show in London will be held on Saturday 14 November 2015 and starts at 09.00 with a river pageant. The Lord Mayor will be travelling to the City in a flotilla of traditional Thames barges and small boats, including the famous QRB Gloriana. Tower Bridge opens in salute at 09.25 and the new Lord Mayor alights at HMS President ten minutes later.