Christmas in London

As an update to the recent discussions regarding visits to London during
the Christmas season, my wife and I returned this week from a 12-day
visit that included Christmas and Boxing day. On balance, I thought it
was a great time to be there. There were lots of seasonal celebrations,
displays, lights, concerts, "carol and readings" services in the
cathedrals, etc. However, this recommendation is qualified by the
assumption that one's visit is going to include sufficient time before
and/or after Christmas and Boxing day to permit visits to attractions of
interest that are closed during the two holidays. - For example, a
three-day trip to London during this season would be a disaster for most
tourists.)

For us, Christmas was an opportunity to take it easy and enjoy walks
through some of the parks and historic districts absent the usual crowds
and traffic problems. Several of the "London Walk" tours were offered,
and I enjoyed the one beginning at Picadilly Circus and visiting some of
the sites mentioned in several of Dickens's works. (Including the
location of the factory in which he worked 12 hours a day for several
years when he was a child, from which experience he developed some of
his concerns for social reform.) Apparently, most of the larger hotels
offer a special Christmas dinner. - Ours included the traditional mulled
wine, turkey, brandied pudding, etc. Another good choice, for me, would
be the carol and readings services at Westminster, etc. I say "would be"
because I didn't get there early enough to get in. - It's necessary to
get there very early, more than an hour before the service begins, and I
didn't allow enough time. However, we did attend the Christmas Eve
carol service at York Minster cathedral during a two-day visit to
Yorkshire. Very impressive! Again, most seats were taken an hour before
the service began. (With the efficient rail and tube service, we were
able to return to London conveniently that evening.)

Regarding the closing schedules in London, as was noted in the earlier
discussions of experiences in previous years, the underground, busses,
theaters, hotels, museums, railroads, most retail stores, etc., were
shut down on Christmas. On Boxing day, the underground was operating,
but many tourist attractions were still closed. Taxis were available
both days, though at double fare on Christmas. Near our hotel (in the
Victoria-Westminster area) several restaurants and convenience stores
were open both days. Luckily, a threatened strike of workers on certain
underground lines planned for Dec 24 was canceled at the last minute.
(The particular issue of concern related to the firing of an employee
who was discovered playing squash while taking several days of sick
leave with a sprained ankle, and who had taken some 200 days of sick
leave in the past few years.)

Aside from the above, we enjoyed visiting Cardiff, Stonehinge, Bath,
Salsbury, etc. In London, the British Museum, IMO, is one of the
world's greatest. Also attended three theater performances and enjoyed
them all. I was pleasantly surprised by "Bombay Dreams," a new musical
playing at the Victoria Apollo. - - Negatives of the trip included a
few days of cold, wet weather in London and the "cattle car" seating
arrangements and service provided in coach by Continental.

Jim

In article , (Jim Cate)
wrote:


As an update to the recent discussions regarding visits to London
during the Christmas season, my wife and I returned this week from a
12-day visit that included Christmas and Boxing day. On balance, I
thought it was a great time to be there.

lots of your post snipped, but it sounds like you had a great time!

Several of the "London Walk" tours were
offered, and I enjoyed the one beginning at Picadilly Circus and
visiting some of the sites mentioned in several of Dickens's works.
(Including the location of the factory in which he worked 12 hours a
day for several years when he was a child, from which experience he
developed some of his concerns for social reform.)

if you're interested in dickens's childhood you might like to read peter
ackroyd's biography of the writer. it may be best taken with one or two
pinches of salt as far as verifiable facts go, but it's a very potent
conjuring of dickens's psychology, i think.

one of the interesting points he makes is that in dickens's childhood
london was not quite, yet, a great international city -- that haymarket
and cornmarket were still literally hay and corn markets. we tend to think
of dickens as a victorian, but ackroyd brings home the point that his
origins are much more georgian/regency.

if you are interested in london church architecture and partial to some
nasty nightmares i can also recommend his novel 'hawksmoor'.

(With the efficient rail and tube service, we were
able to return to London conveniently that evening.)


Are you sure you went to England - not cloud-cuckoo land ?

Aside from the above, we enjoyed visiting Cardiff, Stonehinge,

Was that intentional :-)

On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 18:19:32 -0600, Jim Cate wrote:

Aside from the above, we enjoyed visiting Cardiff, Stonehinge, Bath,
Salsbury, etc.

Which day did you go to Stonehenge, normally the traffic on the A303
is horrible during daylight around Christmas as people travel
Southwest-London for Christmas get stuck on the little road?

Jim.

Miss L. Toe wrote:
(With the efficient rail and tube service, we were
able to return to London conveniently that evening.)



Are you sure you went to England - not cloud-cuckoo land ?


Aside from the above, we enjoyed visiting Cardiff, Stonehinge,


Was that intentional :-)
---------------------------------------------------------------

"Cloud-cuckoo land?" Well, on our trip to Cardiff, the train was
required to stop briefly for some reason. On resuming the journey, the
staff announced that we were running five minutes behind schedule and
then apologized for the five-minute delay in service. - Miss Toe, if
you lived in the United States and rode Amtrak trains, "five minutes
behind schedule" would be considered a major triumph rather than grounds
for an apology! Our trains stop repeatedly for extended periods and
routinely run hours behind schedule. In contrast, on our trips to
Cardiff and York, the trains left on time and arrived within five
minutes of the scheduled arrival time, both ways. Also, the trains were
traveling at around 100 to 125 miles per hour much of the time, which
would be unheard of in the U.S. except for a few routes in the northeast
corridor. (By way of perspective, we have also ridden trains in France,
Germany, Italy, Egypt, Mexico, etc. -I'm not saying that the British RRs
are the "best" or that they couldn't be improved.)

I suppose that this is a "glass is half empty" - "glass is half full"
issue that relates to one's own viewpoint and experience. However, if
this was cloud-cuckoo land as far as rail service is concerned, I would
like to see some of those clouds float over to the U.S.

Jim

Jim Ley wrote:
On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 18:19:32 -0600, Jim Cate wrote:


Aside from the above, we enjoyed visiting Cardiff, Stonehinge, Bath,
Salsbury, etc.


Which day did you go to Stonehenge, normally the traffic on the A303
is horrible during daylight around Christmas as people travel
Southwest-London for Christmas get stuck on the little road?

Jim.

We went on an Evan Evans bus tour on Dec. 26, or Boxing Day. The tour
also included Salsbury and Bath. Since they were doing the driving, we
weren't concerned about the traffic, which actually wasn't bad.
However, due to the holiday, we stopped but didn't get to walk through
the site. (I felt that they didn't give us proper notice of the closings
on Boxing Day and filed a complaint with EE.) On the other hand, the
guide who conducted the tour was excellent, and we learned lots about
Stonehinge and other historical sites and had a number of questions
answered.

Jim

Jim Cate wrote:

"Cloud-cuckoo land?" Well, on our trip to Cardiff, the train was
required to stop briefly for some reason. On resuming the journey, the
staff announced that we were running five minutes behind schedule and
then apologized for the five-minute delay in service. - Miss Toe, if
you lived in the United States and rode Amtrak trains, "five minutes
behind schedule" would be considered a major triumph rather than grounds

Cloud cuckoo land indeed. You had a brilliant experience on UK trains,
but it doesn't reflect what the average traveller experiences . . . .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,2763,1105218,00.html

--
Joan McGalliard, UK http://www.mcgalliard.org

Joan McGalliard wrote:

Jim Cate wrote:

"Cloud-cuckoo land?" Well, on our trip to Cardiff, the train was
required to stop briefly for some reason. On resuming the journey, the
staff announced that we were running five minutes behind schedule and
then apologized for the five-minute delay in service. - Miss Toe, if
you lived in the United States and rode Amtrak trains, "five minutes
behind schedule" would be considered a major triumph rather than grounds

Cloud cuckoo land indeed. You had a brilliant experience on UK trains,
but it doesn't reflect what the average traveller experiences . . . .

It depends on the average traveller. On average, soomething like 1 in 5
trains in the UK are more than 10 minutes late, and many lines run
better/worse than others. For the visitor to the country on a leisurely
schedule, a 15 minute delay is usually less of a bother than for the
daily commuter. My criticisms of the UK rail network are very severe
indeed- I think the infrastructure is a shambles- and I've said so here
before.

However, I'd still recommend it to the visitor as a convenient and, yes
efficient, method of travel. Likewise the tube. Yes, it has horric
problems at times, and as a former resident of London, I'm more than
familiar with them. But, it does function most of the time, and I'm hard
pressed to think of a more efficient means of travelling around the
city- except for foot which is great for shorter journeys, and the night
buses, which zoom through relatively empty streets.

What is usually very convenient for the visitor to the UK, especially
when they are travelling from/to London is the frequency and relative
speed of the journeys. That's why the posters day-trips were so feasoble
after all. Yes, I'd rather London to Manchester or Liverpool took only
two hours, which is doable, rather than the 3 hours it usually takes
atm, but it's still a convenient service- at times half-hourly services,
same thing between London and Edinburgh, and it's still the fastest,
most convenient way to travel between those two capital cities from
centre to centre.

Most of my journeys in the UK are on time, or within reasonable bounds.
But I've had my fair share of delays- including around 5 hours, and when
it breaks down, it breaks down in a bad way. Yes, it's frustrating. But,
the average visitor to the UK taking the train is usually not bothered
by these kinds of delays, and I think it's a little unfair to suggest
the OP was living in "cloud-cuckoo land"- not least given what he was
comparing the service to.

Another thing which has to be acknowledged is that some delays are not
the fault of the network. My last long journey, on Monday from Stirling
to Manchester began by taking a journey from Stirling to York. The train
arrived on time- and my connection was on time. If I'd taken the same
train the next day I would have been delayed massively- probably about 5
hours. Why? Someone had driven a car onto the rails betwween Stirling
and Perth and the train crashed into it. Fortunately, no one was
injured. Another recent delay I had, not too bad- about an hour, was
because someone had committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. I
was also delayed for over 2 hours on the relatively short hop between
Liverpool and Manchster because some scumbag thought it would be fun to
put a supermarket trolley on the line- the train crashed over it- very
horrible sound- and was damaged to the exten it had to be taken out of
service.

David

--
David Horne- (website under reconstruction)
davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

wrote:





if you're interested in dickens's childhood you might like to read peter
ackroyd's biography of the writer. it may be best taken with one or two
pinches of salt as far as verifiable facts go, but it's a very potent
conjuring of dickens's psychology, i think.

one of the interesting points he makes is that in dickens's childhood
london was not quite, yet, a great international city -- that haymarket
and cornmarket were still literally hay and corn markets. we tend to think
of dickens as a victorian, but ackroyd brings home the point that his
origins are much more georgian/regency.

if you are interested in london church architecture and partial to some
nasty nightmares i can also recommend his novel 'hawksmoor'.

-------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the suggestions of further reading regarding Dickens.
Apparently, the lasting impact of the experience in the Warren blacking
factory arose not only from the harsh conditions in the factory but also
to the traumatic experience of being suddenly separated from his family
and left to support himself at age 12 on the few shillings of wages per
week received at the factory. As understood, although he only worked in
the factory a few months, during this time, he had little hope of
getting out, which was only made possible when his father received an
unexpected inheritance that permitted his release from Marshalsea. Then,
to Charles's further dismay, his mother apparently urged him to stay in
the factory to support the family. It's interesting to me that even in
later life, after great professional success, Dickens would only speak
of the experience to a few close friends.

Jim

In article 1g6zgft.etwyj41gk7cciN%this_address_is_for_spam@y ahoo.co.uk,
(David Horne) wrote:

Joan McGalliard wrote:
You had a brilliant experience on UK
trains,
but it doesn't reflect what the average traveller experiences . . . .

many lines run
better/worse than others.

this is the crucial point which renders talk of the 'average traveller
experience' a little meaningless.