England is a place I have visited many times,
living next door to it as I do. I lived for a while just outside London in Maidenhead,
where I started school. England is a relatively small country, comparable to the state
of Louisiana, however 50 million people live in this small space. London is an exciting
city, I always like to visit but I don't think I'd like to live there. Also popular
for tourists are York, Bath and Blackpool. England has a lot to offer, I think people
who live there don't really take enough advantage of it, and go to Magaluf instead.
Everybody knows where this is, Westminster,
the Houses of Parliament in central London. Big Ben can be seen on the right,
or rather St Stephen's Tower which contains the bell by the name of Ben.
Taken from the window of an aeroplane coming into
land at Gatport Airwick, this is a shot of the
city of Southampton, a large important port on the English Channel. John Lennon sang
about Southampton, but I don't think he really wanted to stay there.
Picadilly Circus has spawned the phrase "like
Picadilly Circus" when referring to a busy road. It's not so bad these days, but
it still has its characteristic corporate advertsising signs. The junction marks
the edge of Soho, which cannot really be explained, you must visit there yourself!
St Paul's Cathedral in central London. Designed
by Sir Christopher Wren, it took 35 years to build, replacing the original cathedral which burnt
down in the great fire of London in 1666. The white stone does not stand up to the
pollution of today, but I'm sure it can't have been as bad as it was during the Industrial
Revolution.
Tower Bridge has become one of England's iconic landmarks
over time since it was initially frowned upon following construction in the late
1800s. The bridge opens ocassionally even today, to let through larger vessels
navigating the Thames.
As part of Britain's millennium celebrations this great big
wheel was built, officially known as the "British Airways London Eye" but that's far
too long a phrase to trip off the tongue. It goes round once every half an hour, isn't
particularly cheap but is worth the trip as you can see most of London from the top.
It has been one of the most successful millennium investments by the government, our taxes
were much better spent here than on the billion-dollar tent they erected further downstream...
In stark contrast to the traditional concept of London,
the Canary Wharf docklands development has spawned Hong Kong style offices in the formerly
decrepit Isle of Dogs. The area has proposals for multiple new 50 storey buildings over the
next few years, becoming to London what La Defense is to Paris, an out of town commercial
district.
Queen Victoria missed her husband Albert an awful lot
after he died, so she set about building all variety of monuments and public buildings and
renaming streets in every town across the country to remember him by. This is the Albert
Memorial in Hyde Park, featuring a gold plated Albert, the domed Royal Albert Hall can be
seen behind, a couple of streets away is the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Albert
Place is just a bit further in South Kensington...
Oxford near London is famous for many things,
but none more so than its University,
one of the top three in the country and
perhaps the most famous in the world. To "get in at Oxford" is an honour indeed.
It is not however, that great for engineering, so I didn't apply (ahem).
Bath near Bristol is another University town, yet it
is more famous for its concentration of Roman ruins, namely baths.
Romans liked their leisure time, and would have three baths ranging from
cold to hot, in the frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium.
William Shakespeare lived in this house in Stratford-Upon-Avon
during Tudor times. Would he have been pleased to know how famous he would be 400
years after his death? I don't know, but perhaps I should start writing plays too!
Buckingham Palace is of course where the Queen lives,
in central London. It is open to the public for just a couple of months a year,
and was the setting for the Golden Jubilee Concerts in June 2002, where such acts
as Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, Annie Lennox and Brian May put on a show for free!
(First twelve thousand out of a hat only).
