Exploring Southall – London’s ‘Little India’!
Southall, sometimes referred to as ‘Little India’, is a small community in the West London Borough of Ealing. This lively and colourful corner of London has strong Pakistani and India roots and is home to a vibrant mix of cultures and ethnicities from around the world.
Visiting London’s ‘Little India’, with bright and colourful fabrics hanging outside shops, a sweet aroma of spices emerging from the food stalls erected beside the streets selling deliciously authentic Indian food and sweets, and women donning multi-coloured saris, all accompanied with Bhangra music filling the air, is an experience in itself.
In fact when you step foot into Southall, you immediately feel like you a million miles away from London and England.
Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara
Aiding Southall’s unique identity is the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara (see image). Situated on Havelock Road, this aesthetically breath-taking temple of granite and marble is the biggest Sikh temple outside India and naturally attracts a swarm of visitors to marvel over its magnificence each year.
Shopping in Southall
If you want to pick up an item that is a world apart from the likes of Topshop, Selfridges and H&M, then ‘Little India’ is the place to find a distinctive and inimitable ‘bargain’.
Taking a trip to Southall Market on a Friday or a Saturday is definitely the best time to experience shopping in Southall, when clothes, jewellery, food, electronics, fabrics and quirky gifts of all shapes, sizes and exquisiteness are just waiting to be taken home!
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Medals Exhibition at the British Museum
‘Mine to Medals: The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Medals’ at the British Museum
“And, if we thrive, promise them such rewards as victors wear at the Olympian Games” – William Shakespeare Henry VI, Part 3 – Act II Scene III.
You have until 9 September 2012 to head on down to the British Museum and learn about the production of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in an exhibition titled ‘Mine to Medals: The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Medals’.
This free exhibition is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
From the design process of the medals made by David Watkins and Lin Cheung, to the mining of the actual metal by Rio Tinto, this unique exhibition provides visitors with unique insight into what has become the modern Olympic Games most poignant and well-recognised symbols.
Although it’s not just information about the history and production of the Olympic medals that is being focused on during the ‘Mine to Medals’ exhibition, as the exposition is also focused on the role Great Britain has played in the creation and development of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Samples of the gold, silver and bronze medals the top athletes will be awarded with this summer are on display at this rare and one-off event, ranging from the Games that took place in the small Shropshire town of Much Wenlock in 1850 to the medals given to the winning athletes of the Paralympic Games that took place from 1960 and 1984.
A sneaky peek at the re-vamped London Kensington Palace
Since it was built in 1605, London Kensington Palace, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, has been the home of six British monarchs and is soon to be the official London home of William and Kate. Today Kensington Palaces’ State Rooms are open to the public and are managed by the non-profit charity, Historic Royal Palaces.
Following a two-year renovation project, which cost £12 million, this grand palace reopened in March this year and aims to attract approximately 100,000 visitors annually. If you have yet to have visited the newly refurbished palace, you might want an indication of what the revamped 17th century marvel looks like.
Among the many new displays includes Princess Victoria’s white wedding dress, who spent a melancholy childhood at the palace, being kept in semi-isolation there by her controlling mother following the early death of her father.
Alongside Victoria’s simple white wedding dress are several of Princess Diana’s famous outfits, who of course also lived at the Palace from 1981 until her death in 1997. The dresses include a shoulder-less black taffeta gown that the late style icon wore in 1981 and a pink and purple sari-style dress that the Princess wore during a trip to Thailand in 1988.
Talking about how the Diana collection was chosen, Deidre Murphy, curator of ‘Diana: Glimpses of a Modern Princess’, said in a statement:
“We have carefully selected this collection of exquisite dresses to illustrate to visitors Diana’s evolving style and the important role fashion played in creating her public image.”
The £12 million renovation project included the construction of a new magnificent garden, which includes the roofing of the “White Court” to create circulation space and the fabulous Clore Education Centre to the south, which comprises of £1 million worth of new classrooms.
Free internet access on the Tube by the end of 2012!
How convenient would being able to access the internet on the London Underground be? Think about it, you’d be able to answer emails before you got to work. You’d be able to carry out some valuable research on your way home from work for tomorrow’s presentation. You’d even be able to shop online without having to waste any valuable time. The benefits of having free internet access on the Tube, would be multiple.
Well now the prospect of having access to such a useful service is to become a reality with the announcement that the London Underground is to introduce free Wi-Fi in all of its stations by the end of 2012.
The service is being initiated by Cloud, the UK’s leading Wi-Fi provider, which provides internet access through literally hundreds of Cloud Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK. The Cloud, which is owned by BskyB, signed a deal with the London Underground earlier this year, agreeing to provide Wi-Fi at 80 of London’s Underground stations.
Although a number of the busiest of the Underground stations, including West Croydon, Hackney Central and Willesden Junction will have free Wi-Fi access available in time for this year’s London Olympics, Cloud plan to have all of the London Underground stations equipped with fast and reliable Wi-Fi by the end of the year.
For free internet access on the Tube, you simply just have to register with Cloud and will be able to use an hour’s free internet a day.
Three great romantic things to do in London
If you are looking for a romantic weekend away then forget about Venice, Paris and Amsterdam and look closer to home by having a romantic excursion in London. What is especially great about a romantic trip to the English capital is that the obvious can be avoided. In other words if you are trying to impress a loved one in a stylish, memorable and alternative fashion, then London is home to hordes of romantic things to do that will promise to get pulses racing.
Take a look at the following three great romantic things to do in London.
Tango by candlelight
To help a relationship be filled with excitement, lust and anticipation, or to rekindle a waning romance, why not take your loved one to a tango class by candlelight? Dancing the tango can be a pretty erotic way to spend an evening especially when it is couple by romantic candlelight – Guaranteed to sweep a loved one off their feet!
Tangoat33.com provides information about romantic tango classes in London.
Go the Finchley’s Phoenix
Londoners and visitors wanting a romantic night out have been attending the Phoenix Cinema at Finchley since 1910. This cosy film venue is one of the oldest cinemas in the UK and provides a really isolated spot to do some serious back-seat snogging!
With its unique art deco décor, romantic history and traditionally unperturbed atmosphere, what could be better than spending an evening with your guy or gal watching a great movie at Finchley’s Phoenix!
