Visiting London- October 2006 Highlights

NAVIGATION

A TRAVELLER'S GUIDE TO LONDON

AN OFFTOLONDON.COM VISITOR'S GUIDE FEATURE BY BURLINGTON BERTIE

October Highlights

Discovering London - Full Day London City Tour
8.5 - 9 hours - Drive to Westminster, past Downing Street, home of the Prime Minister, and on to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Stop for a visit inside Westminster Abbey, site of many royal coronations. Visit Poets' Corner and the tombs of many well-known scientists and monarchs. Also see the Chapel of Henry VII.
Stop near Buckingham Palace to see the colourful ceremony of the Changing of the Guard before driving through busy streets and past peaceful parks to Piccadilly, home of London's Theatreland. Pass Trafalgar Square with its impressive Nelson's Column and fountains, before reaching a traditional London pub for lunch.
The afternoon starts with a cruise on the River Thames, during which a Thames Waterman will point out the places of interest along the way. Disembark to visit the Tower of London where you will meet the Beefeaters clad in Tudor uniforms, hear the legend of the ravens and some spine chilling tales from the Tower's 900 year history. You will also see the Crown Jewels, magnificently displayed in the new Jewel House.
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Heritage & Pageantry

Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace
Date: Even numbered dates during October, 2006.
Venue: Buckingham Palace Forecourt, Westminster, SW1A 1AA
Tickets: FREE
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Green Park, Hyde Park Corner, Victoria mainline rail terminus
Description: The new guards from one of the Household Regiments arrive at the forecourt of the Palace at 11:30 from Wellington Barracks. The journey takes about 5 minutes and the soldiers are accompanied by a band. The ceremony is conducted on the Palace forecourt and takes approximately forty minutes to complete.
See also the colourful changing of The Queen's Lifeguards at Horse Guards Parade, (weekdays 11am, Sundays 10am); a spectacular piece of royal pageantry.

Ceremony of the Keys
Date: Daily. 9.30.pm.
Venue: Tower of London, Tower Hill, EC3N 4AB
Tickets: Complimentary tickets are obtainable on application in writing. Check Tower website for details.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Tower Hill.
Description: The Ceremony of the Keys is the traditional locking up of the Tower of London and has taken place on each and every night, without fail, for at least 700 years. The Yeoman Warders, (the famous Beefeaters), in their royal livery, and military guard, lock the outer gates of the Tower of London and deliver the keys to the Governor of the Tower, Major-General Sir Geoffrey Field, who resides in the Tudor Queen's House overlooking the infamous scaffold site within the walls. The importance of securing this fortress for the night is still relevant because although the Monarch no longer resides at this royal palace the Crown Jewels, including the Coronation Regalia and many other historic valuables, still do and felonious attempts have been made to steal them!

Preparing a Tudor Banquet
Date: 7,8 October, 4,5 November, 27 December. 2006.
Venue: The Tudor Kitchens, Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, KT8, 9AU. Tel: 0870 751 5175
Tickets: Online booking. Adults £12.30, (Concessions). Check times online or telephone.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Richmond.
Description: Discover the smells and tastes of Tudor cookery first hand and have your questions answered by the Palace's food archaeologists who will experiment with Tudor recipes, ingredients, utensils and traditional cooking methods, preparing a typical meal, and giving you a fascinating look at the historic kitchens in operation as they would have been when King Henry VIII lived at the palace.

Performing Arts

Monday Lunchtime Concerts, Banqueting House Date: 2 October, 13 November, 4 December, 2006. 12.15pm - 2pm.
Venue: Banqueting House, Whitehall, SW1A 2ER, Tel: +44 (0)870 751 5187
Tickets: £15 inc. drinks & buffet lunch. Book by venue telephone or in person.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Westminster, Embankment.
Description: There can surely be no better opportunity to enjoy this magnificent hall than in the way it was conceived by the Stuart kings; as a spectacular venue for the performing arts. As you admire the incomparable Rubens ceiling, listen to the soaring voice of renowned tenor José Maria Guerrero, (Romantic Songs and Arias, October); soprano Sarah-Jane Dale & Harpist Luisa-Maria Ovett (Wine, Women and Song, November); The Dufay Collective, (A Mediaeval Christmas, December).

54th Annual International Ballroom Dancing Championships Date: 12 October, 2006. 5.45pm start.
Venue: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, SW7 2A
Tickets: From £17. Online booking or at the Box Office. Limited parking offered. See venue website for details.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Knightsbridge, Kensington High Street.
Description: Some 360 of the world's foremost amateur and professional dancers compete in the International Professional Latin Championship finals, the International Amateur Standard finals and Amateur Latin Championship finals. Just one of 26 events, including symphonic, choral and pop concerts, taking place at London's historic and most prestigious hall during October. For interesting tours of this historic rotunda hall, opened 1871 by Queen Victoria, see the venue website.

Comedy at the Theatre Royal
Date: Ongoing. Every Monday Night.
Venue: Theatre Royal Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, E15 1BN. Tel: 020 8534 0310
Tickets: FREE
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Stratford.
Description: Free comedy night at this famous Stratford institution... stand up comics from all weird walks of life. Great friendly atmosphere, good nosh and beer... memories of the old music hall tradition.

London Television Shows
Date: Various throughout the year.
Venue: Various BBC and ITV studios
Tickets: FREE online download
Description: Free online tickets to some of the best entertainment TV show recordings in London. Register, choose a show, print an e-ticket, then go to the show! Most studios prefer their audiences to be at least 16, so check the age limit before you book. Expect to be sat in the studio for between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. The website has some useful FAQs for those who have never been to a live TV recording before.

Official London Theatre Guide
Date: Ongoing.
Venue: 37 West End and City theatres
Tickets: Online booking for all seats
Description: Your What's On guide to London's theatre programme, theatre seating plans, disability access and online booking.

London Fairs

Goldsmith's Fair
Date: 1 - 8 October, 2006. 11am-7pm Mon-Fri; 10am-6pm Sat/Sun
Venue: .
Goldsmiths' Hall, Foster Lane, EC2V 6BN. Tel. +44 (0)20 7606 701.
Tickets: £6 inc. catalogue. Buy at door.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: St. Paul's.
Description: Annual selling exhibition of contemporary jewelry and silverware by British designers and makers showing everything from cufflinks to centre pieces. The 80 exhibitors include the young and up and coming as well as the already established. A unique opportunity to buy, to admire and to commission - in the encouraging and stately circumstance of the Livery Hall of the Goldsmiths' Company. Philip Harwick's magnificent 'palazzo' design for Goldsmith's Hall near St. Paul's Cathedral, (opened 1835), is one of London's hidden treasures. The Hall is the third on this site, the Goldsmiths' Company being located here since 1339. Little is known of the first Hall but the second was erected in 1634-6 and, like other great Livery Halls, was restored after the Great Fire of 1666. It lasted until 1820, when the present Hall was designed and built.

Art London
Date: 6 -10 October, 2006.
Venue: The Royal Hospital Chelsea, SW3.
Tickets: £10 for one, £15 for two, inc. illustrated catalogue. Valid for multiple entrances during the Fair. Buy at the Marquee entrance.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Sloane Square.
Description: Over 75 leading London, UK and international galleries show C20 and contemporary art in the grounds of Sir Christopher Wren's Royal Hospital, (where the Chelsea Flower Show takes place each year). The vast selection of works on display for sale includes paintings, sculpture, photography, works on paper and ceramics, ranging from £300 to over £100,000. An important art event.

See also Frieze Art Fair, Regent's Park, (12-15 October, 2006)
Scope London, Shoreditch, (12-15 October, 2006)
Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Park, (19-22 October, 2006).

Origin - The London Crafts Fair Date: Week One: 3-8. Week Two: 10-15 October, 2006. Tues-Fri 11am - 6pm; Sat-Sun 10am - 6pm; Thurs 11am-9pm
Venue: Somerset House, Strand, WC2.
Tickets: Online booking or at door. Single: £8 (£6 concessions);One visit in each week £12 (£10 concessions); Season pass (unlimited entry) £15.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Embankment, Covent Garden, Temple.
Description: Over 300 selling exhibitors in Week One, and a further 120 in Week Two, show off the best of modern craftwork in this Crafts Council sponsored Fair. Jewelry, Precious Metals, Pottery, Woven and Fashion Textiles and Accessories, Knitwear, Glass, Wood, Furniture, and more from regional studios across the kingdom.

Fine Art & Cultural Exhibitions

David Hockney Portraits
Date: 12 October, 2006 - 21 January, 2007. 10am-6pm. Thurs/Fri 10am-9pm.
Venue: Wolfson Room, National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin's Place, WC2 0H3.
Tickets: £9.(Concessions). Book online or at door. Gallery catalogue: £25. 300 images, 60,000 words. Order online.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Charing Cross, Leicester Square.
Description: Produced in close collaboration with the artist and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, this is the first exhibition devoted to David Hockney's portraits spanning over fifty years. This celebrated artist has been engaged with portraiture since his teenage years. The exhibition features over 150 Self-portraits and portraits of family, lovers, friends and well-known personalities in works across different media from the now iconic early double portraits to recent paintings produced especially for the exhibition. Essential viewing! Your last opportunity to see this stunning exhibition if you missed it in Boston or Los Angeles.

Sixties Fashion
Date: Until 25 February, 2007. 10am-5.45pm. 10.am to 10pm Wednesdays and the last Friday of the month.
Venue: Room 40, V & A Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL., Tel:+44 (0)20 7942 2000.
Tickets: FREE.
London transport: Nearest Tube: South Kensington. SW7
Description: Fashion, together with pop music, became Britain's most spectacular export in the Sixties. Like music, it flouted the rules of propriety and gender. It plundered the past, invented the future and traveled the world to find new ways of dressing. This exhibition explores the development of Sixties fashion from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, celebrating the contribution made by young British designers to a world-wide fashion revolution.

Treasures from the Gem Palace
Date: 28 September - 22 October, 2006.
Venue: Gilbert Collection, Somerset House, Strand, WC2.
Tickets: FREE.
London transport: Nearest Tube: Embankment, Covent Garden, Temple.
Description: Treasures from the Gem Palace, a major exhibition of precious jewelry from the world-renowned Gem Palace in Jaipur. Exquisite examples of traditional Indian jewelry and unique creations together with contemporary pieces that illustrate the evolution of Indian jewelry design. A range of Gem Palace jewelry is for sale in the Gilbert Collection Shop

Bejewelled by Tiffany
Date: Extended until January 2007 due to popular demand. 10am-6pm daily.
Venue: The Hermitage Rooms, Somerset House, Strand, WC2.
Tickets: £5, (Concessions and discounts for joint ticket with other SH exhibitions).
London transport: Nearest Tube: Embankment, Covent Garden, Temple.
Description: Opening in New York in 1837, Tiffany & Co. quickly established an international reputation. This display comprises some 200 glittering jewels and luxurious objects created between 1837 and 1987. The immensely popular exhibition reflects the quality, craftsmanship and distinctly American aesthetic that established Tiffany as one of the world's premier jewelers.

Stubbs: A Celebration
Date: Until 14 January, 2007. 10am-5.40pm.
Venue: Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8888
Tickets: FREE.
London transport: Nearest Tube: Embankment.
Description: A special two-room display celebrating the two-hundredth anniversary of the death of the painter George Stubbs (1724-1806). 25 evocative paintings of rural life, horses and animals are on show.
See also the Tate Britain displays of British Art 1500 - 2006 and the stunning Turner Room

A Great Night Out
Date: Ongoing. Tuesday to Sunday 10am-6pm.
Venue: V & A Theatre Museum, Russell Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 7PR.
Tickets: FREE.
London transport: Nearest Tube: Covent Garden.
Description: An overview of the evolution of the West End over the past 160 years, reflecting the glitz, grime and ambition which have shaped Theatreland. This exhibition includes historic prints, plans, maps, posters, theatrical props, photographs and models from the Museum's collections and other sources. Models and film also explore current issues, notably the massive investment since 1995 of over £200 million of Lottery funding in rebuilding publicly subsidized theatre, dance and opera venues.
See also the Museum's remarkable collection of Theatre memorabilia dating back four centuries.

London's Blue Plaques
Venue: Various throughout London.
Tickets: FREE
Description: Directory of houses bearing commemorative plaques to famous occupants together with a history of the blue plaque scheme and the (sometimes fictional), people who once lived or were born there. Top 5 Plaques: Sherlock Holmes, 221b Baker Street, (now a Museum, pay to enter); Charles Dickens, 48 Doughty Street, (now a Museum, pay to enter); John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 14 Princes Gate; Karl Marx, 28 Dean Street; John Logie Baird, 22 Frith Street.

Burlington Bertie's Travel Diary Memo
Book Eurostar tickets for short break trip to Paris to see the remarkable exhibition Once Upon a Time Walt Disney, (opening 16 September at the Grand Palais, 3, avenue du Général-Eisenhower), do some Christmas shopping and dine out in style on the Seine.