Got home yesterday from a wonderful week in London. Took the tube to and from Heathrow, so never even saw tanks or soldiers! Don't be afraid to go to London!! The peace march on Sat. was peaceful and we enjoyed discussing politics with many locals. I suppose it didn't hurt that we are as upset with Bush as they are, but the discussions were polite. The biggest thrill of the trip was getting front row seats(day of performance) for "Breath of Life" with Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. The actresses were superb and probably noticed the tears in my eyes at the end of the performance. I was that moved! I did all my "homework" online before the trip and we saw great theater, ate very well(and fairly cheaply) and enjoyed many walks about town. Also kudos to Ben Haines for his assistance and charm. The chance to meet him was a trip highlight! Now, off to London with the rest of you! Don't be afraid!

OK, that is a good start. Now the rest of the juicy details. Where did you stay and where did you eat fairly cheaply? I want to be off to London soon!

The discussion was polite because all parties to the discussion was opposed to Mr. Bush. <BR><BR>It would may been different if some of the people in the discussion were in support of the Iraqi's stockpile of weapons that are not permitted by U.N. resolutions and some were in opposed to the moustached man having that kind of arsenal.<BR><BR>Where is the gun control lobby? Should every man have the right to own his own nuclear weapon? Chemical weapons don't kill people, people kill people. If you ban chemical weapons, only outlaws will have chemical weapons. (modifications of slogans that I have heard in the USA for mass ownership of guns)

Hiroshi, is there a reason that every travel related thread on this site must be turned into political jabs? Can't we just have a few that are nothing but good travel information? <BR>I realize that Schildc mentioned the politics, but I don't know why we have to rehash all the same political stuff over and over. I believe if that is your thrust of interest that there are a number of websites devoted totally to that purpose. You might look for one.<BR><BR>Schildc, were those front row tickets for Breath of Life from the half-price booth or full price at the box-office?

Patrick - In case Schildc doesn't see your question: The Haymarket releases the front row and a FEW returns at 10AM the day of performance. They are not at TKTS. One would need to be at the theatre by about 9:30AM to have a chance to get tix.<BR><BR>That is how I saw the play in Dec. Touts were selling tickets at a 50% mark-up so paying face value at the theatre was terrific.

Schildc1<BR> Sounds like a grear trip.I to have tickets to see &quot;Breath of Life&quot; for next week and am looking forward to it.Could you recommend some reasonably priced restaurants,or Pubs for pre-theatre dinning?<BR> Thank You.

Thank you, gentlemen, for asking about Breath of Life. How long is it scheduled to run? The link from Haymarket is only into early March &amp; shows &quot;no available tickets&quot;.

Breath end its run March 1. (It was extended 3 months from last year but barring a miracle, will definitely close then)

<BR>And from this side of the pond, may I add that the visit of these two delightful and well-informed guests made quite a mark with us. Our (Zambian) vicar is learning Italian (well, that is how we are in London these days), and greatly liked meeting these two linguists, while the conversation over lunch flowed well, and right up to tea time.<BR><BR>If I may disagree with Hiroshi, to have differing opinions on the proposed Iraq invasion does not stop conversation dead. On the contrary, my brother and I support the war, while our visiting preacher that Sunday oppose it, and had been on the million people march the day before, in his cassock. <BR><BR>[email protected]<BR>

Mr Haines, you are a gentleman and a scholar. Thank you for reminding us that we all ought to be able to disagree but still continue to discuss and respect. If we could all do that, we wouldn't even be having debates about war in the first place.

Sorry to answer in such a tardy fashion. But now to reply to some of the queries..We, just like last year at this time, had a United flight/hotel package. We lodged at Comfort Inn Kings Cross. Nothing fancy, but clean and safe and very close to tube connections. We have stayed in many different areas of London on trips over the years and feel this is one of the best sites. Four tube lines go through Kings Cross and if there is a problem with one, there is always another choice.We are great walkers, but we depend on public transportation. One of the lines at K.C. is Piccadilly which goes all the way to Heathrow. Though a bit crowded during rush hour, we were able to get on with our bags and ride all the way to our hotel stop with NO changes and with a seat for most of the ride. <BR> I know some people thnk Kings Cross is seedy. With a police station a block away and the hotel located on a very quiet street, we never felt unsafe. But each person has a different tolerance level, I guess.<BR> Restaurants--I made several reservations online ahead of time with lastminute.com. Great site! No booking fees, good sample menus for prix fixe or pre-theatre, maps, etc. We really liked L'Escargot(Leicester Square area)Brasserie St. Quentin(close to Vict/Alb. Museum) and Wolfe's Bar and Grill(Covent Garden, I think). We saw lots of theater and needed places relatively close to tube connections. The hotel served a continental breakfast, but once in a while we went elsewhere. Try the Sunflower Rest.(3 Pollen St.), or Patisserie Valerie(Old Compton St.) or the Forum Cafe(a block from the British Museum). <BR> Theater--Janis gave excellent info. here on this. &quot;Breath of Life&quot; never sells tickets at the &quot;tkts&quot; booth. We planned to get to the Haymarket early(9:15 AM) on a Thursday to try for tickets. Our plans went awry and we didn't get there until almost 10:30. We got front row seats(saw all the action and didn't kill our necks)for 25 pounds each. There were some 40 pound tickets available, but that was out of our price range. <BR> We saw 6 plays in 8 days and were generally pleased. The only one that was a stinker for us was &quot;This is Our Youth.&quot; Freddie Prinz, Jr. and Heather Burns were OK, but the script was, IMHO, a piece of juvenile tripe. Oh well, maybe we're more out of the loop than we think. Some of the crowd of young, Valentine's night audience actually seemed entertained by the performance. To each his/her own...<BR> The weather was basically sunny, but chilly(30s-40sºF). We had soft, misty rain the first day. I wore a raincoat and layered clothes underneath. A wool scarf and gloves for extended outside walking worked well.<BR> Any other questions I can answer? London and its inhabitants like Ben Haines continue to draw us back and the off-season fares can be compelling tool.

Dear Schildc1:<BR><BR>Thanks for your words of encouragement! We will be in Bath/London from March 13-22 and have been quite concerned about the unrest. We are travelling with our 10 year old, which I think has heightened our concerns- Do you recommend purchasing tickets for theatre before arriving or &quot;winging it&quot;? I'd appreciate your response.<BR>KathrynP

Dear KathrynP, I believe the Mayor of London's Theatre promotion goes until Feb.28, so you have an opportunity to get tickets for several shows at a reduced rate. There is no booking fee and all you have to do is provide a credit card no. and pick up your tickets at the box office the day/evening of the performance. This saved us lots of time in London, much better used sightseeing. Do this at www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk If this doesn't work for you, then I would next try the tkts booth at Leicester Sq. You'd have to wait in line, but you would know which shows had availability that day. To get a bit of an idea ahead of time, click the tkts box of the above website to see which shows never offer tickets at the half-price location. For example, &quot;Breath of Life&quot; only sells tickets from its box office. In that case, go there shortly before 10AM when it opens and see what's available. In most cases, I appreciated having my theater tickets and rest. reservations locked up before we even left. Leave something open for last minute discoveries, but having a chance to preview places, especially restaurants, which might interest a 10- yr. old would solve unpleasantness later on in London. Hope that helps! Have a great time and don't be afraid. I would have missed wonderful times if I had cancelled this trip!

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