1. I'm told the changing of the guard takes place on alternate days at Buckingham Palace in winter. Does anyone know which days in January, odd or even? <BR>2. Are shops open in London on Sunday? I'm especially interested in the bookshops near Cecil Court and Charing Cross. <BR>Thanks.

Will somebody PLEASE answer this question; 83 dozen trips to London, two carloads of printed info on the city, and nowhere have I ever found the answer to "alternate days" that Susan is asking. <BR>Sunday openings are helter-skelter in London; some stores are open (like Covent Garden), but some aren't. I think Selfridge's is open part of the day, but I may be hallucinating. I'm not familiar with the bookshops in the neighborhoods you've mentioned, so can't help.

Why not call the BritishTourism office in NYC or LA? They SHOULD know&

Susan - <BR> <BR>Check out the website allthingsbritish.com. If I remember correctly, they have the answer to your question - and it's a good site with lots of links. Have fun in London - it's a great city. <BR>Martha <BR>

Bookstore enthusiasts seem to be going "ga-ga" for the actual bookstore featured in the movie "Notting Hill". <BR> <BR>... on Blenheim Crescent (just around the corner from London's Portobello Road Market), where [Hugh] Grant's character works and where several sequences in the film were shot... (credit: Susan Spano, in the LA Times, Aug 1, 1999) <BR> <BR>And there's a great website, featuring an interactive "tour" of the Portobello Market area at: <BR> <BR>www.londonci.demon.co.uk/index.htm <BR> <BR>My apologies if this isn't exactly an answer to your question about Cecil Court/Charing Cross, but hopefully the info will prove interesting to some readers! <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex

I alway take my overseas visitors there on Sunday and they're never disappointed. <BR> <BR>Most shops are opened on Sunday thanks to the change of Sunday Trading law a while ago. The opening hours are usually shorter than the weekdays, most shops are opened from 11 am to 5 pm. Some departmental stores are closed on Sunday though. <BR> <BR>There are only a handful of bookshops at Cecil Court these days. Most of the shops were forced out by the soaring rent. The lower end of Charing Cross Road(towards Trafalgar Square) are mainly small second-hand bookshops, the upper end is where you can find all the bigger bookshops.

Just got back and the changing took place on an even day. Not sure what January will be. I found most shops open after lunch on Sunday.