krishnan

Some may consider that this topic has been flogged beyond death, but moronic as I am I still have a few doubts.<BR>How do you tip the kind lady who cleans my room? should I directly give her a 10 GBP with an engaging smile or leave it in front of the bathroom mirror?<BR><BR>How do I tip the driver of the London bus?<BR><BR>How do I tip Her Majesty, the Queen?

xxx

I think you ought to tip Yomama.<BR><BR>Troll!!!

xxx

Regarding the proper way to tip a queen: <BR>1) approach her quietly from the side (her blind side if possible)<BR>2) when she is not looking, gently slip your hand under the side of her throne<BR>3) quickly but firmly lift the side of the throne at least two feet into the air<BR>4) as the queen is tipped out of her throne and rolls across the red carpet, run like hell <BR><BR>I would not recommend tipping the driver of a bus, especially when he is behind the wheel. It is far too dangerous.<BR><BR>As to the maid, leave her a stiff drink on the vanity. I assure you it will make her tipsy all by herself.

Just Kidding

I applaud your efforts to find a way to tip the Queen. She does so much for her country, and yet so few tourists think of leaving her a tip. They're quite content to traipse about the country enjoying tours of HER homes, but don't even consider leaving her a tip.<BR><BR>However, it's almost impossible to come into direct contact with her in order to give her a tip personally. What I recommend is seeing if she will be appearing in person anytime while you're there, position yourself as close as possible to where she'll be, and then when she gets close enough, just throw your coins as hard as you can towards her. I did this and it created quite a stir (of gratitude, I assume).<BR><BR>If she won't be appearing in public while you're there, I'd just take a few bills and tuck them into the belt of one of the guards at Buckingham Palace. They're sure to pass them on to her (and if they skim a few bills off to keep for themselves, more power to them - they deserve it for standing so still all day and dealing with SELFISH tourists less generous than the two of us!)

john

<BR>To tip the maid leave your cash on the pillow. Thanks for the very creative humor from other responders. You never know what you will see on this forum, but it sure is not dull.

tipper

Good tips for tipping the Queen - hadn't thought of that, and now I'm ashamed.<BR><BR>As for the cleaning lady, each day I hide the tip somewhere in my room like under the seat cushion - I figure, if she's doing a thorough job, she'll find it and she deserves the tip. I think they find it very fun - keeps them on their toes &amp; takes away from the boredom.<BR><BR>Since food and beverages aren't allowed on the bus, I always give my half-eaten sandwiches and half finished drinks to the driver. This way, I'm not breaking a rule, the food &amp; drink isn't going to waste, and the bus driver gets a great snack and thirst-quenching drink that he might have otherwise had to wait hours before getting!

krishnan

The trouble is if I throw coins at the Queen even with the best of intentions, I am liable to be arrested by the Secret Sewrvice and interrogated by the MI-5 or some such shadow team for hours together.

GoodPoint

Yes, that's an excellent point, and one that begs the question: If one is interrogated, how does one tip? Per interrogator? Per interrogator per hour? Does one need to take into consideration the number of years one would be imprisoned? Fodors' tipping guide isn't nearly thorough enough, IMHO.

tipping

I find the coin throwing method rather rude towards HRH, and dangerous. Personally, I like to fold a 20 GBP bill into an airplane and aim it her way.<BR>Noiseless, discreet, and gracious like the Concorde.