>>they show the view from every seat and they even include a picture of the seat. <<

Don't you love that feature?! Makes it so easy pick seats.

Had a small GTG at the Grapes w/ PatruckLondon. <i>Really</i> neat pub.

For twelve pounds we had a decent though distant view, a real seat and my husband didn’t worry when he dozed off in the first act. >>

makes you happy that you've not spent £300 on it!

glad that the trip continues to go well.

Re the Grapes (this one's for janisj) - it's a lovely sunny day today so I cycled up there for a lunchtime sandwich and a pint. On the way out, I didn't notice anyone outside and nearly knocked over Sir Ian McKellen. He part-owns the pub and clearly isn't just a silent partner: the reason I didn't see him was that he was on his hands and knees polishing the external brasswork.

Can't guarantee that anyone else will have the same experience, of course...

Lucky you! (doubly lucky that you didn't run him over) :)

'On the way out, I didn't notice anyone outside and nearly knocked over Sir Ian McKellen.'

I will come to a GTG if you can upgrade the surprise celeb to James McAvoy.

How fun, Patrick!

Patrick, that's priceless.
Wow, when I checked the Grape's website I saw Ian Mckellan on their twitter feed, but I had no idea he was a part owner and I certainly didn't think you'd fall over him on the way out the door!

We saw him with Patrick Stewart in No Man's Land which was in Berkeley CA, before transferring to New York. It was a great show and they clearly loved working together.

RM67 there is NO upgrade from McKellan.

Though having seen Ralph Fiennes in Man and Superman this afternoon (at the National) he does have strong competition! The show is superb, the best staging of Shaw I've seen, the hours flew by and Fiennes, the cast and the staging excelled. Highly recommended for anyone who would consider queuing for day tickets, or returns, as it's currently sold out.

Our 15 pound tickets were in the third row cool to the center and we had a great view, I LOVE the National. I can't wait for our next show.

Hope you're still having fun.

Are you an Arts and Crafts fan? I was reading http://www.visitlondon.com's list of free things to do, and discovered there's a William Morris museum I knew nothing about - http://www.wmgallery.org.uk. Unfortunately, it's a bit of trek, at the end of the Victoria line in Walthamstow.

There's also Red House, "The only house commissioned, created and lived in by William Morris, founder of the Arts & Crafts movement..." southeast, in Bexleyheath. On my list for next visit.

Directions on the webpage, http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/red-house/

Thanks so much. I have the two of them on my list though if I keep popping off to Dublin I'm not going to see nearly enough in London! The Red House, along with a many of the National Trust and English Heritage properties is free with the Art Fund card.

I have a daytrip to Bexleyheath planned to combine Red House, Hall Place and Danson House where they currently have a Vivienne Westwood Exhibit run along with the V&A.

http://www.bexleyheritagetrust.org.uk/dansonhouse/

Charles Darwin's home is also nearby but this is the problem, you can understand why my blog is called "So Much More to See" but at this rate I'll have to rename it "Too Much More to See"!
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/v...in-down-house/

Incidentally I though my Dublin trip was all about family I wanted to give a quick heads up to those who may not know the....

LONDON CITY AIRPORT
What a fabulous place. There are limited flights but I can;t recommend this place highly enough. It's perfect for public transport and I went from the plane to the Dockland Light Rail platform (connects into the Tube system) in less than ten minutes.

On the way to Dublin I arrived at LCY twenty minutes before the flight (Ok this is pushing it!) but they took me through security and when I rushed to the gate with only ten minutes to go I was surprised they hadn't started boarding. We walked out from the gate onto the tarmac and right onto the plane and left on time.

There's just no fuss and the place is very small which makes things simple. If they fly to a destination you are considering I can't recommend it highly enough. It's a completely different experience than Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted.

if you venture out to Walthamstow to see the WM museum, you will certainly see life as it is lived by ordinary Londoners. I used to have to go to court there and there is absolutely nothing there to recommend it.

I'd stick to Bexleyheath if I were you.

I don't recall if '575 Wandsworth Road' has been mentioned (apologies if it's a repeat) but it's a definite for my next visit. One of the newest houses opened by the National Trust and, I have no doubt, one of the most unusual:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/575-wandsworth-road/

MmePerdu - it's well worth mention, I love these sort of folk art places and it's great to see the National Trust broadening their scope. I have May 1st down on my calendar as it's the day they release more dates/tours for June and July, right now they are completely booked.

Annig, your warning is well noted!

Today I went for a walk with London Walk which I enjoyed very much. It was sunny but bitterly cold - at least to someone who has been softened by far too many years abroad. The walk took in an interesting mix of modern architecture, city churches and Roman remains. WE saw all those wonderful buildings with the ridiculous names The Gherkin, The Walkie Talkie, The Cheese Grater and the Shard, or as my husband likes to call it The Splinter! It's as if Londoners cut the grandeur and hauteur of these buildings right down to size through a ridiculous but apt nicknames.

It's great to walk around the city on a Saturday when it's deserted. I had been speaking to an old friend before I left and he said we should check out the free concerts in city churches during our time in London. Sure enough, during the walk, I saw St. Olaves has several lunchtime concerts coming up. Incidentally, this was Samuel Pepy's parish church and he is buried here. Anyway, it looks like the recitals are Wednesdays and Thursdays, starting at 1:05pm

http://www.sanctuaryinthecity.net/Lu...-Recitals.html
http://sanctuaryinthecity.net/concerts/

Hopefully we will make it to one!

Oh, good, I noticed the tour situation after I posted it and glad you'll still be there. Also a reminder to myself to not forget.

WTB, i had to remind myself where St Olave's is - near Fenchurch street apparently.

Yet another place in the UK that I've never been. I learn such a lot about my home country here.

" I went from the plane to the Dockland Light Rail platform (connects into the Tube system) in less than ten minutes."

Things have obviously gone down. When it first opened, I could count on getting onto the A112, having gone through immigration and paid for the parking ticket, within 5 mins of touchdown. And I never once had the aerial tour of London that's routine for most flights into LGW, LHR, STN and LTN. In those (pre 11/9/01) days no-one batted an eye if you checked in at t-10 either.

That was the whole point of LCY flights' significant premiums over its competitors.

Indeed, back in those heady times, there was a running challenge in my City firm for who'd checked in closest to the wire at LCY. I had a Dutch assistant who swore he'd done it at t-2.

Mind you, we used to check in on posh class at t-10 with BA transatlantic from LHR. Our honchi swore they'd got to t-5 with Concorde.

To be honest Flanneruk it took about five minutes but it could have been six and I didn't want to be accused of exaggerating so I put in less than ten!
I'll be going back to Dublin in mid-May so I'll time it, but post 9-11 I don't think you could do much better anywhere else! I've missed flights at Heathrow cutting it too close, clearly I'm not spending enough time in posh class!

Annig, this whole trip feels like some sort of strange experience of falling through the looking glass. I left the UK in 1989 and while I've visited frequently the country really is very different.

DUCK AND WAFFLE
After the walk I was starving and I thought I would try the Duck and Waffle which is very close to Liverpool Street. It was just after 4pm and I foolishly thought they'd be able to squeeze me in. The restaurant is on the 40th floor of 110, Bishipsgate in the Heron building. I made it past the (literal gatekeeper on the ground floor, the men in front of me were turned down on the basis they were wearing trainers (sneakers) but as I haven't met a pair of leisure footwear I like I went safely through!

The whole place is very strange, far too cool for anything like a sign when you get out of the lift. The restaurant was full, apparently the evening and weekend slots book a couple of months in advance - and I was the last to know. The bar area is quite cool with windows on each side and a small amount of seating, all very trendy but the staff were friendly. There's another restaurant SushiSamba downstairs. The place was filled with heavily made up young women who appeared to be dressed up for a night out at 4pm. The whole thing reminded me a bit of the pictures from Aintree that have been in the papers recently! Anyway, there was very limited food in the bar so I departed to find something simpler and more sustaining in Spitalsfields.

However, I thought I go back to try it for breakfast. The view really is lovely, it was rather fun to look down on the Gherkin after straining my neck to look up at all the buildings on the walking tour.

Annig, this whole trip feels like some sort of strange experience of falling through the looking glass. I left the UK in 1989 and while I've visited frequently the country really is very different.>>

WTB, we left the south-east in 1997, and when I went back to London last year after a gap of some years, that felt very different too. Even the sky-line had changed. I'm enjoying your take on it anyhow.

Would have loved to meet Sir Ian but I'm afraid my geek questions for him would result in a restraining order.)

I last visited London 5 years ago and when I see the skyline in pictures now, I'm hardly recognizing it-what with The Shard and all the skyscrapers being planned.

RM67: "I will come to a GTG if you can upgrade the surprise celeb to James McAvoy." Yes. I'd buy the first round. If neither of them shows up we can discuss which Mc is cuter.

Love the t-minus gate-boasting.

Great report, wtb.

I love cheap opera tickets, too, and none more than ROH. I've sat in pricey ones there, too, but I most like going up to the slips, even standing room. I appreciate that the set designer bears the "upper" classes in mind.

Need to get to St Olave's for a concert.

Enjoying your report - lots of ideas for our next tip to London!

Ack - next *trip* to London

Can't blame that one on autocorrect.

Wonderful ideas WTB for our next trip to London, in early June. I have never heard about the ArtFund pass until your post. You have mentioned so many places that I had forgotten I wanted to see, Leighton House and the Courtauld. We will only be there a week, staying in Chelsea, but the pass really looks worthwhile as it also covers the McQueen exhibit at the V&A and Apsley House.
The other week we will basing ourselves in Huntingdon near Cambridge. It's my husband's 6oth birthday and we will be doing some WW11 stuff like Duxford and Bletchley Park. The ArtFund pass covers 1/2 of the latter's admission price. Thanks again for the tip and I'm going to look up the Grapes also. Of course we don't have 3 months, but are lucky to be going again!

idesofmarch: If you want to see the McQueen you may want to book ASAP. Back in early March I I tried to book for the end of this month and there were no available tix for the entire time I'm in town (Apr 28-May 2).

Some suggestions to add to the "local" list!

Wilton's Music Hall: A Victorian survival now (finally) undergoing restoration. You may recognise its unique atmosphere from its use for locations for various TV programmes.
http://wiltons.org.uk/

If you go (best reached by 100 bus to Dock St or from Shadwell DLR/Overground stations), then stop on Dock St to look at the memorial plaque for the 1936 "Battle of Cable St" and the commemorative mural on St George's Town Hall further down Cable St.

WTB - really enjoying your report. You may inspire me to get to London.

Yestravel we'd love to see you before July but that may be unlikely!

Patrick thanks for the Wilton's Music Hall suggestion and directions.

OK, just in case anyone is in town or would be interested London Craft Week is on at the beginning of May and some of the high end producers are opening up their workshops. I missed out on seeing the Hermes workshop in Paris (it was fully subscribed almost before posting) so I'm very pleased to say I've booked to see Asprey's and Garrard for May 7th.

There's a nominal fee of £8:40 and still some tickets left. There are lots of associated event, tours of shoemakers, glass making, etc. Hopefully something for everyone. Its the sort of stuff that will book out the minute it appears in the paper!

http://www.londoncraftweek.com

wtb: we are putting together a small GTG - looks like April 28/venue not 100% decided, maybe the Grapes. So far PatrickLondon, jamikins, bikerscott, moi. Maybe you can join us??

I'll post an update on my thread in a day or two.

annhig = very jealous.

Can I suggest a nice pub in Cornwall as an alternative venue?

I'll make it down there -- not this trip nor in August. But I'm thinking of a SW trip late next Spring . . . maybe.

I'll be in London on 28 April staying in Muswell hill. Where are you meeting?

WTB, continuing to enjoy your informative report and the comments of the many other London aficionados.

What are your favorite venues in Dublin? Or are you mostly taken up with family when you visit? I am planning a short one week solo visit to Dublin in June (Bloomsday etc.) but hope to return to London next year. :)

northie: The venue hasn't been firmly set yet. We've discussed the Grapes in Limehouse (not far from Westferry DLR station) and that may be the place. But I'll post an update on the GTG thread probably tomorrow evening, seeing if there are any other suggestions . . .

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ril-28may1.cfm

Janisj,what fun! I met Jamikins and BikerScott on a walking tour of Matera in Italy years ago, proving the world is a very small place. It would be great to see them again and meet all of you too. April 28th looks good for me. Thanks for the heads up!

So we've been on a bit of a self made seminar on urban development and architecture in London.
On Sunday we went on a LONDON WALKS ON POST-WAR ARCHITECTURE (I'll be blogging on all of this later). This was one of their special Sunday morning walks. We started at the Barbican and ending in the City. We really enjoyed this walk and the guide Paule Cooze was excellent. It gave a good sense for the changing eras of development, from residential estates built in the damaged areas after the war, to the move to build up, up, up in "iconic" buildings. We will definitely be heading back to the Barbican which I'd like to see more of, as my husband just bought a very nice architectural guide which has some walks in it.

Yesterday evening we headed over to the LAST TUESDAY SOCIETY which is right around the corner from our house. They have a sort of salon with offbeat speakers, there's a modern versions of a museum of curiosities downstairs and a hipster cocktail lounge upstairs. It's unlike anywhere else and yet it isn't at all surprising to stumble upon it in this neighborhood. It could be in the Mission in SF or the Lower east Side of Manhattan too.
http://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org

Anyway, it was right around the corner and we were very happy to go because they had Tom Bolton talking about his new book THE VANISHED CITY; London's Lost Neighborhoods. He did a great talk covering all ten of the neighborhoods and it was very interesting, Coincidentally he started by talking about Cripplegate a neighborhood destroyed during the Blitz which has been replaces by the Barbican and the Golden Lane Estate which we has visited the day before. You can see the old Cripplegate church in the middle of the Barbican development.

I was interested in the talk because a friend lent, and highly recommended, his first book, LONDON"S LOST RIVERS A WALKERS GUIDE, which we brought with us. I haven't looked at either book in any depth but I'm looking forward to sending some time with them.

The history/architecture/urban planning theme continues tonight at the BISHOPSGATE INSTITUTE, just across from Liverpool St station. It's a great resource and well worth checking out if you're in London for a while. The lecture is by the Guardian's design critic on the Seven Dark Arts of Developers - I think that gives you an idea of where he stands! I booked the tickets quite some time ago and I'm very much looking forward to it.

One other (perhaps obvious) tip is that the libraries have lots going on, and much of it is free or very low cost, for example I'm going to a talk on the Brompton Cemetery at the Guildhall Library this week.

Really loving your posts, wtb!

And so bummed that I will miss the gtg by a month.

At least I will have Lee Mead as a consolation prize . . . :)

(Sorry for the vague reference but I am a huge fan and time my London trips around his concerts. End of June this time!)

LCB - I know that you can be relied on to tell us about Mr Mead's doings. Where is he going to be this time? I seem to remember that last time it was a venue that caused some hilarity amongst the brits here.

Wasn't it someplace like Clacton on Sea?? seem to recall :?

It was Clacton. I had no idea. :)

This time he will be in London at the Pheasantry, which is a small club inside Pizza Express.

OK, a pause for more hilarity. :)

However, this is a small venue that he has used before to "try out" new material before beginning another tour - which he is doing beginning in July.

Three nights. Me, Lee Mead, and 60 or so of our best mates. Should be amazing.

i can't believe that I forgot Clacton. it must be my age.

I don't know the Pheasantry but it sounds as if you and the other die-hard fans will be able to get up close and personal with Lee. Amazing is certainly one word for it!