INTRODUCING LONDON

London is an ancient city. It grew up around the first point where the Roman invaders found the Thames narrow enough to build a bridge. They found a small Celtic settlement then known as Londinium and by A. D.¹ 300 they had turned it into a sizable port and an important trading centre with a wall which enclosed the homes of about 50,000 people.

One in seven of the population of the United Kingdom is a Londoner. About 7 million people live in Greater London.² London dominates British life. It is the home of the nation’s commerce and finance, the main centre of its legal system and the press. It has the largest university and the greatest possibilities for entertainment and for sport in the country. London is one of the famous capital cities of the world, and every year attracts crowds of visitors from home and abroad. They come to explore its historic buildings, to see its museums and galleries, its streets and parks, and its people.

The built-up area of Greater London stretches 50 kilometres from east to west and many of its districts are linked with particular activities, for example, parliamentary and government activity centres on Parliament Square of Westminster and Whitehall. Just as “Westminster” stands for Parliament so “Whitehall” is often used as the name for central Government.

Off Whitehall in a small side-street Downing Street — is a quiet, unimpressive house — No. 10 — the official home of Prime Minister.

Just as Wall Street in New York is the centre of commerce and finance so the City of London, sometimes called “the square mile”³ is the centre for money matters. Here in Threadneedle Street is the Bank of England — sometimes called “The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” — the central banking institution whose pound⁴ notes form the main currency in the country. Fleet Street near St. Paul’s Cathedral used to be a busy street full of London, provincial and foreign newspaper offices such as The Daily Express, The Daily Telegraph.⁵ Though most of the British national newspaper offices have moved to Wapping, an area in East London, the name of Fleet Street is still used to describe the newspaper industry. In South Kensington there are several large museums. The Victoria and Albert Museum with a magnificent collection of fine and applied arts also includes a wide-ranging display of ceramics, rnetalwork and a selection of Constable’s⁶ masterpieces which are well worth seeing. The Natural History Museum contains plants, animals and minerals. The Hall of Human Biology enables visitors to learn about their bodies and the way they work. Exhibits in the Science Museum display the discovery and development of such inventions as the steam engine, photography, glass-making, printing and atomic physics. There is a gallery where children can experiment with working models. The Museum of London in the City presents the biography of London, from the founding of London by Romans to the Greater London of today. Within a square kilometre or so in London’s theatre-land are over thirty theatres, showing a large range of old and modern plays. Smaller "fringe" theatres⁷ perform in clubs, pubs and at lunch time.

London is full of parks and green spaces. Hyde Park, originally a royal hunting forest, is the largest park in London. In summer the Serpentine canal which flows through the park is always full of swimmers, rowers and sunbathers. Just south of the Serpentine is Rotten Row, a fashionable spot for horse-riding, and in one corner, near Marble Arch is Speakers’ Corner, where everyone can go and air their views to anyone who will listen. Beyond Hyde Park lies another royal park, Kensington Gardens. Children gather by the statue of Peter Pan, James Barrie’s⁸ well-known storybook character, or sail their model boats on the Round Pond. In the north of London is Regent’s Park with a zoo and an open-air theatre. A trip along Regent’s Canal in a waterbus gives a chance to see London Little Venice, a quiet countryside area for rich people only as the land here is very expensive.

Like many capital cities, London grew up along a major river. The Thames divides London sharply in two. Most of central London is on the north bank of the river. The Thames at London is tidal and there have been several serious floods. The risk of this is increasing as southern England is sinking in relation to sea level. Threat of disaster, however, has been lessened by the construction of a flood barrier.

It is always interesting for tourists to take a trip along the Thames in a boat as it gives a striking panorama of London. The best way to see the city quickly is from the top of London red double-decker buses. Special tourist buses go on two-hour circular tours. The other quick and easy way of getting around London is by “tube” — the Underground railway. During the “rush hours”, when office workers hurry to and from work, the tube train doors can hardly close behind the crushed crowds.

London is an ancient city. But it is also a living city and like all living cities it is constantly developing.

 

¹ A. D. = Anno Domini [‘ænəu ‘dominai] (Lat.): in the year of the Lord, new era [‘iərə]

² Greater London includes the suburbs of the city all of which areconnected with the centre of London and with each other by underground railway lines.

³ mile: a measure of length, 1609 metres. English measures of length (yard — 91 cm, foot — 30 cm, inch — 2.5 cm), weight (stone — 6 kg, pound — 454 g, ounce — 31 g), liquids (gallon — 3.79 lit, pint — 0.57 lit) are not based on the decimal system.

⁴ pound: a monetary unit circulating in Great Britain. Up to 1971 English money with its pennies, shillings and pounds was not based on the decimal system either: 12 pence for a shilling, 20 shillings for a pound, 21 shillings for a guinea, the latter got its name from the first coin struck from gold on the coast of Guinea. In 1971 Britain changed over to decimal currency system — 100 new pence to the pound (£)’. New coins (or pieces) were introduced: the ½ p., 2 p., 5p., 10 p., 20 p. and 50 p. coins.

⁵ The Daily Express: a “popular” paper for those who prefer entertainment to information. It is largely filled with sporting news, accounts of crime, advertisements (ads.), gossip of little worth (about private life of society people, film stars, etc.) and strip cartoons. Other popular papers are The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Mail. This kind of newspapers is called the tabloids.

The Daily Telegraph: a daily London newspaper of conservative orientation. It is a “quality” paper for educated readers who are interested in important domestic and foreign news. Other quality papers are The Observer, The Guardian, The Times.

⁶ Constable, John (1776 - 1837): a famous English painter.

⁷ a “fringe” theatre stages experimental theatrical plays performed by amateurs.

⁸ Barrie, James M. (1860-1937): a Scottish novelist. Peter Pan — a fairy-tale boy who refused to grow up preferring to lead children into his magic "Never-Never Land" where they fought pirates.