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London England


Here are some things I learnt in London, United Kingdom. 

  • Iconic attractions include Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Tafalgar Square, the Shard, Tower of London.
  • London is the capital city of England. 
  • The national Anthem was God Save the queen until Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022.It is now God Save the King. 
  • June-August is tourist season and this is when Buckingham palace is open to the public, while King Charles and the Royal family are away on holidays.
  • People can see the state rooms on the tour of Buckingham Palace. These rooms are the White Drawing room. Music room, Ballroom, throne room, grand staircase. 
  •  The Tower of London is a historic castle located along the River Thames. It was build by William the Conqueror in 1078 and used as a royal residence and also a prison from 1100 to 1952. It is home to the crown jewels. 
  • The guards dressed in red tunics and bearskin hats who stand outside royal palaces in and around London are members of five regiments of foot guards from the British Army's Household division. They are the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Welsh Guards and Irish Guards. They have two roles in the army. They are highly trained infantry soldiers who carry out operational duties all over the world and they also take part in state and royal ceremonial events.
  • All the soldiers uniforms look very similar but you can tell which regiment they are in by the plume on their bearskin hats, button spacing, collar badge and shoulder badge on their tunics. In winter, they wear grey coats. 
  • While these guards are on duty guarding the palaces, they are not allowed to move or speak. If they do, they would be in big trouble. They are allowed to and should shout if a member of the public does something wrong like go to an area they shouldn't.
  • The changing of the guard is the ceremony where the King's guard hands over responsibilities for protecting Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace to the new guard. 
  • On 30 January 1969, the Beatles performed an impromptu 42-minute show on the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters. It was not a paid show and a lot of the people who witnessed it didn't know that they were listening to The Beatles. If you go on The Beatles walking tour, you can see the rooftop and many places including where they recorded songs, filmed videos and album covers.
  • Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square which was built to commemorate Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, who lost his life during the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 between the British Royal Navy and the combined French and Spanish Navies. The monument was designed by William Raiton and constructed between 1840 and 1843. 
  •  Leicester is pronounced Le-ster Gloucester is pronounced glo-ster. 
  • In England, they use Oyster cards to go on public transport, like we use opal cards. 
  • The buses in London make announcements and tells you where it is stopping which is very helpful.
  • The underground trains are called the tube. It gets hot and stuffy in there and no WiFi but it's easy to use.
  • On their regular trains, you have to press a button to open the doors.
  • Grocery stars are Tesco, Sainbury's and M&S Food Hall.
  • Popular snacks and foods in England are Jaffa cakes,Walkers Crisps,Penguin Biscuits, pork pies, crumpets, shortbread, Ginger Nut, Bourbon biscuits, sausage rolls, baked beans, crumpets and Percy Pig lollies.
  • Yorkshire pudding is not a dessert. It is a side dish made from a batter of eggs, flour, milk or water, served as part of a traditional Sunday roast and with onion gravy.
  • A ploughman's lunch is an English cold meal including bread, boiled eggs, scotch eggs, ham, cheese and chutney. 
  • Some British people call dessert "afters." 
  • Tea is a huge thing in England.
  • When you walk in to a British person's house, you must remove your shoes. 
  • Derbyshire is located 2-3 hours away from London by train. It is a beautiful countryside town with long, winding roads, beautiful landscapes and small villages. This is where Chatsworth House, a stately home owned by the Cavendish family since 1549, is located.The Cavendish's are a noble family who rose to the highest prominence as Duke of Devonshire. 
  • Chatsworth House has been referenced in books and used as a set in movies, including Pride and Prejudice and The duchess.



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