Ged Carroll

Category: london | 倫敦 | 런던 | ロンドン

Why London?

First of all I live in London, I put down my roots here because of work. Commuting from the outside towns into the city takes a long time. People only tend to do that when they don’t have to come in every day or getting their kids into a good school is important for them.

Secondly it is an area distinct from the rest of the UK, this is partly down to history and the current economic reality. It is distinct in terms of population make-up and economic opportunity. London has a culture that is distinct from the rest of the UK, partly due to its population make-up. Over 30 percent of the city’s inhabitants were born in another country. From music to fashion, its like a different country:

  • As one women’s clothing retailer once said on a news interview ‘The further north you go; the more skin you see’.
  • The weekend is a huge thing outside the city. By comparison, it isn’t the big deal in London. The reason was that there were things you could enjoy every night of the week.
  • You can get a good cup of coffee
  • The city was using cashless payments way before it became universal elsewhere in the country
  • The line has extended into politics. London opposed Brexit. London, like other major cities it is one of the last holdouts of Labour party support in the 2019 UK general election

London posts often appear in other categories, as it fulfils multiple categories.

If there are London subjects that you think would fit with this blog, feel free to let me know by leaving a comment in the ‘Get in touch’ section of this blog here.

  • Science Museum with my Dad

    Mission to the science museum

    My parents came down for the weekend. While my Mam was content to chill out and do some knitting whilst listening to Daniel O’Donnell slaughtering country and western standards, my Dad and I were at a loss for something to do. Having been told by my friend Kirsty who has a little boy that the Science Museum has free admission, I had a brain wave.

    Steam power

    My Dad is a mechanical fitter by trade and we spent about two hours in the Science museum finding out about the development of the steam engine and the rise of the internal combustion engine. We found out that James Watt did not invent the steam engine (our school teachers lied to us) but improved on existing designs. We took a brief break and then pushed into the space section and then on into the modern world with everything from a Mills & Boon novel to an transgenic sheep proteins (derived from their milk). So far so good, the digital section did not impress, despite its architectural scale, but the aviation gallery got a big thumps up from Pops.

    When he comes down to pick my Mam up next week, we hope to go back to explore more of the Science Museum. By that time the Science Museum guidebook will have arrived and help us make more out of the visit, when we manage to get another visit in.

    Thameslink

    The journey home to Luton however was a bit of a trauma with Thameslink trains shutting down their service completely. I am thankful that my commute usually isn’t that traumatic. We had to get home via Milton Keynes (a soul less bit of urban planning) and it took us four hours. Once you get off the rail network the public transport outside London is poor. More related posts here.