People of London, Part I

London is a city of over ten million people, so if you go to London, don’t chat with the natives and tell me you didn’t have a good time, I say you passed up ten million reasons to enjoy yourself!

Take Mahmood, an Afgan who works in a vast and open souvenir shop near Piccadilly.  It’s a busy, bustling store and Mahmood patrols the front door, not really hawking product, but standing by to answer questions.  A few minutes of looking at gloves attracts his attention and he comes over to help.  His English is excellent and shortly you learn he was an interpreter for American forces in his home country…make that battleground…he’s probably seen more gunfire than a Chicago policeman…well that may be an exaggeration. Afghanistan is not as lawless.

Mahmood

When Mahmood applied to come to the United Kingdom, he ran into a roadblock.  But, the story has a happy ending.  He contacted his former American bosses, who contacted British authorities and the doors opened.  “I came here with nothing,” he tells us, smiling.  He has reason to smile.  He’s now a Londoner, with a good job and bright prospects.

He’s not alone.  London is a melting pot and with the demise of the British Empire has become even more so.  Did you realize London’s mayor is a Muslim?  Sadiq Khan, who was born in Tooting, a burb of south London.  Which brings up the question of, what does melting pot really mean?  Here’s a thumbnail of London’s ethnicity:

87.5% White

6% Asian, British Asian (on the British census, there is no Arab category)

2.9% Black, British Black

1.9% Mixed

1.6% Chinese and others

37% of London’s population was born outside the United Kingdom

What about religions in London?

52.9% Christian

13.5% Muslim

5.5% Hindu

2% Jewish

1.7% Sikh

1.1% Buddhist

22.7% Don’t claim any religion

We didn’t ask Mahmood about his religion, but I’m betting he isn’t Jewish.

Just down the street we meet Michael, a British Bobby, a happy guy and happy to help. Saw him pose with tourists and use their camera to help them get a group photo.  His ex lives in the U.S., near St. Louis and he is white and a native Londoner. Likes American football and enjoyed roaming the U.S.  The Metropolitan Police got the right man to patrol Leicester Square!

 

Sir Robert 'Bobby' Peel

Do you know how did the British national police force get the slang name Bobbies?  Quick answer, Sir Robert Peel…hence Bobby…worked to create the Metropolitan Police Force, which just covered London at first, but in the 1850s went national. Also called ‘Coppers’ because of the buttons on their original tunics.

Chat with anyone else?  Oh, hell yes!  Wherever you go, all you have to do is show a little interest.  Even in a pub called The Comedy Pub?  Yes, sir. 

Marek, a young man, but the head barman is from Poland.  “So, how did you manage to pick up English?”

“Well, I’ve lived here three years, but a couple of years ago my

 English was still not good.  It was New Year’s and I thought to myself, 

New Year, New Me!  I couldn’t bear to give up smoking and drinking, 

so I decided to really learn English.  It helps that I work here,” he said, 

with an arm sweep around the room. “I have to speak English all day

 and most of the night.”

“What other languages do you speak?”

“I worked as an interior designer in Poland and had to work with Czechs

 and Slovaks, so I speak those also.”

The man speaks four languages and works as a barkeeper! In America

 he’d be a linguistic god!

How about the other fellow tending bar?

Graham is from Glasgow, but has an English accent, not a Scottish one. 

“Came here with my parents when I was very small. They have thick

 accents. I don’t know why, but I never picked it up.”

We got to chatting about travel.  Graham has visited several places on the

continent.  What did you think about Germany and the German people?

“Very clinical.”  And, I’m thinking, very profound.

Graham on the left, Marek on the right

PART II OF PEOPLE OF LONDON COMING SOON…

There’s Something About London

I’ve been going to London for decades, and yet I’m always thrilled at the prospect and thrilled when I get there.  How can that be?  Once you’ve seen it, you’re seen it, right?  Not quite.  Once you’ve seen it, you’ve fallen in love with the architecture, the history, nights at the theater, days and nights at the pubs, the outrageously priced cocktails at the Savoy’s American Bar, martinis made at the table in Duke’s Bar at the Duke Hotel.  

Indian food.  China town. 

Perhaps it’s Fortnum and Mason, the most elegant grocery store in the world, or next door at Hatchards, London’s oldest bookstore.  Maybe it was standing in front of Buckingham Palace and viewing the most famous military parade in the world, the every popular Changing of the Guard.

It may be walking into Floris perfumery and being overwhelmed by scents of every variety, including the famous #89, the mythical James Bond’s favorite, or, stepping into the incomparable Food Court at Harrod’s.

So many more astonishing things I’ve done. A visit to Fuller’s Brewery and its thirst quenching tasting room.  A Scotland versus England World Cup preliminary match at Wembley Stadium.  

Getting a tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum.  Seeing the Rosetta Stone and Elgin Marbles at the British Museum.  Going to an open night of The Producers and having Mel Brooks take the stage for a hilarious, impromptu chat.

Before you start your day, pick out a spot for a full English breakfast.  Ever had a full English breakfast?  What’s that?  Oh, how I’d like to see the child-like wonder in your eyes.

Without a doubt, London is a never-ending string of pleasures and surprises.

Samuel Johnson was spot on when he wrote, “A man who is tired of London is tired of life.”

And when you walk the streets of London, it’s a tour through English and European history.  View the Magna Carta in the British Library and learn what it really says, or look at handwritten Beatles’ lyrics.  https://www.bl.uk/#

A Beatles’ fan?  When you walk down Seville Row, that famous street of ‘bespoke’ tailoring, check out the rooftop (from ground level) where the Beatles played their last concert. Listen for the echoes of 1969.

It just may be you’re a literature lover.  Charles Dickens. George Orwell. Will Shakespeare.  All lived or worked here and you can follow in their tracks.  More modern?  J.K. Rowling. Julian Barnes. Ian McEwan. Jeffery Archer. Ian Fleming.

Do your own research. Find out where they lived and worked before you go. Or sign up for a fabulous walking tour that matches your fancy. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g186338-Activities-c42-t183-London_England.html

Don’t forget the unforgetable London markets. Boroughs Market, to mention just one of many. I ate the best oysters of my life there.  It’s a place where the fish mongers have done their own fishing and the ice cream shops make their own ice cream.  Meats roast over open fire pits and savory crepes come fresh off the hot plate.  Cheeses come direct from the farms. Come hungry and don’t miss the nearby pubs.  Huge hint:  NEVER pass up a pub.

Dozens of historic pubs.  The Mayflower, where the famous ship of that name first sailed. The Grenadier.  The Lamb and Flag, also known as the Bucket of Blood.  Wonderful pubs go on and on, and so will you! Another hint:  Always go for the hand pulled ‘real’ ale.

And after you’ve been to London a few dozen times, don’t even begin to say you know London. How about shops that have been there since the 17^th Century? Greenwich, the home of time and distance?

My advice:  Plan on going to London for a week a year, for the rest of your life.  Still, that will not be enough time.  But, I keep trying… By the way, did you know that Karl Marx is buried at the Highgate Cemetery in London?  https://highgatecemetery.org/       Just asking….