Concert@Epsom Playhouse 18/03/2011

[Pueri Concinite]

Westminster Cathedral too If It's for the architecture of course, Abbey is wonderful, boys choir too. But in the Cathedral the boys choir is very great, very great quality.

[Yorkie]

Westminster Cathedral too If It's for the architecture of course, Abbey is wonderful, boys choir too. But in the Cathedral the boys choir is very great, very great quality.

Just over the road from Billy Elliot too

I have popped in to Westminster Cathedral a few times to catch the choir and it is beautiful although sometimes their choice of music (especially at Mass) can be a bit strange. Not a pretty building though I agree.

[Pueri Concinite]

Hi Yorkie

Oh yes Billy Elliot, don't forget

[Yorkie]

Hi Yorkie

Oh yes Billy Elliot, don't forget

Welcome to the forum by the way

[youtube][/youtube]

[Pueri Concinite]

Oh boy It's me Of course not like him Pueri Concinite is a tube for the Wiener Sängerknaben

thank's Yorkie

[Rebecca (:]

Thanks so much for the suggestions everyone! I wrote all of these down and will see what works out!

What type of things interest you - museums (what type), shopping (food, clothes), historic sights (castles, etc)?

my grandma gave me a 2 and a half hour talk on the museums, so I think I'm good on those, but we would like to know which castles would be worth seeing. I already know we're doing to on near/in Maidenhead (blanking out on the name!) its right down the road from ours friends house, but other suggestions would be great!

Also, what days/nights do you have available, do you want to stick to London, will you be walking or using tube (subway) and buses? Finally, how many of you will there be (you can get 2-4-1 deals at some places if you use the right type of ticket for the underground),

Lets see, I'm pretty sure all but the 18th and one other night are free (we'll be seeing Billy Elliot), and pretty much everyday. We have days planed out, just not assigned to a certain date, if that makes since. She said she'd prefer right in London, and that we'll just be doing a little bit of everything for transportation. There will be 3 of us Thanks for the tip on that!

Oh, one last question, which airport do you land at and how are you getting from the airport to your hotel (and where is your hotel located)?

We'll land at Heathrow, and honestly I have no idea which hotel we'll be at, but I know my mom knows, and has a plan for getting there. She's out right now, so I'm not sure what this plan is..

Thanks so much for all you're help!!!

[john45]

Thanks so much for all you're help!!!

Hi Rebecca

I lived in London for six years and still make return visits 2 or 3 times a year but am still just scratching the surface of all it has to offer. On a short visit such as yours it's difficult to say what are the "must see" sights and events. A good way of seeing most of the famous places is the hop-on hop-off bus tour. With limited time my personal choice of stops for a closer look would be St. Paul's, the Tower of London and Parliament Square (for Westminster Abbey and the H of P if open). From Parliament square you could walk up Whitehall (10 Downing Street; Horseguards) to Trafalgar Square then stroll down the Mall (or preferably through St. James' Park) to Buck Palace where you can pick up the bus again.

You have already selected "Billy Elliot" which is the best musical in town. Others I would recommend are "Les Miserables" and "Love Never Dies". Young ladies of your age seem to like "Wicked" but it sent me to sleep. The Albert Hall is well worth a visit. A "Classical Spectacular" is showing from Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th and should be a great show (we have tickets for Thursday). There are often free lunchtime concerts at St Martin in the Fields (Trafalgar Square) and St James (Piccadilly). Covent Garden is a fun place to visit for street entertainers and the Royal Opera House.

If you are going to be near Maidenhead then Windsor Castle should also be on your "to do" list.

On a first visit, I would skip the museums (each would need a full day or more to do it justice). Of the galleries, the National Portrait Gallery would be a good choice for a short visit. The Tate Modern is good for a laugh and gives the opportunity to see the Globe Theatre and cross the Millenium Bridge. A riverboat trip to Greenwich can be very pleasant and the London Eye offers some spectacular views of the city.

Have fun.

John

[Yorkie]

A good way of seeing most of the famous places is the hop-on hop-off bus tour. With limited time my personal choice of stops for a closer look would be St. Paul's, the Tower of London and Parliament Square (for Westminster Abbey and the H of P if open). From Parliament square you could walk up Whitehall (10 Downing Street; Horseguards) to Trafalgar Square then stroll down the Mall (or preferably through St. James' Park) to Buck Palace where you can pick up the bus again.

A HoHo tour is a good idea and as the name suggests you can pay once and then get on and off as many times as you like in a day. It gives a good idea of where everything is in relation to each other.

You have already selected "Billy Elliot" which is the best musical in town. Others I would recommend are "Les Miserables" and "Love Never Dies". Young ladies of your age seem to like "Wicked" but it sent me to sleep.

+1 for Billy - I'll see you at the show If you are going to the Saturday evening performance you'll bump in to a few more of us as well. Can't speak for the other shows John mentioned but another that is doing huge over here and is yet to go to Broadway is War Horse. Now, the story line looks dumb if you look it up but the reviews from everybody that sees it are fantastic (and it seems to cover all ages and genders). Not a musical though

If you are going to be near Maidenhead then Windsor Castle should also be on your "to do" list.

Windsor would have made my list of suggestions if you wanted a real castle (the oldest inhabited castle in the world) but, as the old joke goes, why did they build it under the flight path to Heathrow? The Tower of London is of course a castle and it has the bonus of teh Crown Jewels to gawp at (if you like diamonds the size of your fist). Not quite a castle but a trip to Hampton Court Palace seems to be a day out that the ladies like.

On a first visit, I would skip the museums (each would need a full day or more to do it justice). Of the galleries, the National Portrait Gallery would be a good choice for a short visit. The Tate Modern is good for a laugh and gives the opportunity to see the Globe Theatre and cross the Millenium Bridge. A riverboat trip to Greenwich can be very pleasant and the London Eye offers some spectacular views of the city.

I know what John means about museums but there are things to see that make it worth the effort and because they are free (well the public ones run by the government) you don't need to feel like you have to get you monies worth - nip in to the British Museum to see the Rosetta stone and Elgin Marbles. A trip to the National Gallery to see one of VG's Sunflowers or a Michelangelo (my favourite is The Ambassadors) If you know what you want it is worth it.

Finally, if to want to see one church then it has to be Westminster Abbey. It isn't cheap but you can see the tomb of Elizabeth I. For an extra £3 take the verger tour and you can then touch the tomb of a saint as well! Of course, as a member of a choir, you MUST see an Evensong at either Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral.

The thing about Evensong is that they are free to get in so if your mum doesn't want to pay for the tour you can see inside and witness a top rate choir perform as well. I'll be doing Evensong at Westminster next Tuesday and St Paul's on Wednesday.

So much more to do as well. Check out this forum for some ideas of what other people do:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum- ... gland.html

Travel in and around London is easiest (and cheapest) with an Oyster card. More info here:

https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do

Also lots of Oyster card posts on the Tripadvisor forum. The reason I asked about numbers was because at some attractions and retaurants you can get 2-4-1 deals but only if you buy a travel card from a train company:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g18 ... ffers.html

[Rebecca (:]

Wow! Thank you guys so much! I will pass all of this onto her!! I'm sure it'll be a great trip!

[Lexi]

Wow! That was so good, I printed it out for future reference. Thank you, John and Yorkie!

Rebecca, hope you have a safe trip and a wonderful time in London and especially at the Epsom concert!

Lauren

[maartendas]

Yes, thanks from me as well for all the London info I was going to sort out plans etc next week but I almost don't have to anymore
Billy Elliot sounds nice - I love the movie - but not sure if I'll be able to afford it.. and whether it can match the movie

[Yorkie]

Yes, thanks from me as well for all the London info I was going to sort out plans etc next week but I almost don't have to anymore
Billy Elliot sounds nice - I love the movie - but not sure if I'll be able to afford it.. and whether it can match the movie

It doesn't replace the movie, it compliments it - the two are not the same (none of the music in the film is in the show) but if you know one then the other is immediately understandable to you.

There are three cheap(er)sources for tickets:

1) Queue up on the day of the show at the Victoria Palace Theatre for the day seats - these are restricted view right at the front of the stalls (aka orchestra in the States), normally kept back as house seats, they are sold to the public if not needed. Price for these is £19.50 (Mon - Thur) or £27.50 (Fri + Sat). n.b. need to queue in morning from about 10'00 (I think, never done it).

2) Book the restricted view seats on-line direct from the Victoria Palace Theatre. Prices are generally same as above but more seats available. The people in the know go for row B in the stalls - anything from B6 to B22 are considered good. B1 - B5 are ok but avoid going higher than B22 as the restricted view begins to bite. B14 and B15 are considered the prime seats as they are on the aisle.

You can also get cheaper seats in the Grand circle (top balcony). the advantage of those seats is you get a better perspective of the play than from row B of the stalls, but you are a long way from the action.

3) you can chance your arm at the tkts booth in Leicester Square - you can get some great seats from there at good discounts but it is pot luck on the day

https://www.victoriapalacetheatre.co.uk ... efault.asp

http://www.tkts.co.uk/tkts-leicester-square/

[Yorkie]

If you are interested in 2-4-1 deals (remember you need a paper travel card purchased from a train station to get the deal + you have a form to fill out) check out the website for the offers:

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/attractio ... ondon.aspx

[john45]

The people in the know go for row B in the stalls - anything from B6 to B22 are considered good.

But be aware that the stage at Victoria Palace is quite high and while the view of facial expressions from row B is excellent you will miss almost all of the footwork (and dancing is a key element of the show).

The skill of the puppeteers (manipulating life-size horse puppets) in "War Horse" is remarkable but that is about all there is to it. For a much better WW I play I would recommend "Birdsong" but perhaps that is no longer showing.

John

[Yorkie]

The people in the know go for row B in the stalls - anything from B6 to B22 are considered good.

But be aware that the stage at Victoria Palace is quite high and while the view of facial expressions from row B is excellent you will miss almost all of the footwork (and dancing is a key element of the show).

The skill of the puppeteers (manipulating life-size horse puppets) in "War Horse" is remarkable but that is about all there is to it. For a much better WW I play I would recommend "Birdsong" but perhaps that is no longer showing.

John

Battle of the Billy seats This is true to a point but most of Billy's scenes are at the front of the stage so you get to see most of the footwork and I didn't find it a problem. For £20 as opposed to £62.50 I can live with it

And besides, you'll upset F_D_L and Viabuona who have B16 & B17 and will wish they were in the Gods with Murkskis