Bad times and good, I have lived and worked in London through them all.



From its darkest hours in the 1970s and the 80s at the height of the IRA terrorist campaigns to the ecstasy of winning the 2012 Olympics and the Queens Jubilee. London has had the experience and gravity to treat both with equal respect.

The memory still haunts me of travelling through London returning to where I now live in Northern Ireland hours after the news broke of the tragic and untimely death of Princess Diana. The sense of grief and shock were overwhelming as total strangers just blindly made their way to Kensington Palace to lay flowers at the people's memorial. Contrast this with the day in 2005 of the Live 8 festival at Hyde Park when the city resounded to rock music belting out across its entire centre.

There is History almost round very corner in London. History that it would appear that most Londoners take for granted.

If we use as an example, the changing of the guard. Betty and Phil insist that this happens daily at their place at the end of the mall. Perhaps I should be slightly more serious at this point because most onlookers will realize this point I am of course referring to Buckingham Palace and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh. Perhaps the most notable of the Changing of the Guards in recent years was held shortly after the awful events of 911 when instead of playing God Save the Queen the band of the Guards performed what turned out to be quite an emotional performance (certainly for those visiting American tourists in the audience) of the Star Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States of America.

Perhaps the significance of this passed most of the on looking tourist by but it was a first in living memory that any other national anthem other than the United Kingdoms own God Save the Queen had been performed at the Changing of the Guards ceremony.

It could be argued that it is incidents like this that go to sum up exactly what a rich variety of tradition and history exists in London. Unlike other major international capital cities, London may lack perhaps the historic grandeur of the Parthenon in Athens or the Coliseum in Rome but through out London you will find examples of perhaps a more modern architecture (though no less splendid and impressive) such as the mother of all parliaments, the Houses of Parliament in Westminster or the serenity of St Paul's Cathedral a survivor of many centuries and in many ways every bit as impressive now as in the days of its design under the architect Sir Christopher Wren.

If nothing else the building of St Paul's Cathedral is a testament to survival itself having both survived the Great Fire of London in the 16th Century and then four hundred years later the Blitz in World War II.

Possibly the existence of living history such as St. Paul's Cathedral in the heart of such a modern and a bustling city of London really sums up the overall appeal of London where there is such an amazing and historic blend of old and new.

You have absolutely no chance of being disappointed you come to visit London.