London

The Four Bronze Horses of Helios was created by sculptor Rudy Weller in 1992. The greek legend is that of Helios, the young Greek god of the sun. He is the son of Hyperion and Theia. By the Oceanid Perse he became the father of Aeëtes, Circe, and Pasiphae. His other children are Phaethusa ("radiant") and Lampetia ("shining") and Phaeton. Each morning at dawn he rises from the ocean in the east and rides in his chariot, pulled by four horses - Pyrois, Eos, Aethon and Phlegon -- through the sky, to descend at night in the west. Helios once allowed Phaeton to guide his chariot across the sky. The unskilled youth could not control the horses and fell towards his death. Text from: www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMC4YM_The_Horses_of_Helios_Haymarket_Piccadilly_Circus_London_UK

Piccadilly Circus is a famous traffic intersection and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster. Built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly (the "circus" refers to "circular open space at a street junction"), it now links directly to the theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue as well as the Haymarket, Coventry Street (onwards to Leicester Square) and Glasshouse Street. The Circus is close to major shopping and entertainment areas in a central location at the heart of the West End. Its status as a major traffic intersection has made Piccadilly Circus a busy meeting point and a tourist attraction in its own right. The Circus is particularly known for its video display and neon signs mounted on the corner building on the northern side, as well as the Shaftesbury memorial fountain and statue known as 'Eros' (sometimes called 'The Angel of Christian Charity', which would be better translated as 'Agape', but formally 'Anteros' - see below). It is surrounded by several noted buildings, including the London Pavilion and Criterion Theatre. Directly underneath the plaza is the London Underground station Piccadilly Circus. Piccadilly Circus used to be surrounded by illuminated advertising hoardings on buildings since the early 1900s, but only one building now carries them, namely the one in the north-western corner, between Shaftesbury Avenue and Glasshouse Street. The site is unnamed (usually referred to as Monico after the Café Monico which used to be on the site); its addresses are 44/48 Regent Street, 1/6 Sherwood Street, 17/22 Denman Street and 1/17 Shaftesbury Avenue, and has been owned by property investor Land Securities Group since the 1970s. The earliest signs used incandescent light bulbs, these were replaced with neon lamps, as well as moving signs (there was a large Guinness clock at one time). Briefly digital projectors were used for the Coke sign, while the early 2000s have seen a gradual move to LED displays. The number of signs has reduced over the years as the rental costs have increased. As of 2005, the site has five illuminated advertising screens above three large retail units, facing Piccadilly Circus on the north side, occupied by Boots, Burger King and GAP and a mix of smaller retail, restaurant and office premises fronting the other streets. In September 2003, Coca Cola replaced its old illuminated board and the site formally occupied by Nescafé with a state-of-the-art LED video display that curves round with the building. Below the Coca Cola sign, are Sanyo and TDK, together with the squarish McDonald's LED. On the left is the Samsung board, being upgraded from neon to LED in 2005. The British mobile telephony company Vodafone used to have a neon sign installed on the roof of Coventry House, which diagonally faces Piccadilly Circus. In addition to the logo of the company, the sign displayed personal messages that could be submitted on a special website and displayed at a certain time and date. As of February 2007, this has been replaced by a new, larger LED video-advertising display for LGE, the British arm of South Korean electronics group LG. The new display also incorporates a scrolling ticker of Sky News headlines. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccadilly_Circus

Funland Funland regularly hosts group, family,corporate and birthday parties throughout the year. Funland is the flagship of the Family Leisure Group of Companies. As one of the world's largest indoor entertainment centres, Funland has something for everyone. Ten Pin Bowling: Funland has Central London's only bowling alley. A brand new state of the art Brunswick 10 lane bowling alley. Private or corporate group packages are all catered for to suit the smallest group to the exclusive hire of the bowling alley. Sports Bar: Catch up on all of the latest sporting events in comfortable surroundings of the Sports Bar situated on Level 2 next to the Bowling Alley. 'Le Bar' offers a stylish environment to relax over a drink or cocktail. 'Le Bar' also offers a lane service for the bowling and can be hired on an exclusive basis if required. American Pool Lounge: 9 full sized tables in the new Pool Hall situated next to ‘Sports Bar’ on Level 2. Simulator Rides and Games: Funland has all the very latest simulator rides and over 400 of the latest hi-tech video games. Dodgems, the perennial favourite, is located on level 4. Opening Times: Funland is open 7 days a week (closing only on Christmas Day) from 10am to midnight and 1am on Friday and Saturday nights. Free entry and the games run on a pay as you play basis with rides and attractions operating with either cash or tokens. Text from: www.londontrocadero.com/venues/entertainment.html www.londontrocadero.com/

Funland Funland regularly hosts group, family,corporate and birthday parties throughout the year. Funland is the flagship of the Family Leisure Group of Companies. As one of the world's largest indoor entertainment centres, Funland has something for everyone. Ten Pin Bowling: Funland has Central London's only bowling alley. A brand new state of the art Brunswick 10 lane bowling alley. Private or corporate group packages are all catered for to suit the smallest group to the exclusive hire of the bowling alley. Sports Bar: Catch up on all of the latest sporting events in comfortable surroundings of the Sports Bar situated on Level 2 next to the Bowling Alley. 'Le Bar' offers a stylish environment to relax over a drink or cocktail. 'Le Bar' also offers a lane service for the bowling and can be hired on an exclusive basis if required. American Pool Lounge: 9 full sized tables in the new Pool Hall situated next to ‘Sports Bar’ on Level 2. Simulator Rides and Games: Funland has all the very latest simulator rides and over 400 of the latest hi-tech video games. Dodgems, the perennial favourite, is located on level 4. Opening Times: Funland is open 7 days a week (closing only on Christmas Day) from 10am to midnight and 1am on Friday and Saturday nights. Free entry and the games run on a pay as you play basis with rides and attractions operating with either cash or tokens. Text from: www.londontrocadero.com/venues/entertainment.html www.londontrocadero.com/

Not the best-quality photograph (it came from a throw-away), but Harry Potter fans might find it amusing.

Tower Bridge is a bascule bridge in London, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It is sometimes mistakenly called London Bridge, which is the next bridge upstream. The bridge is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the Corporation of London. text from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge

At the instigation of Sam Wanamaker, a new Globe theatre was built according to an Elizabethan plan. It opened in 1997 under the name 'Shakespeare's Globe Theatre' and now stages plays every summer (May to October). Mark Rylance was appointed as the first artistic director of the modern Globe in 1995. After 10 years, Dominic Dromgoole took over in 2006. The new theatre is 200 yards from the original site, and was the first thatched roof building permitted in London since the Great Fire of London of 1666. As in the original, both the stage and the audience are outdoors. Plays are put on during the summer, and in the winter the theatre is used for educational purposes, and tours are available. Although the reconstruction is carefully researched, the original plan was modified by the addition of sprinklers on the roof, to protect against fire, and the theatre is partly joined onto a modern lobby and visitors centre. In addition, only 1,500 people may be housed during a show, unlike the 3,000 of Shakespeare's time (Elizabethans were less concerned about their personal space than modern theatregoers). Text from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre

Bear-baiting is a blood sport involving the baiting of bears. In the most well-known form, there were purpose-built arenas for the entertainment, called in England bear-gardens, consisting of a circular high fenced area, the "pit", and raised seating for spectators. A post would be set in the ground towards the edge of the pit and the bear chained to it, either by the leg or neck. The dogs would then be set on it, being replaced as they tired or were wounded or killed. For a long time, the main bear-garden in London was the Paris Garden at Southwark. In England, from the 16th century, many herds of bears were maintained for baiting. Henry VIII was a fan and had a pit constructed at Whitehall. Elizabeth I was also fond of the entertainment; it featured regularly in her tours. In 1575, a baiting display for her had thirteen bears, and when an attempt was made to ban baiting on Sundays, she overruled Parliament. A variation was "the whipping of a blinded bear" and certain other animals were also baited, especially bulls but also on one curious occasion a pony with an ape tied to its back was baited and a spectator described that "...with the screaming of the ape, beholding the curs hanging from the ears and neck of the pony, is very laughable". Attempts to end the entertainment were first made in England by the Puritans, with little effect. In 1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay wrote, "The Puritan hated bearbaiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators." The deaths of a number of spectators, when a stand collapsed at the Paris Gardens on January 12, 1583 was viewed by early Puritans as a sign of God's anger, not because of the cruelty but because the bear-baiting was taking place on a Sunday. [1] By the late 17th century "the conscience of cultivated people seems to have been touched", but it was not until 1835 that baiting were prohibited by Parliament, a ruling that was soon extended across the Empire. Baiting is banned worldwide but can still be found in parts of the Middle East and Pakistan. Text from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear-baiting

The Church was built by the Knights Templar, the order of crusading monks founded to protect pilgrims on their way to and from Jerusalem in the 12th century. The Church is in two parts: the Round and the Chancel. The Round Church was consecrated in 1185 by the patriarch of Jerusalem. It was designed to recall the holiest place in the Crusaders' world: the circular Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is a numinous space - and has a wonderful acoustic for singing. In the Round Church you will find the life-size stone effigies of nine knights. Most famous of these knights was William the Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, the most important mediator between King John and the Barons in 1215. John was at the Temple in January 1215 when the barons demanded that he confirm the rights enshrined in the Coronation Charter of his predecessor; it was William who swore on the King's behalf that the barons' grievances would be satisfied in the summer. William became Regent in the minority of Henry III. William's own eldest son, also William, was among those chosen by the barons to force John's compliance with Magna Carta; and on John's death he joined the rebels against Henry's rule. His father eventually won him over to Henry's cause. The effigy of this younger William lies next to his father's. The Chancel was built in 1240. Henry III had signalled his intention to be buried here. (He was in fact buried in Westminster Abbey; one of his sons, who died in infancy, was interred in the Temple.) If you look at the dark marble columns in the chancel, you will see that they 'lean' outwards. These columns are replicas of the 13th century columns that stood until the War; they leant outwards too. The church was bombed in 1941: the Chancel's vault survived; the columns cracked in the heat, and after the War they had to be replaced. The architects wondered whether to build the new columns upright. But if the 'leaning' columns had done good work for seven hundred years, their replacements, it was decided, should lean too - and so they do! Text from TempleChurch.com: www.templechurch.com/pages/history.htm

The Church was built by the Knights Templar, the order of crusading monks founded to protect pilgrims on their way to and from Jerusalem in the 12th century. The Church is in two parts: the Round and the Chancel. The Round Church was consecrated in 1185 by the patriarch of Jerusalem. It was designed to recall the holiest place in the Crusaders' world: the circular Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is a numinous space - and has a wonderful acoustic for singing. In the Round Church you will find the life-size stone effigies of nine knights. Most famous of these knights was William the Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, the most important mediator between King John and the Barons in 1215. John was at the Temple in January 1215 when the barons demanded that he confirm the rights enshrined in the Coronation Charter of his predecessor; it was William who swore on the King's behalf that the barons' grievances would be satisfied in the summer. William became Regent in the minority of Henry III. William's own eldest son, also William, was among those chosen by the barons to force John's compliance with Magna Carta; and on John's death he joined the rebels against Henry's rule. His father eventually won him over to Henry's cause. The effigy of this younger William lies next to his father's. The Chancel was built in 1240. Henry III had signalled his intention to be buried here. (He was in fact buried in Westminster Abbey; one of his sons, who died in infancy, was interred in the Temple.) If you look at the dark marble columns in the chancel, you will see that they 'lean' outwards. These columns are replicas of the 13th century columns that stood until the War; they leant outwards too. The church was bombed in 1941: the Chancel's vault survived; the columns cracked in the heat, and after the War they had to be replaced. The architects wondered whether to build the new columns upright. But if the 'leaning' columns had done good work for seven hundred years, their replacements, it was decided, should lean too - and so they do! Text from TempleChurch.com: www.templechurch.com/pages/history.htm

London's Chinatown is in the Soho area of the City of Westminster, occupying the area in and around Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chinese restaurants, provision stores and souvenir shops. Wong Kei is one of the best-known restaurants in Chinatown. The first area in London known as Chinatown was located in the Limehouse area of London. At the start of the 20th century, the Chinese population of London was concentrated in that area, setting up businesses which catered to the Chinese sailors who frequented in Docklands. The area began to become well known for its (legal) opium dens and slum housing, rather than the Chinese restaurants and supermarkets in the current Chinatown. However, the area was redeveloped in 1934 and much of the old housing was demolished, although a number of elderly Chinese still choose to live in this area. After the Second World War, however, the growing popularity of Chinese cuisine and an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong led to an increasing number of Chinese restaurants being opened elsewhere. The present Chinatown, off Shaftesbury Avenue in London, did not start to be established until the 1970s. Up until then, it was a regular Soho area, run-down, with Gerrard Street the main thoroughfare. It was dominated by the Post Office, facing Macclesfield Street, and other major establishments were The Tailor & Cutter House, at 43/44, now a Chinese supermarket and restaurant, the Boulougne Restaurant, near the Wardour Street end, and by Peter Mario's Restaurant at the other end. Other businesses included a master baker's, the Sari Centre, Lesgrain French Coffee House, an Indian restaurant and lots of doorways offering French Lessons and such like. Probably the first Chinese restaurants opened in Lisle Street, parallel to Gerrard St, and then spread gradually. The Tailor & Cutter did not close down until around 1974. In 2005, the property developer Rosewheel has proposed a plan to redevelop the eastern part of Chinatown. The plan is opposed by many of the existing retailers in Chinatown, on the basis that they believe that the redevelopment will drive out the traditional Chinese retail stores from the area and change the ethnic characteristic of Chinatown. London's Chinatown is a commercial area; very few people actually live there. There are many illegal workers in London's Chinatown earning less than minimum wage. Also, it is known that the Triads are operating there, highlighted by a shooting in broad daylight in June 2003 in the "brb bar" on Gerrard Street. Naturally, these do not happen very often and Chinatown is a relatively safe area of London. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_London

London's Chinatown is in the Soho area of the City of Westminster, occupying the area in and around Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chinese restaurants, provision stores and souvenir shops. Wong Kei is one of the best-known restaurants in Chinatown. The first area in London known as Chinatown was located in the Limehouse area of London. At the start of the 20th century, the Chinese population of London was concentrated in that area, setting up businesses which catered to the Chinese sailors who frequented in Docklands. The area began to become well known for its (legal) opium dens and slum housing, rather than the Chinese restaurants and supermarkets in the current Chinatown. However, the area was redeveloped in 1934 and much of the old housing was demolished, although a number of elderly Chinese still choose to live in this area. After the Second World War, however, the growing popularity of Chinese cuisine and an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong led to an increasing number of Chinese restaurants being opened elsewhere. The present Chinatown, off Shaftesbury Avenue in London, did not start to be established until the 1970s. Up until then, it was a regular Soho area, run-down, with Gerrard Street the main thoroughfare. It was dominated by the Post Office, facing Macclesfield Street, and other major establishments were The Tailor & Cutter House, at 43/44, now a Chinese supermarket and restaurant, the Boulougne Restaurant, near the Wardour Street end, and by Peter Mario's Restaurant at the other end. Other businesses included a master baker's, the Sari Centre, Lesgrain French Coffee House, an Indian restaurant and lots of doorways offering French Lessons and such like. Probably the first Chinese restaurants opened in Lisle Street, parallel to Gerrard St, and then spread gradually. The Tailor & Cutter did not close down until around 1974. In 2005, the property developer Rosewheel has proposed a plan to redevelop the eastern part of Chinatown. The plan is opposed by many of the existing retailers in Chinatown, on the basis that they believe that the redevelopment will drive out the traditional Chinese retail stores from the area and change the ethnic characteristic of Chinatown. London's Chinatown is a commercial area; very few people actually live there. There are many illegal workers in London's Chinatown earning less than minimum wage. Also, it is known that the Triads are operating there, highlighted by a shooting in broad daylight in June 2003 in the "brb bar" on Gerrard Street. Naturally, these do not happen very often and Chinatown is a relatively safe area of London. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_London