Researching UK visa solicitors - London Relocation Services - Image via Wikipedia
If you’re seeking to make an international relocation to London, the first thing you’ll need to make it happen is your UK visa. Easier said than done, right? Yet the effort is not only worth it but imperative. Without your visa, you will not be permitted to live, work, or study in the United Kingdom, dashing any dreams of moving to London. And while our London Relocation agents can do a lot of the work for you in finding where to rent London apartments, negotiating rent and lease terms, referring you to utility service providers, and assisting with other aspects of settling in, the London Relocation company itself unfortunately can’t assist with your visa process—other than to answer general questions on which visa you likely need (Tier 2 is most common for professionals, Tier 4 for students), how to contact the UK Border Agency, etc.
So, do your research and keep patient with the time it may take. It’s also in your interest to inquire with service providers specializing in UK visa applications. If you simply Google the phrase “UK visa solicitors,” a number come up that you may be able to initially inquire with online and ask them to call or email you back. A few of such are listed below:
Contact a few solicitors and gauge which ones seem most responsive and helpful. Ask around for recommendations from friends or colleagues who have already made the London move. If you’re relocating to London for a job transfer, your employer’s HR will likely automatically assist you in the process or designate a third party to do so. Otherwise, if you aren’t transferring but your employer does bring over employees from outside the UK, it’s worth asking HR what services they use to get UK visas for those expatriates’ London jobs. It never hurts to ask, right? Especially when what’s on the line is your relocation to London—make it happen!
Most Americans moving to London own or lease a car back here in the states. There are very few cities that have public transportation adequate enough to allow their residents to get where they need to go without a car. London is different. London has one of the world’s best public transportation systems and is proud of that accomplishment. Not only is a car unnecessary for those living and working in the city, having a car can be very expensive between all the fees and parking charges.
One of the biggest differences between home and London most Americans moving to London notice is the amount of walking expected. In London everyone walks. For long distances public transportation will take over, but one must walk to the nearest tube station or bus stop. Walking a mile to get somewhere is common place. London relocation agents will surely stress the amount of walking required in the city as well as give useful tips for navigating the public transportation system.
Those moving to London who decide a car is a necessity will have quite a shock coming! First, there is not a lot of parking. Much like New York City car-owners often have to pay to park their cars and the location
will not necessarily be right outside one’s home. Second, there are many fees for driving such as a congestion charge which is London’s answer to fighting traffic. The fee is around £10 ($20) a day with hefty fines for non-compliance. Parking meters are also ridiculously high and in the busiest parts of town can cost upwards of $10 an hour!
Americans moving to London due to corporate relocation should discuss in detail their family’s needs as it pertains to daily living and travel with their London relocation agents. London relocation agents are there to assist families in transitioning to their new home and country with as little stress as possible. While a car may not be a luxury every family can or need afford, some situations may require it. For those families London relocation services can help locate the most practical vehicle and acquire parking.
Food is an internationally spoken language and for those Americans moving to London it is a wonderful way to learn about British culture. Much like in the states, London has a thriving farmer’s market association with markets in just about every neighborhood. By visiting one’s local farmer’s market Americans fresh to the streets of London from international relocation can learn traditional British recipes, try new and exciting foods not found in the states or Canada and help support local agriculture.
Most cities of decent size in the United States have thriving farmers’ markets. Fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables are available as well as local meats and dairy products. Customers can meet the farmers who grow their food and ask as many questions as they want. It is no different in the UK. Most families moving to London want to embrace the new culture and learn to prepare food as their British neighbors do. Going to the markets and talking with the farmers is a great way to learn basic British kitchen tips and traditional recipes. Generations of cooking know-how can be gained through just a few friendly conversations!
Unlike American farmers’ markets British one are available during the Christmas season. Christmas markets are a high point of many holiday traditions. By visiting a Christmas market Americans can buy all the traditional foods needed for a Christmas dinner and even find handmade baked goods. British farmers are friendly and very happy to explain traditions and cooking instructions to newcomers.
Relocation to London can be difficult, especially during the holidays, but by challenging oneself to embrace the native traditions, Christmas-time can be less lonesome. Christmas markets are a family event. There is no better place for immersing one’s family in the spirit of a UK Christmas and learning all about their new home’s culture and character. Many different cultures are represented and there is no better place than at the dinner table to learn about England’s rich collage of cultures.
For families wishing to visit a local Christmas market but not sure where to begin London relocation agents is a great starting point. They can point one in the right direction and even recommend the best markets. Americans moving to London during the holiday season should also contact one of the many London relocation services to inquire as to where to begin their new family Christmas tradition of visiting the local Christmas market.
Find old-school, Old World elegance at The Gilbert Scott - London Relocation Services
Moving to London is a dream come true when you realize that some of the world’s greatest treasures are right in your backyard. Yesterday, I started chronicling the history of one such treasure that is among the most beloved of structures in London, St. Pancras (see “Moving to London – The Preservation of St. Pancras (Part 1)“). Whatever neighborhood your London Relocation agent takes you to for searching for London apartment rentals, you’ll likely end up close to a tube station that can ultimately connect you to Kings Cross, a major hub of Underground and Overground rail transport. Well, Kings Cross is right next door to St. Pancras, so you can access its international rail station for high-speed UK trains or the Eurostar to Paris via a pedway. This classy and enormous brick rail station also houses dozens upon dozens of places to eat, drink, and shop. I, however, simply love to visit St. Pancras for its atmospheric Renaissance Hotel.
Originally the Midland Grand Hotel from the 1870s to 1935, today’s Renaissance owes both its internal and external stately grandeur to designer Sir George Gilbert Scott. He went out of his way to allow as much natural light in as possible by giving the rooms large windows, Gothic fanlights above the doors, and arched stairwells. Arguably the grandest staircase in England is the aptly named, “Grand Staircase.” (Tip: take the elevator to the third floor to get an amazing vantage of the staircase from above and walk down the steps from there to really feel like royalty!) This stairwell and the hallways are notably wide to allow for two women in wide dresses to pass through side-by-side. And when you gaze upward at the vaulted ceilings throughout this impressive structure, it’s no wonder that Scott had helped to design hundreds of Britain’s churches and cathedrals.
Among the lavish Victorian decor are intricately painted ceilings, grand fireplaces, carved stone, and limestone and granite pillars. This site has hosted the likes of Johnnie Walker (yes, as in the Scotch), Commodore Vanderbilt, inventor/industrialist George Pullman, and Jesse Boot (as in the Boots pharmacy stores found on every high street today—for Americans moving to London, Boots is the UK equivalent of Walgreens). Places where you can sit and take in the wondrous eye candy are the hotel’s sweeping lobby (furnished with seating where you can order a beverage), the Booking Office Bar (serving Victorian cocktails, light bites and meals and with direct access to the international rail platforms), and The Gilbert Scott restaurant and bar.
The Gilbert Scott restaurant is run by celebrity chef Marcus Wareing and exists in the space of the original exotic Coffee Room. The Bar at The Gilbert Scott occupies the former original entrance to the Midland Grand Hotel where one of the first revolving doors was ever installed in the UK (provided by the actual inventor of the revolving door, Theophilus Van Kannel, in 1899). This is where I hung out Thursday night with fellow expats who moved to London from the US, and in addition to a fine wine and cocktail selection, we were enchanted by the colorful patterns painted on the ceiling and large-scale bell chandeliers. It truly transports you into a glamorous, romantic past, and I cannot recommend it highly enough for a pleasurable day or evening out after your relocation to London.
The romantic Victorian facade of St. Pancras - London Relocation Services - Image via Wikipedia
When you make a relocation to London, you don’t merely live inside your London apartment—you dwell in the city’s very history. There aren’t many London locations that don’t have an interesting history attached; I’m reminded of this every day and was last night in particular when I met fellow American expats for cocktails at theSt. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Housed in the same structure as the St. Pancras International rail station (this is where you catch the Eurostar to Paris and UK high-speed rail services), the hotel is situated conveniently next door to Kings Cross Station and just a block from the British Library, where I love to visit the manuscript room and gawk at Charlotte Brontë’s original, handwritten Jane Eyre, among other fascinating literary treasures.
St. Pancras rail station was designed by William Barlow in 1863, and construction began in 1866. The building’s most distinctive feature is its red brick Gothic Revival facade, which was designed for a competition in 1865 that called for a 150-bed hotel that would “add lustre” to the rail station. Before it was the Renaissance Hotel, it was the Midland Grand Hotel, which was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott (after whom the present restaurant and cocktail lounge is named) and constructed from 1868-1876. All stone and brick used in its construction came from England’s Midlands.
The hotel only lasted until 1935, however; it proved too expensive to maintain, and the building’s solid foundations prevented plumbing routes that would allow for modern en suite bathrooms at the time. At this point, the facility was used as railway offices. During both WWI and WWII, St. Pancras played a significant role: it was a meeting point for troops and used to transport soldiers as well as evacuate children out of London to the countryside. The station itself was bombed during the London Blitz (three times in one month, in fact), but the strong structure remained relatively unscathed, and the railway was brought back into working order; .
Despite this history and the intricate grandeur of its facade, I’m horrified to discover that St. Pancras was nearly demolished by the British in the 1960s. The idea was to re-route St. Pancras’s trains to the neighboring Kings Cross and build an office tower in its place. The fact that we can still enjoy the station and hotel to this day is attributed to the public outcry in 1966. Euston Station had already undergone such a hideous makeover in 1962, which helped fan the flames of protest against it happening again. The poet Sir John Betjeman was a notable figure in its preservation, and a bronze statue of him stands in the station today. (Among other artistic artifacts to be found in the station are sculptor Paul Day’s nine-foot bronze statue “The Meeting Place” and the re-constructed St. Pancras Clock at the apex of the Barlow shed.)
Join me next time for more historical and architectural tidbits on St. Pancras to further your appreciation of this London gem and hopefully encourage you to visit it as a guest, diner, or traveler when you make your international relocation to London.
Travel registration for Americans relocating to London UK - London Relocation Services - Image via Wikipedia
If you’re making a relocation to London, you’ve already got enough to think about, surely, but safety should be a #1 priority at all times. When it comes to searching for London apartments to rent, your London Relocation agent will only show you properties in safe neighborhoods so that your every day can feel secure. When it comes to all those fabulous international trips you’ll be taking after your London move, you should likewise take care via travel registration.
I was just having lunch yesterday with a fellow expat who moved to London from the US, and she educated me on the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). STEP is a service provided by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. If you’re an American citizen, by registering online, you can submit the details of your upcoming international trips so that, in case of emergency, the US government can provide you with assistance. The service also provides routine information from the London US Embassy for Americans moving to London. You can enroll and submit your travel details at the following site: https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/
More often than not, your trip should go smoothly. But the fact that there are any chances of illness, accidents, crime, terrorism, natural disaster, financial difficulties, or civil unrest while you’re traveling abroad (or perhaps occurring at home and loved ones need to contact you) warrants travel registration so the US Department of State can find you and assist. At the time of applying for help if in need, you will need to have evidence of your US citizenship via your passport or birth certificate—online registration through STEP alone does not prove your citizenship to the government.
If you’re an American relocating to London to live for a while, you will register as a “Long-Term Traveler.” This then allows you to provide the address of your London apartment rental and receive local embassy/consulate information in addition to your foreign travels. Use this address as your “Personal Information Address” if, following your London relocation, you will no longer have a US address. If, on the other hand, you will be maintaining a permanent US address as many American expats moving to London only temporarily often do, you would instead register that US address as your Personal Information Address and list your London apartment address as “Long-Term Trip Address.”
If, on the other hand, you only want travel information for any given trip, you don’t have to register—relevant information (like travel advisories, announcements, and consular information sheets) can be found at http://travel.state.gov.
Sorry to add another item to your lengthy international relocation checklist, but it’s worthwhile for your safety’s sake if you’re an American moving to London and want peace of mind while living and traveling abroad.
Embracing change for an international relocation to London - London Relocation Services
First of all, if you’re making an international relocation to London and excited for the useful goodies in store at the London Relocation agency’s new website, sorry that I got your hopes up for Monday. The new site obviously hasn’t launched yet, and all I can say is *fingers crossed* it will by the end of the week.
In the meantime, if you’re like many expats I know, you might be blogging about your international relocation experience. Check out our London expat blogroll at our London Living social network for a sampling of several expats who made the London move, blogged about it, and continue to blog about their experiences living abroad. It’s a great means of sorting through all the factors involved in an international move, cheering for your steps forward in the process and perhaps cursing at unexpected steps back. And once you’ve moved to London, you’ll want to chronicle your adventures here!
At any rate, a big part of the expat blog is not only about embracing adventure but embracing change. Change is inevitable; change is what helps us grow. Change also is intimidating and might not seem for the best at first. We all approach it differently; some of us are more adaptable than others, and some of us have different expectations of what change will mean. And change can have a funny way of surprising us with what it really has in store.
In celebration of embracing change, then, I’ve joined the virtual book launch for author Cherie Colyer‘s debut novel, Embrace. Here are the details from her author blog:
To celebrate the release of Embrace
I’m throwing a Virtual Launch Party and I’m inviting everyone to come!
Will you join me?
When: December 20, 2011
Where: On Your Blog
What: A celebration of the release of EMBRACE
And did I mention there will be prizes?
Here’s How to Join the Party (pick one!):
1) Write your own post about embracing change.
Share a story like the ones above about embracing change. It can be something small, like a new hair style that helped you feel like a whole new person to something big like a new job or moving away from home for the first time. I’m hoping these posts will brighten everyone’s day as they get ready for the holidays.
2) Hop around the virtual party and just hang out.
Sounds fun, doesn’t it? And it sounds terribly appropriate to me as a topic for us folks who have or are going to make the relocation to London. If you’re in the process of it, your life is definitely about to change—so join me here on December 20th as I share my personal story of how my London relocation prompted me to embrace change. And, even better, take Cherie Colyer up on Option #1 up there: WRITE YOUR OWN POST ABOUT EMBRACING CHANGE on your blog. You can sign up here: www.embracenovels.com
If you don’t have a blog but would like to share your relocation experience with everyone here, you can also submit it to me as a guest post for the London Relocation blog at colleen[AT]londonrelocation[DOT]co[DOT]uk.
Shopping for classic London gifts and fashion - London Relocation Services - Image via Wikipedia
Ever since moving to London from the US three years ago, Facebook has been an essential connection to friends and family back home. It has even reunited me with people of the past I would’ve never seen otherwise simply because it made them aware I now live in London, and London is a hub of business and pleasure travel that seems to bring everyone here at some point (see my post, “This is Your London Life” to see what I mean). In any case, I just received a Facebook message from a high school friend informing me that her husband is in London on business this week. She wanted my advice on any London “must haves” that he could bring back for her—aside from the usual tea and biscuits, she’s thinking fashion accessories. Well, tastes can vary, and I’m admittedly not expert enough to exhaust quintessential London items, but from my brief expat experience, here’s what I suggested beyond the usual souvenir stores…
First of all, it was funny she should mention tea and biscuits because, honestly, the first thing that popped into my mind was digestive biscuits! Milk or dark chocolate. McVities are all right (found anywhere), but Marks & Spencer’s brand at their Simply Food grocers are my personal favorite. And if you’re in the City centre and keen to buy tea, I recommend the original Twinings shop where Fleet Street turns into the Strand (just across the street from the Royal Courts of Justice)—it dates back to 1706 and has a massive selection.
But to get more into her line of thinking…my favorite department store here is Liberty of London. Just walking through it is an experience, filled with pretty fabrics, designer clothing, and vintage-inspired this-n-thats for gifts (like teacups, etc.) and home furnishings. They’re famous for their fabric prints and sell all sorts of items featuring them like cosmetic cases, tea towels, blouses, Wellies, and whatnot. As other department stores go, the major ones here are Harrods, Harvey Nichols, and Selfridges; Harrods has a floor selling self-stamped gifty items but otherwise, like the other stores, more or less sells the same designer brands you’d find at home. Top British designers, though, include Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, and Paul Smith. Mulberry and Aspinal of London offer luxury handbags, and Cath Kidston has cute vintage, kinda kitschy stuff. For men, Charles Tyrwhitt—along with the previously mentioned Paul Smith and Aspinol—is nice for business wear and accessories.
Portobello Road in Notting Hill is always a cute spot for finding really good deals on trendy little dresses and accessories in both the boutiques and street stalls. It’s not high-end stuff but fun. There’s a shop there where I’ve bought bags for every female in my family—it’s called Oi! and sells handmade fabric purses in different shapes and sizes with an eclectic mix of patterns that always changes. Also in Notting Hill is a string of really posh boutiques along Westbourne Grove selling higher end clothes, boots, etc.—particularly within the first couple blocks east of Portobello. On the corner of Portobello and Westbourne Grove, actually, is another favorite store of mine, All Saints, but as of recently it’s now in New York and Chicago, too, so maybe not as unique to London anymore. They’re stuff is cool, though, so worth checking out if you’re still in the States!
So that was my off-the-top-of-my-head two pence on the topic. I of course look forward to shopping more in London to get better acquainted with its other “must haves,” but in the meantime the above locales make for great gift ideas for when you’ve made your international relocation to London and want to treat those at home or yourself!
Charles II, King of England - London Relocation Services - Image by lisby1 via Flickr
It’s that crazy time again, Weekend Warriors, when we delve into British history as part of your cultural prep for your upcoming international relocation to London. Last week, we introduced King Charles II, whose father Charles I had been kicked to the curb by those seeking commonwealth versus monarchical rule, which had paved the way for Oliver Cromwell to become Lord Protector. Well, now that both Charles I and Oliver are dead, and Oliver’s son Richard has in turn been kicked to the curb to restore the monarchy, it’s the latest episode of “Charles II in Charge.” (Huh, this is the last place I’d ever think I could make a Scott Baio reference…)
Anyway. Last we saw, Charles II‘s reign was seein’ some tough times: plague, fire, and defeat in war. This Second Anglo-Dutch War had been instigated by the British capture of New Amsterdam—in the New World—from the Dutch in 1664. In 1665, New Amsterdam was reincorporated as New York under British law. Nonetheless, in ultimately losing to the Dutch in 1667, Charles II now seeks an alliance with France against them, securing a secret treaty with King Louis XIV in 1670. In doing so, Charles II agrees to support the French against the Dutch in the Third Anglo-Dutch War of 1672-1674 as well as promises to restore England as a state of Catholicism. In return, France pays subsidies to him, which he’s in need of given Parliament’s current domination of government, thus, tight hold on the king’s purse strings.
Anti-Catholicism is on the rise again in England, however, and it’s an issue that the Whig party uses to undermine the king. In addition to his perhaps not-so-secret alliance with France, Charles II has bred plenty of illegitimate children, but he has none with his actual wife, so his closest heir is his Catholic brother James. Parliament tries in vain to pass an exclusion bill that would prevent Catholics from holding public office, and Charles II spends his remaining years defending his brother’s right to the throne and winning the support of the Tory party. Tensions between the king and Parliament are further heightened by his attempts at becoming a sole ruler—which he does become after dissolving Parliament in 1681. A few years later, Charles II suffers a stroke and subsequent complications; he converts to Catholicism on his death bed in 1685.
Well, whatever your religious or political views, your London Relocation agent will make sure no tensions arise during your London apartment search; London rent prices could figuratively cause a stroke, so London Relocation will negotiate that down for you and keep you in charge of the process, not the London lettings agents or landlords. (How’s that for a none-too-subtle plug?)
London Relocation's new website will feature a London Neighborhood Guide to aid your London move - Image via Wikipedia
If you’re moving to London, I’ve been mentioning for a while now that the London Relocation agency is redesigning its website. Well, it seems the looong wait might at last be coming to an end, and we can’t wait to share the results with you (heck, I can’t wait to see them myself!).
The NEW London Relocation website is tentatively scheduled to launch this Monday, 5 December.
We reeeaallly hope you like it. The aim is to provide a more user-friendly resource that comprehensively covers what London Relocation‘s services are all about and who our team of expatriates really is. There’s no shyster standing behind the curtain boasting to be the Great and Powerful Oz. We put ourselves right out there for you to get to know, and it’s no facade that London Relocation is indeed the great and powerful wizard of London lettings for those making an international relocation to London or simply moving within the city (which, as any Londoner can tell you, is not necessarily all that simple even when you know the lay of the land).
In any case, this website has given me opportunity to contribute in new ways beyond the blog. In the new website, I’ll still be blogging on London lifestyle and tips, but I’ll also be splitting my time between that and updating our new “Expat Chat” page with logistical advice for international relocation (I’ve kick-started it so far with things to consider in general as well as with regard to choosing a London neighborhood and relocating a pet to the UK…but stay tuned, as there’s tons more to come!). I’ve written the new website’s other pages as well and a London neighborhood guide that will be available for you to download as a PDF when you complete one of our online web forms. And apologies in advance that you’ll be stuck with my mug in our new London Relocation promotional video outlining how this unique relocation service works.
Beyond that, we’re psyched about London Relocation’s new logo and look! And there will be video testimonials to accompany our written client feedback; we’ll also speak to how the London Relocation agency‘s services cater to your personal needs whether you’re relocating to London as a professional, student, or family. And we’ll have a frequently asked questions feature that will hopefully check off some question marks prompted by your London move and what London Relocation can do for you.
When it comes down it, winning Re:locate Magazine‘s 2010/11 Rising Star in Relocation Award this year hasn’t gone to our heads—it’s only motivated us to work even harder and better to bring our clients first-rate relocation services. And as expatriates who have moved to London ourselves, we bring a lot of empathy to the table; we’re personable and accessible, and we hope the new website conveys that to you. Fingers crossed that we can all see it Monday! And in the meantime, the London Relocation agents are available to you every day of the week to tailor their expertise toward your London move.
Christmas in the UK after a London Move - London Relocation Services
Making an international relocation to London during the holidays can be an added challenge if you’re leaving loved ones behind that you won’t get to share the usual annual traditions with. I haven’t been home for three Thanksgivings or Easters since my relocation to London, but Christmas is my non-negotiable. I head for Chi-town in two weeks. And because I’m going home, a friend the other day gave me the full description of the dessert she’s making for a holiday party that I’ll be missing. The good news is that, contingent on any being left over, I could still eat that same cake in 2012 and beyond if I wanted to. For as long as it takes to prepare it, it lasts even longer.
I am speaking of the traditional UK Christmas cake, a labor of holiday love. It requires one-hour of prep time and four-and-a-half hours of baking time. Woe was my friend, then, when she’d neglected to read ahead in the recipe to see that fact and had started her process at 10:00pm. What was even more fun for her was having to wake up every hour-and-a-half and turn her oven back on because it only stays on as long as its hour-and-a-half-max timer. She’s still excited about it, though. And her work isn’t done yet. Every few days for the next few weeks she must pour a few spoonfuls of brandy (or whiskey) into this fruit cake. By Christmas, the cake then gets sealed airtight in marzipan and icing, wrapped in a ribbon and topped with a Christmasy design. If interested in making this one of your first big projects to test that new London apartment kitchen, here’s a recipe: www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/christmascake.
Another tip-off that it’s officially Christmas-time in the UK was when I was just offered a free mince pie with my holiday-edition latte at Starbucks. These little tartlets of mincemeat (which isn’t meat at all but made of dried and fresh fruits, sugar, brandy, and suet) crop up everywhere, and it’s supposedly good luck to eat one every day in December. I gave my free pie to my husband last night, so guess I’ve already fallen behind. The good thing, though, is that I got said pie right after a dental cleaning, so my sweet tooth and I are ready for all the holiday desserts! In any case, a recipe for mince pie is here: www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mymincepies.
Whatever meets your fancy this holiday season, enjoy all the similarities and differences in how the Brits and London’s international community celebrate. London is the perfect setting for the holidays, right out of one those cute miniature Charles Dickens villages that you set up at Christmas with its Victorian architecture, German markets, and these cozy desserts with mulled wine or hot toddies. If you make your relocation to London by then, you’ll be home for Christmas if only in your dreams, as the song says…but you’ll also feel at home in London.
The Clerkenwell neighborhood of London - London Relocation Services - Image via Wikipedia
If you’re making your relocation to London early this month, you may reach a point where you’re in desperate need to do something festive and relaxing after searching to rent London apartments. Understood. No matter what London neighborhood you might be moving to, a very cool one to check out any time of year is Clerkenwell, and it just so happens that there’s an artsy-yet-functional event going on soon that’ll give your eyes something to feast on and perhaps kit out your new London apartment!
A friend of mine, the talented artist Charlene Lam (who’s a fellow expat that moved to London from the US), is curating the work of talented designer-makers for the Creative Clerkenwell stall at the Vitra Christmas Market. Running from 5-22 December, this modern take on a German Christmas Market will be constructed in Vitra’s beautiful furniture showroom, right on Clerkenwell Road, and there will be a range of lovely things to browse, from super affordable to luxurious, with sales benefiting Shelter, the homeless and housing charity. From Creative Clerkenwell’s website:
“Creative Clerkenwell will curate a stall of design-led work from local designer-makers, featuring members of the Craft Central network, including jewellers Amanda Li Hope and Oxx Jewellery, interior accessories designer Michelle Mason, and ceramicist Jo Davies.
Join in the market for nibbles and drinks, try out all the fancy furniture, and meet the designers! It sounds like a fabulous time for one and all and a truly fashionable way to start getting acquainted with London and making a real home out of a London apartment after your international relocation.
But think of this: by 1823, there were 40,000 gas lamps in London that had to be lit one by one by hand thanks to the lamplighters. That’s tremendous! How laborious, and yet how romantic.
In any case, I just stumbled on this other little factoid that you’ll definitely need to be on the lookout for after your London move, as found in Tom Quinn’s London’s Strangest Tales book:
“The year was 1807 and Londoners were eager to do what they could to celebrate the king’s birthday. [...] A German engineer called Albert Winsor was then living in London and he decided to do his bit by installing posts with lamps on top all along one side of The Mall. He set up a small gas tank and built underground pipes connecting the lighting posts with each other and with his gas tank. [...]
These were not the gas lamps we are familiar with from old films about London— [...] Winsor’s lights simply flamed up from the top of their posts, but the world’s first street lights—which these certainly were—caused a sensation across the capital.”
A quite quirky feature of these lights is that Winsor used gun barrels taken from old muskets from the Woolwich Arsenal to make the pipes linking the lamps, as he reasoned those shafts obviously had to withstand a great amount of pressure. As Quinn continues:
“[T]he street that runs from The Mall through St James’s Palace is today one of the last streets in the world still to have traditional mantled gas lamps. They have been there now for more than a century—if you want to see what London looked like at night in Victorian times this is the only place you can still do it.”
I never knew that! Methinks I need to take a field-trip of my own over there! So there you have it. Just a bit of historical whimsy that yet again shows how London has often been a forerunner in progress yet continues to charm us with its strong hold on tradition. When you’re on your viewing day with your London Relocation agent, soak up the atmosphere of these lovely London neighborhoods and ready yourself for all the ways this city will light you up from within.
Mmm...turducken...A little something to whet your appetite for your relocation to London - London Relocation Services - Image via Wikipedia
Sorry for my ghetto title if you’re making an international relocation to London and simply looking for some helpful information for that. Well, I still can’t promise that you’re going to get that in this particular post (please utilize our search tool to find good stuff on London apartments, London neighborhoods, why using a London Relocation agent is so imperative, how to prepare for a London move, etc.), but there’s a topic that I’ve been itching to write about since Thanksgiving, and while I know this is belated, I’m slap-happy today, quite frankly.
Why? Well, allow me to derail the London Relocation Blog to selfishly announce that today I became a NaNoWriMo winner—wooHOO!! NaNoWriMo is a portmanteau for “National Novel Writing Month.” You know from my London Literacy category on this blog that I’m a literary dork who taught high school English before relocating to London from the US, and since then I’ve indulged my passions for reading and writing in London by working freelance as a fiction editor and writing for the London Relocation agency‘s blog and upcoming new website. Well, I also do a lot of fiction writing, and this year was my virgin NaNoWriMo experience, and I was panicked because I’d started the challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel in only one month twelve days late, and, and…as of this afternoon, I did it. And I think I actually managed to not write a bunch of absolute crap. Yay.
So, in case I lost you at “portmanteau,” that’s a single word that is made of two or more words—similar to the aforementioned “NaNoWriMo,” though the term is probably more intended for words like “smog” that derive from “smoke” and “fog.” Anyway, it’s also like what the media loves to do these days with celebrity couples: Bennifer, Brangelina, etc. *barf*
But sometimes the portmanteau is pretty darn fun. As in the case of what I’ve been dying to write about for a week: Turducken, the portmanteau for turkey + duck + chicken. As in stuffing one right inside the other like Russian dolls. All right, now I had never heard of it, but I do now understand that this has become a known novelty in the States for Thanksgiving. But it’s a relatively recent novelty for us Yankees compared to its centuries-old tradition in Europe. In the UK, the concept of a multi-bird dish is probably most well-known in the form of the historic Yorkshire Christmas Pie. According to Hannah Glasse’s classic recipe in Art of Cookery:
“First make a good standing crust, let the wall and bottom be very thick; bone a turkey, a goose, a fowl, a partridge, and a pidgeon.”
The end result looked like a massive meat pie and weighed several dozen pounds. (If interested in reading more about the history of Britain’s meat pies, see my previous post, “Move to London and Eat Yer Humble Pie“). The turducken, then, is not a far stretch for the Brits to consider as a holiday meal, and I’m already seeing pre-made frozen versions of it advertised by the Iceland grocery store by the name “three bird roast” (http://youtu.be/okCvRGrm0E8). Apparently, another common form of the three-bird roast is duck stuffed with chicken stuffed with pigeon. And there are some folks out in Devon who really go nuts and up the ante by doing it with at least a dozen—this article is four years old, but reports on their TWELVE-bird roast and ambitions to go for twenty-one the following year…I could not find documentation on whether they did this, but figure the BBC would’ve known if so. Anyway, here’s the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk.
And if you’re still not grasping just how fun a portmanteau can be, how do ya like this: a vendor at London’s famed Borough Market near London Bridge is selling a variation on the turducken with four different birds. It consists of a goose, pheasant, duck, and chicken…which renders it a “Gophucken.” *blush* (Don’t get it? Try saying it out loud and remember the “ph” = “f”-sound rule from your early reading days. And if you’re offended, blame your own dirty mind and not the London Relocation agency. I’m only reporting on a multi-bird roast, after all; what’s your damage?).
So. If I haven’t made you gag by now with this heart-attack on a platter (I know—I already had you dry-heaving back at “Brangelina”; I’m with ya), here’s to trying new foods as you move to a new country. The turducken might not be regarded as distinctly British, but they seem a lot more open-minded to this sort of thing around here; they still indulge the fruit cake for Christmas, if that’s any indication. A friend of mind is already laboring over this weeks-long process, so perhaps I’ll blog about that next if you’re moving to London, England in time for the holidays and interested in traditional British Christmas fare.
When you make a relocation to London, you’ll discover there might be different taxes you have to pay in the UK than you’ve had to deal with before. It goes without saying that the UK has its own income tax structure that includes contributions to the national healthcare system (NHS), etc., but the ones that usually catch expats moving to London most by surprise are council tax and TV licensing. Today, I’ll explain the latter.
“You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it’s being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.
It costs £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for a black and white TV Licence.”
If you intend to be the sole occupant of your London apartment and will indeed watch television in it, you are responsible for obtaining your own TV license. If you’ll be lodging in a London flat-share in which you occupy one room of the London property and have a separate tenancy agreement from your flatmate(s), then you are likewise responsible for having your own TV license. If, on the other hand, you are sharing a London apartment rental under a joint tenancy agreement, then one TV license is enough for the entire property (there are exceptions to this rule, however—oddly enough, it could make a difference if you have “exclusive access to a toilet or washing facilities”; what that has to do with television, I don’t know, but they must be sticklers, so you can contact them with questions if you’re unsure).
With regard to that last arrangement, the London Relocation agency often assists groups of students seeking joint tenancy agreements on a shared London apartment to rent. If you’re a student moving to London and will be staying in a dormitory instead, be advised that even if there’s a communal television on your floor for all residents of that floor to view, you are still responsible for obtaining your own TV license if you watch programming inside your individual room.
You might be wondering, then, what is the license for? Well, a TV license basically pays for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) programming you watch or listen to, be it on your television, computer, or radio. On the television, BBC offers thirteen different stations plus additional content with the use of a red button on your remote. Such additional content can also be found online through your computer or portable devices (including mobile), and programming is available via BBC iPlayer. Finally, there are eighteen BBC radio stations offering a diverse range of international music, news, sports, and talk. The fee likewise covers cost of installation of TV receivers.
Dinner with friends the other night brought this topic to mind because we were raving about the high quality of a lot of BBC programming. The content is comprehensive, and the filming technology is cutting edge, as evidenced by shows like Planet Earth and Frozen Planet. Seriously, just to give an example, this time-lapse footage on the underwater “brinicle” is insane (and has nearly five million hits on YouTube to date)!
So, hopefully this helps tick off one more question that your international relocation to London has raised. Moral of the story: if you plan to watch television programming in the comforts of your London apartment, you’re going to have to register for a TV license.
