This is the house where I grew up, in south east London.

London to Paris-The Eurostar.

• It is now possible to travel through the Channel Tunnel to Paris in 2 ½ hours (also to Brussels). This was one of Europe's biggest building projects ever,
• The $15 billion Channel Tunnel is 31 miles long**, of which 23 miles** are underwater.The channel crossing time for Eurostar is only 20 minutes.
• The ‘Chunnel’ was built from two sides, England and France, and they met up in the middle. In 1990 the two sections of the tunnel met up and the tunnel became one continuous tunnel. The Chunnel held its official opening in May of 1994.
• ** how many kilometres is that?

The Tower of London

This is the oldest building in London and the biggest tourist attraction in London. The White Tower was started in 1078 by William the Conqueror, a Frenchman. England was invaded by France in 1066. The White Tower took more than 20 years to build. Its walls are up to 5 meters thick.During its time the Tower of London has been a fort, a palace, a prison and a place of execution. It was here that Henry 8th married his first wife Catherine and executed his second wife Anne, and his fifth wife Catherine. They were both was beheaded, and the place where this took place can be visited. During the Second World War the tower was a prison for German spies who were also executed.The Tower also holds the crown Jewels which are on display. These are the jewels which belong to the Queen. They include her crown and the Star of India which is the biggest diamond in the world, and is the size of a baseball.

The Bloody Tower

The 12-year-old King Edward V and his younger brother Richard, sons of Edward IV, (born 1442, acceded 1461, died 1483), were perhaps the Tower's most famous and tragic prisoners. Following their father's death in 1483, they were lodged in the Tower under the protection of their uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester. Preparations began for Edward's coronation but in the event it was their uncle who was crowned in his place as Richard III. The princes remained in the Tower for a time and then mysteriously disappeared; their uncle was popularly believed to have arranged for their murder. Since at least the early 17th century, this building has been known as the Bloody Tower because it was thought to be where the 'Princes in the Tower' met their end. The bodies of the princes were found one hundred and ninety one years later, in 1674.

See......http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/tower_home.asp

The Princes in the Tower, depicted by the Victorian artist John Millais.The Tower of London

Quiz. Click for then answer.

1. When was The White Tower built?

2. Who guards the Tower of London?

The Tower of London is Guarded by Yeoman Warders. Some of the yeoman speak with the accent of an educated middle-class person, and some speak with Received Pronunciation (RP). RP is only spoken by about 3% of the British population and is used by the Queen, by Prince Charles and others of the same social strata.

The Romans in Britain

• In 55 B.C. the Roman general Julius Caesar conquered France (At the time the country was called Gaul, and the Romans called it Gallia). The Gauls fought hard against the Romans and had been helped by their friends in Britain. Caesar was upset by their assistance and decided to teach the Britons a lesson.
• Julius Caesar made two attempts to invade Britain, first in 55 B.C. and then again in 54 B.C. Both times the British warriors and the rotten British weather made his army give up and return to Gallia.
• Nearly a hundred years later in A.D. 43 the Emperor Claudius sent another army to invade Britain. This time the Romans were successful, Roman Britain had begun!
• Roman Britain lasted from 43 AD to 410 AD
• Britain was controlled by Rome for nearly 400 years!!

Read about RP

London-The Hansom Cab

Ask people to conjure up a scene of Victorian London and one of the images that comes to mind is that of the Hansom cab clattering along crowded cobbled streets (round stones laid in the street). The Hansom cab was one of the principle means of transport for decades because of its twin virtues of stability and privacy. Although thought of as a London Cab, it was in fact invented in Hinckley, Yorkshire. The famous architect Joseph Hansom was living in Hinckley when, in 1835, he drove the first prototype of his newly-invented cab. Today, the black cab is feature of London.

http://www.thelondontaxi.co.uk/page6.htm

The Cabbie. It is possible to determine that a "cabbie" or taxi driver is from London by his accent. It is a working class, or cockney accent. He is probably a cockney, although to be a true cockney, or a true Londoner, the person has to be born within the sound of the bells of St. Mary Le Bow, in Cheapside in the City of London (a square mile which is old London). http://www.cockney.co.uk/cockney.htmA London Cabbie will often pronounce words like this:Out (ahht) Talking Travelling (talkin' travelin'), Slower (slowaah). Three and my (as in "Three years of my life", "free years of me life").And.. use phrases, "like it!", "You know what I mean"Cockney is typically known for h-dropping (hat-’at, happy-’appy)Sometimes however (at the beginning of the video) the speaker may use an 'h' which is an example of hypercorrection, or deliberate speech. In other words the speaker is trying to speak correctly, or trying to speak ‘posh’ because of the camera. This does not imply that an RP speaker, (a speaker with received pronunciation) is a better speaker, only that the upbringing has been a different one. In fact what was once considered as vulgar, or as working class English, is often integrated into the speech of the middle classes and phrases such as "You know what I mean" (albeit with a different pronunciation) are used across the class divisions.The Knowledge.

See Want to be a Cab driver? and The Knowledge at: http://www.thelondontaxi.co.uk/page3.htm

London taxi drivers have to pass a difficult test called 'the knowledge', which can take up to three years (the taxi driver here says "free years of me life"). The taxi drivers have to know every street in London. Taxi drivers or cabbies, are usually very talkative and friendly and are also known for their charitable work. There is currently a campaign to stop domestic violence, that is violence directed at women in the home. They are taking action to help reduce this problem.