Opinion – Where the streets are paved with gold
Recently, I made the most of the half term break and took the family to stay in London for the weekend. Now, as everyone knows, London is a horrifically expensive place to live as a result of the ridiculous house prices and, therefore, visiting London is even more horrifically expensive. So when the barman at the Apollo Victoria Theatre handed over a small glass of Pinot Grigio and cheerfully informed me that would be £8, I felt my worst fears were being realised. Talking of the theatre, the price of even a seat at the back of the auditorium with an obstructed view is four times the price of going to see a film at Leicester Square. And that’s nothing; choosing to sit 50 feet closer to the stage will add a further £50 to the price. Yet, by the time the final curtain came down, I couldn’t have cared less. The seat might have cost four times as much, but we’d enjoyed ten times the show. We went to see Wicked and it was, well… wicked!
There seems to be a huge divide in what you pay for various things in London. For example, at one end of the scale was our hotel – ten minutes’ walk from Oxford Street, three stars and it cost a measly £255 for 2 nights for the four of us; you’d expect to pay that for one room for one night. At the other end lies Harry Potter World, £76 for an adult and two children to visit what is basically a glorified museum. You can then add £21 for a couple of photos, £100 for some Made in China knickknacks in the shop and £36 for train fares to the wilds of Watford which is where this fabulous “experience” is located. Another example was our pre-theatre dinner, £19 a head for 2 courses including the most succulent rib of beef you ever did see, all served up in a classy hotel a stone’s throw from BuckinghamPalace. Compare that to a themed Southern bar/diner in Covent Garden where a similar amount of money gets you a burger and some chips.
But the starkest contrast came in the form of a trip to Madame Tussauds on the Sunday morning. This cost just £72 for my wife and two children and at least there were no added extras. However, I gave Madame Tussauds a miss (Am I the only person who has ever seen that episode of Doctor Who where the shop dummies come to life and start zapping random passers-by with little guns hidden in their fingers?) Instead I went for a walk. In defiance of the weather forecast it was gloriously sunny and remarkably warm. I ambled through Green Park then stopped to gawk at Buckingham Palace. I sauntered through the crowds of tourists in St James Park, watched some soldiers marching around Horse Guards Parade, went to Downing Street to see if there were any Ministers insulting the police officers on the gate and made a leisurely circuit of the Houses of Parliament. I strolled along the embankment before stepping aboard an old steamer that has moored up for the last time and enjoying a well-earned coffee. I moved on to Trafalgar Square where I was astonished to see that someone has put a 20 foot tall, bright blue cockerel on one of the plinths. Finally, I went back to Baker Street to meet my family. Total cost – £1.80 for the coffee.
London is often criticised for getting constant focus and all the infrastructure spending. Yet it is one of the World’s great cities with 1000 years of history, staggering architecture and some of the greatest museums, all of which can be enjoyed for free. Then there’s the shops, the theatres and the restaurants – not free, but all in one place. London is an amazing, vibrant, awe inspiring monument to human achievement and we should be proud to have it.
Howard Clemmow
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