Even though the best English school opened its doors in 1962, we shouldn’t forget some of the other big events of that year.

Surely you’ve heard of the people in the pictures below? Something significant happened for all these people 50 years ago, too – it wasn’t just SGI grabbing the headlines!  :)
 

1962: SGI opens – but what else happened?

The Beatles

5th October 1962: Love Me Do was released and The Beatles legend began. Their first record came out in January, but Love Me Do was their first record to really hit the big time.

James Bond

5th October 1962: Dr No released with a Scottish bodybuilder who had never acted before in the lead role as James Bond: Sean Connery would go on to become a Hollywood superstar, but no subsequent role was ever better than the world’s coolest secret agent.

 
Don’t forget to enter our James Bond Competition, where you can win a Week of free English lessons at SGI here in Central London!
 

The Rolling Stones

12th July 1962: The Rolling Stones played their first gig at The Marquee on Oxford Street in London (just round the corner from SGI). On 7th April, Brian Jones had been introduced to Michael Philip Jagger and Keith Richards (who was then studying at art college). 50 years later they are still going strong – just like SGI.

 

Marilyn Monroe

5th August 1962: Marilyn Monroe was found dead at her home in LA. She was only 36. It was reported that the last person she phoned was President John F Kennedy, who she was rumoured to have had an affair with.

 

Bob Dylan

August 1962: Robert Allen Zimmerman legally changed his name to Bob Dylan. He also travelled to London in December to play some gigs at London folk venues. One of those was The King & Queen pub in Fitzrovia (just a short walk from SGI, where you can find some of the SGI teachers having a drink on Friday nights).

Nelson Mandela

25th October 1962: Nelson Mandela sentenced to 5 years in prison. However, he spent the next 27 years in jail.

1: Invest in wellies and an umbrella.

Ladies don’t bother to think about the ”brush”, or straighten your hair, the rain and wind will take care of it …

2: ACCEPT that you live close to others, it is almost impossible to live in an apartment alone, or even begin to think about having your own bathroom!

Roommates or host families are the solution to avoid budget crises and having to eat potatoes for the last two weeks of the month.

3: Learn to be civilized when taking the tube: line up on the right of the escalator to let people pass AND wait behind the yellow line.

Know that if you go over that line you migth be shouted at over the controller’s loudspeaker in front of everyone! The shame!

4: APOLOGISE as much as possible: Learn to say ”sorry: SO-REE”, if your friend is banged against a wall, you apologise for the wall: this is English and it’s mandatory!

5: Eat properly. If you have a plate of peas, with roasted pork, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy, make sure that you do not mix it all up with your fork. Eat ingredient by ingredient, your stomach will take care of the mixing.

6: DRINK … you have a choice! Breakfast = milk tea, milk tea = Lunch, 16h = milk tea, dinner = tea with milk and milk tea = digestive …

7: Respect your neighbour, AND THE ROYAL FAMILY!

I think it’s one of the reasons why it is pleasant to live in London and that’s why it’s become my favorite capital.

8: Don’t Steal:

Unlike the French (Statistically proven to steal from the supermarket), here it is almost impossible to do so, and even if you try to put an unsecured article in your pocket , 1000 surveillance cameras are pointed above, so expect a  muscular welcome at the exit of the supermarket.
My Advice: buy your chewing gum!

9: NIGHT LIFE: Start early and don’t have a long, drawn-out dinner, or you will arrive at a nightclub when they are closing! Learn how to return home early, the clubs close at 2am.

10: THE RIGHT SIDE OF THINGS, my last tip should have been the first one but I always keep the best for last …

To be a good English person … You have to be patient and see only the bright side of things.

Being a good English person is knowing how to say ” Yes please “when you can no longer …

Learn to be phlegmatic and you will win everything!

This week I took a little group of around ten to our local pub, and we had our usual free drink event to welcome new students. We had a chat about football, best players, and best looking players… We also talked about the rest of the social programme, and started talking about afternoon snacks, equivalent to our Afternoon Tea: In Spain people apparently eat some sort of dough, dipped in sugar and oil twice, and then covered in chocolate (and we thought British people were unhealthy!!) – In Russia, it’s dry fish and beer!! Or sunflower seeds in front of the TV for older ladies…

On Wednesday, Gavin took 11 people to see the Streets of London exhibition at the Museum of London. They really enjoyed the photos, and said it was interesting to see how the streets looked 100 years ago. They were also trying to recognise the streets and name them: They thought Gavin was very knowledgable as he was correct each time, but what Gavin didn’t mention was that he was reading the small prints under the photos!! Cheat!  After the museum, they went and had a drink in a pub, near St Paul’s Cathedrale. 

Finally, yesterday, Amy took a group of 9 students to Browns, near Charing Cross, to have Afternoon Tea. They had lovely salmon and cucumber sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and pastries… The tea however was a little disapppointing as it came made with tea bags rather than leaf tea… Apparently there might have been a small drama in the kitchen during the day and the staff were looking a little disorganised! Well, these things happen in a restaurant!

The weekend starts now, the school was open this morning, but very quickly now all the teachers and students are disappearing and on their way to enjoy this Lovely Sunny Easter Weekend!

Enjoy yours, and don’t overdo it on chocolate!

As well as the famous SGI Social programme and the thousands of places to see, restaurants to visit, clubs to dance in, pubs to drink in and the best entertainment in the world, you are spoilt for choice! You lucky people!

1st March until 2nd May: FRANKENSTEIN

Fresh after his unbelievable Oscar success with Slumdog Millionaire and a change of pace with 27 Hours, Director Danny Boyle changed track again by directing a National Theatre production of Mary Shelley’s world famous Gothic story of Frankenstein. Critics and public alike have been wowed by this amazing production. The next lot of tickets goes on sale on March 10th.

6th March: MASLENITSA RUSSIAN FESTIVAL

This free event will cure any homesickness blues for the many Russian students at SGI. This annual festival takes place in Trafalgar Square this year and the crowds will enjoy Russian Dance and musical acts: rock group Moral Codex, pop band Chelsea and folk diva, Ludmilla Rumina. There will be lots of stalls offering Russian cuisines and delicacies, such as pelmeni, blinis, bubliki and I dare say, a vodka or two!

1st March onwards: ANNA NICOLE

The true-life story (so ridiculous that you couldn’t invent it) of Anna Nicole Smith has been turned into an opera! The Royal Opera House has can’t have ever heard so many swear words before as the hilarious opera about the fame-obsessed, white trash, lap-dancer who married an 89-year-old billionaire rolls on in it’s very successful run.

There are English surtitles on the big screens…just to help out SGI students, who will no doubt be going along with teacher Owen on one of his popular theatreland visits.

17th – 19th March: KATY PERRY

If you are into throwaway pop, then you might like to drop in on the HMV APOLLO, Hammersmith, as Katy Perry performs all her hits, including, I kissed a girl, Hot n Cold, California Girls, etc. Make sure you buy tickets early, as this will definitely be sold out on in advance.

23rd March: CAGE THE ELEPHANT

If I did just one thing this month in London, this would be it. Cage The Elephant are a blues/rock/indie band from Kentucky USA, who play it like it should be played! Get down to The Electric Ballroom in Camden to catch this act for only £10 before they become superstars and only play stadiums and festivals. Here’s a video of them in action on British TV with English subtitles to help you understand the lyrics.

26th March: OXFORD & CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE

2011 will see the 157th Boat Race. Last year, the Cambridge crew was victorious with their 80th win. Oxford have only won 75 times, so this year they will be out for revenge and trying to close the gap in the total number of wins.

This is a great event to experience along the banks of The Thames, anywhere between Mortlake and Putney. Make sure you get there early if you want to cheer on the rowers, as the crowds for the race are usually very big.

17th April: LONDON MARATHON

Approximately 30,000 runners will take part this year in the gruelling 26.2 mile (42.2 km) event through the famous streets of London, passing some of the world’s most iconic sights along the way: Tower Bridge, The Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye and many more.

Most people run for charity and it’s estimated that since the first race in 1981, over £300m has been raised for charitable causes. To help the runners along, millions of people support from the sidelines and you can be one of them too – for free!

29th April: THE ROYAL WEDDING

Westminster Abbey will see the long-awaited marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton on Friday 29 April, which has been declared a public holiday in the UK. Possibly millions of people will line the streets to try to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds.

At midday, after the ceremony, the happy couple will travel back to Buckingham Palace in a horse drawn carriage along Parliament Square, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and The Mall. They are bound to appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace at around 1.30pm to kiss for the thronging crowds. Don’t miss this chance to see history in the making! The hottest ticket of them all!

18th June – 11th September: SHAKESPEARE”S RICHARD III

This is still a long way off, but if you are thinking of coming to summer school at SGI, then this is going to be a hot ticket. Kevin Spacey will be starring in Richard III, in the lead role as one of Shakespeare’s most famous villains. This will be one of the theatrical highlights of the year, as the team from the classic film, American Beauty (director Sam Mendes & Spacey) join forces again at The Old Vic.

Christmas in London of course means many things, serious shopping definitely being one of them. The city, famous for its shops and shopping streets, is, as always, the setting for an orgy of credit card spending as children’s wish lists are (partly) fulfilled by doting parents, and glittering shops suck you into their glossy warmth shamelessly encouraging you to buy buy buy.

Of course Christmas in London, as elsewhere, also means time spent with family and friends, away from the hurly burly and frenetic pace that characterise the city. To complement this, on Christmas Day, almost everywhere in London closes, so the city seems completely shrouded in silence and the whole day feels like an endless early Sunday morning….peaceful and benevolent.

Of course one item very much desired but usually missing from a Christmas in London, is snow. Well, it seems that this year all those snowy scenes depicted on a million Christmas cards could reflect the reality of Christmas in London 2010. It is predicted by the experts that the white stuff from the sky is expected to fall down upon us on Christmas Day here in London. Hallelujah!

From 10 in the morning, on the 27^th November 2010, the streets of the West End, just minutes from the SGI school, will be handed over to the general public. No need to worry about crazy cyclists, angry taxi drivers or long red buses crushing your toes, you can walk anywhere you want on Oxford Street and Regent Street as they will be traffic free pedestrian zones for the day.

You know it makes sense!

This event is the sixth edition of Shop West End VIP Day (Very Important Pedestrian) – the World’s Biggest Christmas Shopping Day.

Don’t forget your credit card!

Here you’ll see a list of firework displays going on in London with times and dates and other useful information, such as entrance fees and whether they have a bonfire!

www.thefireworkshoplist.com is another good one for finding out what’s going on…

Have a great time!!

Coronet Cinema Notting Hill
If you are a movie buff, a hidden London delight for you may very well be the Historic Coronet Cinema in Notting Hill, West London, which first opened its doors to the public in 1898. Besides an opulent and unique interior, this cinema now specialises in showing films, at great value prices, that won’t be found in more commercial cinemas. Interesting fact… A scene from the movie Notting Hill was filmed inside the cinema.

Banksy Bomb Hugger graffiti – Brick Lane E1

Brick Lane London E1
From the West back to the East, we find the still largely hidden delight of the vibrant and culturally-rich Brick Lane, nestling behind the great railway hub of Liverpool Street. This fascinating, long and ancient thoroughfare is now home to London’s Bangladeshi community, and is renowned for its authentic and high quality Indian restaurants. More recently it has become the focus for a pulsating art and fashion scene, including famous graffiti by the artist Banksy. A Sunday visit is recommended when you can amble through the Sunday market before sampling the culinary delights the area has to offer.

Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, Islington

From the East we travel to the North and the neighbourhood of Islington, where we find the hidden gem of the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art. Housed in a beautiful Georgian building, this lovely art gallery is the perfect site for a relaxing afternoon taking in Italian art dating mostly from 1890 to the 1950s. There is a permanent exhibition with a focus on Futurism, the Italian art movement based on an admiration for modernity, speed and technology. Other highlights include a series of drawings by Modigliani and a great collection of sculptures. After you have had a good look round the gallery, there is a delightful secluded courtyard café to finish off your visit.

London is a great place to spend Halloween, the history of the city is soaked in witches, ghosts, blood and awfulness! London with its haunted towers, where heads have rolled and bodies hung. London with its dark dank dungeons where the imprisoned have wailed chained to walls… where better to spend Halloween than good old London!

Here’s just a sample of some Halloween fun this year:

We found these events on Top 5 Things to Do on Halloween in London…

- Halloween at the London Dungeon, great for kids, features a “Halloween Forest” complete with cackling witches.
- The Halloween of Cross Bones XI, now in its 11th year a recital of (often humorous) poems and songs penned by local writer John Constable. After the main performance, the event concludes with a candle-lit procession to the Cross Bones Graveyard (where prostitutes and all sorts of outcasts in London’s society were buried)

- Medieval Banquet – at the Historic Cellars of the St. Katharine Dock, a Halloween Themed night with a full gourmet meal plus a ghostly and unique re-enactment of the life of King Henry VIII,

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We found some good ghost-themed events here on London’s Best Halloween Events 2010. Here’s one that sticks out…

Ghost Stories at The Duke of York’s Theatre – three chilling tales… a must for lovers of old-fashioned ghost stories, brilliantly enacted.

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A very interesting blog post on the history and meaning of Halloween can be found on Halloween: Old English Folklore or Fact? It shows Halloween or ‘All Hallows Eve’ as it used to be called, has its roots as an ancient festival, held in rural England, that was partly to do with warding off the magic powers of witches, and partly to do with preparing for the hardship of the coming winter by way of a big celebration, feast and the lighting of bonfires.

As you can see there’s a lot of events to choose from… Take your Pick and enjoy yourself!

I don’t think I am your average Italian spending some time in London. Apart from anything else, I now live here with my English partner and our child.

Teenage London

The start was very typical though. I first fell in love with London as a teenager when I came here on a short summer study holiday – you know the type: one hundred Italian 15 year-olds with identical bags blocking the streets. Back then London seemed both exciting and a bit scary. I was fascinated by Soho but got lost in the small streets. I loved Camden and its market but it was dirtier then, full of both punks and junk.

Incredibly, I also liked English food. Unlike my friends I didn’t spend all my time eating at McDonalds. Instead I ate jacket potatoes with cheese and beans or, when I had money, fish and chips.

Party London

I also have experience of the fun London. When I was in my twenties I spent a summer here sharing a four bedroom house with six Spanish students near Brick Lane in the cool East End. People say that there are no bars in London which stay open until really late. But Spanish people know how to have fun and had no problem at all finding us late night drinking spots.

Moving to London

At first, moving to London more permanently was quite difficult. For one thing at 30 I felt older than other people doing the same thing. Secondly, I resisted the temptation to find just any job and looked for work which I had experience and qualifications for. This meant I had to be very patient. My first couple of jobs were only temporary, just for one or two days and it took two months before I had my first real interviews.

I also missed my friends and family. It was a difficult balance between trying to make new English friends and meeting Italians to share our troubles and the things we were homesick for without any kind of language difficulties.

My Tips

I really love living in London now and here are my tips on how to have a good time here:

• London is a great place to have fun for a short period and to live but you need to decide if you are moving to London or just spending a couple of months here.
• The better your English is the easier it is to find a job but it is also easy to improve your English once you get here.
• Don’t surround yourself with friends from your own country. Try to spend time in international groups and make English friends.
• Doing language courses and having a job are good ways to meet people.
• Be patient and realistic when looking for a job. Job agencies are generally good here.
• Try jacket potatoes!

For the first two weeks in October, food lovers have the chance to experience some of the capital’s fantastic range of cuisines from around the world by visiting the London Restaurant Festival.

You have it all at the festival, from Michelin-starred establishments through to much-loved neighbourhood restaurants and bistros. There’s something for everyone!

To help you enjoy this celebration of London’s exceptionally diverse restaurant scene you can:

• Enjoy a Festival Menu at any of the hundreds of participating restaurants
• Buy tickets for one of this year’s Festival Events

This excellent festival is well worth looking into.

This famous square takes its name from the original owner of the land, Charles Fitzroy, who commissioned the distinguished architect Robert Adam to provide designs for a handsome new square that would attract aristocrat families to live there. Work commenced in 1794 and was completed on two sides of the square in 1798. These buildings are fronted in the striking white Portland stone that can be found all over Central London.

As the square is largely for pedestrians only, it has a wonderful tranquil air when you enter it, a real oasis of green and calm, even though you are only ever a few minutes away from busy main roads.

Fitzrovia, as mentioned in previous articles, is famous for it’s artistic past and indeed Fitzroy Square has had its fair share of famous residents. These include the famous novelist Virginia Wolf, who lived at no 29. Another resident of no 29, but not at the same time as Virginia, was the playwright George Bernard Shaw, and a current resident of the square is the author Ian McEwan, who set much of his 2005 novel Saturday in the square.

A sculpture by Naomi Blake in Fitzroy Square Garden

One such group that has contributed enormously to this city is the Italian community. London has been home to a sizeable Italian community for nearly two centuries now. The most ancient Italian quarter can be found in the western part of the neighbourhood known as Clerkenwell, an area close to London’s financial centre, ‘the City’.

Italian roots in Clerkenwell go back to the early 1800’s. In the early days, the Italian ‘colony’ in this area was mainly employed in trades such as organ grinding, knife grinding, mosaic and terrazzo craftsmanship. From these early days, the Italian community spread into catering and ice cream selling. Italian restaurants, cafes and shops are now a firmly established part of current London.

An Italian family in London in the 1890’s

Whilst people of Italian descent are now spread throughout the capital, there is still a strong Italian presence in Clerkenwell. In fact the focal point of the Italian community in London is still Sunday worship at the Italian church of St Peters in the area. Without doubt, the Processione della Madonna del Carmine, held annually on the first Sunday after July 16th, is Little Italy’s most important event. This event has taken place every year since 1896, except during times of war.

St Peter’s Italian Church, Clerkenwell.

One famous Italian resident of this ‘Little Italy’, was Giuseppe Mazzini, the writer, patriot and revolutionary. Whilst exiled in this country, due to his political activities, he founded a language school in 1841, where you could learn Italian from premises in nearby Hatton Garden, London’s famous jewellery centre.

Giuseppe Mazzini

Here’s a couple of great long-established Italian places that we highly recommend you visit.

Bar Italia: a great authentic 24 hour Italian coffee bar in Soho, 10 minutes walk from the school.  www.baritaliasoho.co.uk

Marine Ices: a fantastic ice cream parlour, close to Camden Town and its vibrant street markets. http://www.marineices.co.uk

This year, the festival is dedicated to fashion and lifestyle when the iconic “Mile of Style” will host a fashion catwalk, featuring models wearing new collections from Regent Street brands.

During the festivities, Regent Street will be closed to all traffic between Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus underground stations. Hooray!

The Festival will be held in Regent Street on Sunday 26th September 2010: starts 12 noon. All events free!

Of course one thing about London that should be emphasised is that there are really a million different Londons, and there are always new hidden treasures to find. Here is an example of a hidden London that is most definitely off the beaten track……

Dennis Severs House, in Spitalfields, East London. When entering this house you are transported back in time to the early 18^th century and the lives of the Jervis family, a family of Huguenot silk-traders.

The whole experience, carried out in silence by candlelight and the light from fires, is both powerful and evocative. As you pass through the rooms, it is though the family have just left…there’s a half-eaten meal on a table….voices are seemingly coming from elsewhere in the house….you here children scurrying up stairs….on a table, a book lies open in front of an open fire, it’s a Dickens novel. There’s a mysterious and tangible sense of going back in time and being in the presence of Londoners of a bygone age.

Dennis Severs House:

18 Folgate Street
Spitalfields, London E1
020 7247 4013

Public transport: Shoreditch High Street ( London Overground)
Open Mon 12pm-2pm; Sun 2pm-5pm
http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/

Based on crossings in Tokyo, the new design stops traffic in all directions, allowing shoppers to cross diagonally in an “X” as well as straight ahead.
The £5m junction is able to handle double the number of pedestrians and ease overcrowding at the busy intersection.
London Mayor Boris Johnson, in homage to its Far Eastern inspiration, struck a 2m high gong as Japanese musicians played taiko drums.

Mr Johnson said the crossing, controlled by traffic lights, was “a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old fashioned common sense”.

I couldn’t agree more with Mr Johnson, only that there is another one of these crossings in Balham, London which only cost around £98,000 and does pretty much the same thing.

Currently there are 5,000 bicycles, which are available at 315 special locations around the capital.

The keys cost £3 and the cost of using the cycles varies from £1 for an hour to £50 for 24 hours.

The 23kg bikes with three gears do not come with locks and TfL said this was done to deter people from keeping the cycles for long periods. They are automatically locked at the docking stations.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said London had been, “filled with thousands of gleaming machines that will transform the look and feel of our streets and become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses. My crusade for the capital to become the greatest big cycling city in the world has taken a gigantic pedal-powered push forwards.”

Next time you are in London visiting SGI, why not try out the environmentally friendly bikes, instead of staring at all the miserable faces on the tube?

First launched in 1997, The Mayor’s Thames Festival has become London’s biggest and best free outdoor arts festival, with a huge range of events on offer.

There’s also a rare chance to visit Hendrix’s flat, which is normally closed to the public.

This makes for a great night out in the city centre that everyone can afford!

This year’s programme kicks off with the People’s Premiere of Knight and Day starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.

• paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer and Claude
• sculpture by Canova and Chantrey
• exquisite examples of Sèvres porcelain
• some of the finest English and French furniture in the world

One great feature of the church is the beautiful tranquil courtyard full of flowers and plants that is very popular with our students who you will see relaxing there in the coffee breaks and at lunchtime.

“There was a regular Friday night folk club upstairs at the pub and I remember, while I was singing a song, there was this guy who I’d seen on the cover of some magazines sitting near the front in the audience. I finished a couple of songs, walked over to him and said, “You’re Bob Dylan”!

It seems Bob was reluctant at first but eventually he performed three songs. Carthy remembers ‘he had fabulous presence and a great sense of comedy’,
Now, above the bar of the pub, there is a row of portraits of English Kings and Queens through the ages. Except at the very end of the row, where there is a framed black and white photo of Bob Dylan, the music legend, performing for free in the pub’s upstairs room, nearly fifty year’s ago.

The BT Tower
Fitzrovia’s most famous landmark is the ‘BT Tower’ – You can see this glassy tall cylindrical building (opened 1966) from all over London. In its early days it used to have a revolving restaurant and an annual race up the stairs of the tower. It is now used by the national telecommunications company British Telecom ( BT) as a communications hub.

The BT Tower in the movies – In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry is seen flying over the tower in an old English car ( a Ford Anglia) with his good friend, Ron Weasley.