Dear LPG, 

Please don’t mistake me for a representative of the London Tourist Board but I often wonder if I am the only person in this world who has had this thought.  I think that when it comes to the nearest town or city of influence that a person lives in or near, the people around them seem to have even more bearing on the way that they perceive the city they call home, than the historical attractions that holidaying visitors come to see.   

I recently read a poem on your pages  (►►►) which reminded me that, though I have lived in London all my life, I have visited so little of it.  I remember going to the odd museum courtesy of a couple of school trips while I was still being officially educated, and I showed little interest in those.  Most of us went because it meant a day when we did not have to do official school lessons.  

I bet that I am not the only pensioner who can list many world-famous landmarks of interest in so many other countries as places that they have visited and seen while on holiday, while they may have little or no knowledge of the sights to see which are right on their national doorstep.

Then, as I grew up, I spent a lot of time working in the middle of London and many an evening learning about all its night clubs, both in its centre and its suburbs.  But then comes the part of life that is all about working and family life which arrives before you know it.     I think that it is fair to say that the only times during the adult parts of my life that I have ever really become a London sightseer is on those occasions when a friend or relative has come to visit.  

Then comes retirement and, if you leave it too late your health will not let you expend all the energy needed to do the town justice and, before you know it, there are fewer and fewer friends available to share such a day out with.

That poem has reminded me that tourist season is not quite at its height yet and now might be the perfect time to spend some time finding out what London has to offer the local tourist. 

If financing such trips is the thing that is putting you off, the internet is always the place to take a look.  I have found that, armed with your freedom pass there are still quite a few attractions which will not cost you anything to see.  

Perhaps this is the time to start making a few plans… 

IB, Bickley

IB shares his findings…

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