Our friends at British Airways have launched a new commercial – hot off the heals of their last commercial. This on is geared towards London 2012.

From their description:

This year, the eyes of the world will be on us. We’re proud to be ready to use our experience and expertise to fly customers from all over the world to London. Watch our new film to see how our team is in place and ready to serve.

Book your trip to Britain with British Airways!

British Airways: Airline Releases new Advert for London 2012 is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The UK was hit by it’s first major snowfall this past weekend and that meant travel disruption and fun.

First up is a video report from Channel 4 News about the snow:

Next up we put up a call our for pictures of the snow and here’s what we were sent.

First are some pictures of Hertfordshire from our friends Jane and Simon who own Updown Cottage – our favorite place to stay in Shaftesbury, Dorset:

These are from Michael Hudson showing Before and after snow clearance:

And finally we have these pictures from Kaye Sedgwick in Rainham Kent. She asked that we link to here blog – check it out.

A big thank you to everyone who shared their pictures!

Britain Gets Its First Real Snow Fall of the Season – Video and Pictures Inside is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s 63rd monarch, has steered the monarchy through decades of social change while remaining a symbol of national stability in a shifting world.

This video from The Telegraph is a good overview of her life and times.

Video: The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee: 60 years in video is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Sixty photographs of Her Majesty The Queen, including the work of leading press photographers of the past six decades, will go on display at Windsor Castle to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. The exhibition presents a portrait of The Queen’s reign as captured in fleeting moments on both official occasions and at relaxed family gatherings. For centuries the formal painted portrait projected the public face of kings and queens. With the advent of photography, the boundaries between the officially approved and the spontaneously captured image of the monarch were irreversibly blurred. Today, through the reach of modern media, the image of The Queen is familiar to millions around the world.

Diamond Jubilee: The Queen – Sixty Photographs for Sixty Years is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Saturday Night Live has taken on Downton Abbey by spoofing it as if it were a TV show on the American cable network Spike (a network known for it’s lowbrow male centered TV).

It’s hilarious!

Check it out below:

Downton Abbey: Saturday Night Live Takes on Downton Abbey is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Princes William and Harry have been talking about their respect for their grandmother the Queen, as the nation gears up for the jubilee. Report by Louise Hulland.

Video: Princes William and Harry talk about the Queen for her Jubilee is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne have planted a tree in the new woods to commemorate the monarch’s Diamond Jubilee on the Sandringham Estate.

Diamond Jubilee: Queen Elizabeth II plants tree to mark Diamond Jubilee is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Prince William has arrived in the Falkland Islands – Britain’s territory in the South Atlantic – for a 6 week deployment. The BBC put together a very interesting news segment on his posting and the diplomatic problems it’s causing.

The Duchess of Cambridge did not join him and stayed in Britain where she’s being kept company by their new puppy.

Royal Couple: Prince William Arrives in the Falkland Islands for 6-Week Deployment is a post from: Anglotopia.net

A British man has built his own rocket back in his back yard. Awesome.

Weird Britain: Brit Builds his Own Rocket Pack in his Back Yard is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Musician Ally Rhodes has written a lovely song dedicated to Doctor Who’s River Song. She describes it as a song about the triumph of love over predetermined destiny.

Check it out below! It’s lovely!

You can buy the song on iTunes!

http://allyrhodes.net
http://twitter.com/allyrhodesmusic
http://facebook.com/allyrhodesmusic
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ally-rhodes/id429975858

Doctor Who: The Ballad for River Song by Ally Rhodes is a post from: Anglotopia.net

This video is making the rounds on the web and we thought it was fun and worth sharing. A German Doctor Who fan set out to build her own TARDIS and documented the entire process in excruciating detail.

The result is a fun and whimsical journey down the time vortex.

Check it out!

Doctor Who: German Anglophile Builds a TARDIS in her House is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The producers of Top Gear promised to blow up a caravan and film it if they reached 10,000,000 fans on Facebook.

This is the result:

Brilliant!

Top Gear Hits 10 Million Fans on Facebook – Blow up a Caravan in Celebration is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Artistic Director of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, Danny Boyle, says the Isles of Wonder show will reflect British wit and weather. Report by Adam Sich.

2012 Olympics: Danny Boyle promises excitement at the Opening Ceremonies is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Check out this stunning timelapse video of Bridport Dorset at night. Definitely going to add a visit to Bridport on our itinerary for May.

From the video description:

A labour of love, four months in the making. I moved to Bridport just over a year ago and immediately fell in love with the place. What better way to show my affection for such a place than to make a movie about it?

Shot on a Nikon D7000 camera, producing 16MP stills for a 25fps video. Some shots in this were 30 second exposures, meaning I had to stay with the camera for an hour and a half just to get six seconds of footage.

I see far too many touristy video features about the West Dorset coastline. Too many quaint holiday cottages and clichéd shots of people eating ice cream on the beach. This video was shot in the winter and, for a growing number of people interested in stargazing, shows that Bridport is a fantastic location for seeing the night sky. It is also beautiful at night.

Dorset: Bridport by Night is a post from: Anglotopia.net

There’s a fun website called How it Should Have Ended that takes gaping plot holes from popular movies and re-imagines their endings based on fixing them.

In this video they present how Harry Potter should have ended and it really makes a lot of sense!

Source.

Hilarious Video: How Harry Potter Should Have Ended is a post from: Anglotopia.net

HBO has released the first proper trailer of the second season of Game of Thrones which premieres on HBO on April 1st, 2012.

Check it out below:

We can’t wait!

Game of Thrones Season 2 Trailer Preview Video Released – Watch Now! is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Experience Cornwall from the air… sail over turquoise seas that rival the Caribbean, soar over cliff tops and explore world-famous sights from Land’s End to The Eden Project from this extraordinary view.

Video: A Bird’s Eye View of Cornwall is a post from: Anglotopia.net

In this video, the creator explores English Cathedrals and churches in London, Bath, Salisbury and Oxford. Beautiful!

England, Cathedrals and churches – London, Bath, Salisbury and Oxford from Samuel Magal on Vimeo.

Video: An HD Video Tour of English Cathedrals is a post from: Anglotopia.net

YouTuber BabelColour has taken a clip from every Doctor Who story (minus the lost ones) from 1963 to the modern day and combined them into one video.

Awesome.

From the video description:

An updated and expanded version of my 2008 video, detailing every Doctor Who adventure from ‘An Unearthly Child’ in 1963 right up to ‘The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe’ Christmas Special. But remember, there are still 106 episodes missing from the BBC archives.

The re-coloured clip of ‘The Mind of Evil’ is one of several from the UNIT documentary on the ‘Day of the Daleks’ DVD. Clips from other missing serials have come from a variety of different sources. I have hand-colourised the ‘Ambassadors of Death’ trailer clip especially for this video tribute.

The numbering is a personal issue. I consulted with Wikipedia when compiling the tribute but I disagreed with some of the decisions made by the people who contributed to the page. ‘A Good Man Goes To War’ is not, in my opinion, part of a two-episode story with ‘Let’s Kill Hitler’. The storyline, locations, guest artists and directors are all different. Similarly, I consider ‘Utopia’ to be a single episode, with a suffiently different plot (an a different director) to the 2-part ‘Sound of Drums’/'Last of the Time Lords’. Other fans are bound to be in uproar, but it all comes down to personal opinion. All I can suggest to those who disagree is… go make your own tribute!

Doctor Who: Every Doctor Who Story from 1963 to 2011 in one Video is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe was on the red carpet for the first movie in which he plays an adult role as The Woman in Black held its world premiere at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Daniel Radcliffe sheds Harry Potter image in new film The Woman in Black is a post from: Anglotopia.net

This. Is. Awesome.

CNET Looks at the TARDIS safe that is unlocked with your smart phone – Coming Late 2012!

Doctor Who: Company to Release TARDIS Safe that Opens with Your Mobile is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Good news for David Tennant Fans – we’ve finally got the first trailer for The Decoy Bride! David stars in this romantic comedy set on a quant Scottish Isle where they try to use a decoy bride to throw off the paparazzi. It also stars Kelly McDonald (Boardwalk Empire).

Check out the trailer below:

The Decoy Bride opens on IFC On Demand on February 3rd and in Theaters in March. We’ll have a review when it comes out on IFC.

David Tennant: The First Decoy Trailer Bride Released is a post from: Anglotopia.net

From the beginning, the unexpected has pervaded the 60-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

As a child, “Lilibet” and her younger sister Margaret were groomed for a life considered ordinary by royal standards. However, at the age of 10, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor’s future as Defender of the Faith was sealed when her father took the throne in an unforeseen turn of events.

It would be the first of many detours along the royal road ahead.

In honor of her Diamond Jubilee, which this year celebrates six decades of her rule, here are Queen Elizabeth’s Top 10 Royal Moments:

1. The Abdication of King Edward VIII

When Elizabeth’s grandfather King George V died in 1936, the crown passed to her uncle King Edward VIII.

However, Edward refused to forsake plans to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, opting instead to abdicate the throne less than a year after his father’s death.

The switch propelled her father, George VI, to the throne and altered Elizabeth’s life forever. Suddenly the 10-year-old girl was reading the latest political news and absorbing lessons on British government.

Here’s a video of his historic speech:

2. Accession to the Throne

On Feb. 6, 1952, while on a trip to Kenya with her husband, Prince Philip, Elizabeth learned her father had died and she had inherited the crown at the age of 25. She immediately returned to Britain as quickly as possible.

Thrust into the global spotlight, Elizabeth was named Time Magazine’s Woman of the Year – 1952.

Here’s a historical video all bout her Accession Day:

3. Coronation

Elizabeth’s coronation as Queen at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953 was the first coronation broadcast on television.

The more than 8,000 guests, including prime ministers and other heads of state from throughout the Commonwealth, witnessed the Archbishop of Canterbury place the crown on her head.

In a radio broadcast marking the occasion, the Queen said, “throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.”

4. Silver Jubilee – 1977

More than one million people gathered along the streets of London to watch the Royal Family, led by the Queen and Prince Philip in the golden state coach, on its way to St. Paul’s at the launch of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations.

“I want to thank all those in Britain and the Commonwealth who, through their loyalty and friendship, have given me strength and encouragement during these last 25 years,” said the Queen at the time.

5. “Annus Horribilis”

In a speech given Nov. 24, 1992 to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession, the Queen referred to 1992 as her “annus horribilis,” or horrible year.

It was, after all, the year her sons Prince Charles and Andrew, the Duke of York separated from their wives, Diana and Sarah, respectively; daughter Princess Anne divorced; and a fire destroyed a portion of Windsor Castle.

During that speech, Elizabeth said, “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. … I sometimes wonder how future generations will judge the events of this tumultuous year. I dare say that history will take a slightly more moderate view than that of some contemporary commentators.”

6. Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

When Diana, former wife of Prince Charles, died following a car crash on Aug. 31, 1997, members of the Royal Family were depicted as unemotional and lacking in compassion for not displaying grief publicly.

The Queen subsequently broke convention by bowing to Diana’s coffin as it passed Buckingham Palace during the funeral procession and paid tribute to Diana during a live television broadcast on Sept. 9, 1997, thereby ending criticism from the tabloids.

During her speech, Elizabeth said, “Since last Sunday’s dreadful news, we have seen, throughout Britain and around the world, an overwhelming expression of sadness at Diana’s death. We have all been trying in our different ways to cope. It is not easy to express a sense of loss, since the initial shock is often succeeded by a mixture of other feelings: disbelief, incomprehension, anger and concern for those who remain. We have all felt those emotions in the last few days. So what I say to you now, as your queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart. First I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. I admired and respected her for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys.”

7. The Deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother

In 2002, the Queen lost her sister and only sibling, Princess Margaret, and her mother, the Queen Mother.

Margaret died Feb. 9. In a statement from the Palace, the Queen announced her death “with great sadness.”

The Queen Mother died the following month on March 30 at the age of 101 with Elizabeth at her bedside.

8. Reception for Charles and Camilla

Despite her well-known disapproval of their relationship, the Queen held a reception at Windsor Castle in honor of the April 9, 2005 marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. She and Philip did not attend the civil wedding ceremony.

The marriage was said to have been the culmination of the long and controversial relationship of Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

9. Advising Prince William on his Wedding

The Queen assisted her grandson in planning his April 29, 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton.

Not only did Elizabeth advise William regarding what to wear (his Irish Guards uniform), she helped shape the guest list for the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. “I rang her up and said ‘Do we need to be doing this?’ ” he said in an article printed in The Daily Mail. “And she said, ‘No. Start with your friends first and then go from there.’ And she told me to bin the list.”

10. Farewell Tour, Visit to Ireland

Last year, at the age of 85, the Queen embarked on what many referred to as her “Farewell Tour” of the Australia, her 16th visit to the continent.

She also became the first monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since it gained independence in the 1920s. The historic four-day visit was conducted in May.

Editor’s Note: This post was written by Leeann Neal. LeeAnn is an Oregon coast freelance writer and journalist. Her grandmother, whose own grandparents moved to the United States from London in the 1800s, was a staunch Anglophile who insisted on passing on the ritual of afternoon tea, and who made Yorkshire pudding from scratch each Christmas.

What’s your favorite moment of the Queen’s 60 year reign? Let us know in the comments!

Diamond Jubilee: The Queen’s Top 10 Royal Moments of Her 60 Year Reign is a post from: Anglotopia.net

MPs could be forced to move out of the Houses of Parliament after subsidence has caused Big Ben’s clock tower to lean by an alarming 18 inches. Report by Sophie Foster.

Video: Leaning Big Ben to force MPs to move out of the Houses of Parliament is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Royal Marines and elite police officers have joined forces to showcase the UK’s biggest peacetime security operation ahead of London’s Olympics. Report by Sophie Foster.

London 2012: Royal Marines and elite police squad carry out Olympic security is a post from: Anglotopia.net