I used to collect stamps as a kid and still have a passing interest in all things related to Stamps. Recently, I heard that Royal Mail is coming out with some stamps related to British Design Classics. They're stamps that show items and objects that the Brits are known for designing. The 8 stamp … [Read more...]
The Routemaster Reborn: The Return of a London Classic
January 7, 2009 By 5 Comments
Picture from Flickr: marcusjb One of the biggest controversies in London in the past few years was the decision by the former Mayor, Ken Livingston to take the classic Routemaster Bus out of service and replace it with the hated bendy buses, despite promises to do otherwise. Well, last year … [Read more...]
London as Seen in the Past
January 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Captured U-Boat on the Thames Props to the Londonist for letting me know about this. There's currently a Flickr Pool that aggregates public domain pictures from the past. They found some pretty cool pictures of London from the early 20th century. Pretty Cool Stuff. Check out Londonist's Post … [Read more...]
Unfortunate News: Trip Cancelled
January 5, 2009 By 7 Comments
You'll notice the trip countdown is now absent from the sidebar. Well, my wife and I have decided to put our trip to London in March on hold. There were many reasons behind our decision that I won't really go into. I'm really gutted about it but it's the right thing to do right now. We're … [Read more...]
Britain From Above: Free Satellite Images of the UK from Space
January 3, 2009 By 1 Comment
The folks over at Unearthed Outdoors True Marble Imagery have released some stunning satellite imagery into 'creative commons' domain. The images are extreme high quality and have an amazing amount of detail of pretty much anywhere on the earth. I saw an opportunity to combine some of the … [Read more...]
Twitter for Anglophiles
December 18, 2008 By 1 Comment
Twitter is fast becoming a fun tool that has many uses. It allows people to explore their interests in fascinating new ways. Over the past few months, I've been following Tweets releated to the UK and London. I've discovered some pretty cool British and London Twitters, so I thought I'd share them … [Read more...]
London To Brighton in 3 1/2 Minutes and New Version to Glasgow
December 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I came across this video a few years ago while exploring UKNova. It's a time lapse journey from London, England to the seaside down of Brighton (a journey that really takes an hour or so). It was made quite some time ago, but it's still an amazing video. I particularly like the prehistoric … [Read more...]
Follow Downing Street on Twitter
December 9, 2008 By 2 Comments
If you're interested in keeping tabs on the British Prime Minister and what he's up to, you can now follow him on Twitter. 10 Downing Street on Twitter features updates of the Prime Minister's movements and meetings. It's pretty fun to follow. Check it out. Downing Street on Twitter … [Read more...]
Man Walks Across London and Takes Picture Every 8 Steps
December 9, 2008 By 1 Comment
The Londonist tipped me off to this awesome video. For a project called URBAN EARTH - a man named Daniel Raven-Ellison walked across all of London, taking a picture every 8 steps. It took two days and he turned it into a pretty cool short film. You can see it below. Check out URBAN EARTH here. … [Read more...]
Union Jack – Newspaper for Anglophiles and Ex-pats
December 9, 2008 By 1 Comment
I don't know how I didn't know about this awesome little gem. It's called the Union Jack and it's America's only regularly published British newspaper for Anglophiles and British Expatriates. It's been around since 1982 and they provide a montly newspaper that summarizes the big news in the … [Read more...]
Anglophile Alert: Free Harry Potter London Trip Contest
December 9, 2008 By 2 Comments
Heard about this from the Leaky Cauldron: Warner Bros have now opened a new contest to win a trip to London and tour the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Hogwarts Holiday contest, open to residents of the US to people 13 years and older, runs now until December 31, with the winner … [Read more...]
Map of Britain – With Real Place Names
December 9, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I Stumbleuponed this the other day. It's an article featuring a new atlas that transcribes place names based on what they actually mean as opposed to what the name actually is. There's a rather funny map of the UK showing what it's place names actually mean. I thought all of you would get a kick out … [Read more...]
Anglophile Deal: Brit Movie Pack Deal on Amazon
December 3, 2008 By 1 Comment
I came across this the other day when researching my last post on British Movies. It's a 4-pack of recent British Romantic comedies. It's pretty cheap and would make a great Christmas gift. The DVD package includes: Love Actually, Notting Hill, About a Boy and Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason. … [Read more...]
Anglophile Alert: The State Opening of Parliament is Tomorrow December 3rd
December 2, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I just found out about this today, the State Opening of the British Parliament is tomorrow, December 3rd. It always seems to sneak up on me! What's the State Opening of Parliament? I'll let the Parliament's website explain it: The State Opening usually takes place in November or December on the … [Read more...]
Which British Newspaper are You? – A guide to British Newspapers
December 2, 2008 By 8 Comments
Jim Hacker from the classic British Comedy "Yes, Minister" said it best when talking about the differences between the popular British newspapers: Update April 14th, 2009 - The BBC has removed the above video and reposted it here. It's worth a watch! Very funny! So, humor aside, if you're … [Read more...]
BBC Christmas Special Round-up
November 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment
One very time honored Christmas tradition in the UK is the multitude of Christmas specials that air on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. In America, most TV shows go on hiatus during December and January and all we can expect is re-runs during the holidays. Well, in the UK, Christmas specials are … [Read more...]
A Visit from the Tax Cut Man – VAT Cut Today
November 24, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I was excited to hear today that the UK government has cut the VAT - Value Added Tax by 2.5%. What does this mean for Anglophiles? A cheaper trip to the UK. To those that don't know, VAT is basically the sales tax in Britain and the rest of Europe. It's not exactly a sales tax though, as VAT … [Read more...]
The Top 10 British Movies for Anglophiles
November 20, 2008 By 20 Comments
10. Notting Hill This one is classic. Starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, the story takes place in a charming London neighborhood of the same name that shapes the plot of the movie. Upon repeat viewings, you realize there is little chemistry between the leads and their love story is … [Read more...]
You Won’t be Seeing that Fuel Surcharge Refund from BA or VA Anytime Soon
November 19, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Image from The Guardian Well, it looks like the consumer is going to lose another one... The BA/VA fuel surcharge refund has been delayed, indefinitely. For those not familiar with the transatlantic price fixing scandal, check this out from one of my other blogs: British Airways and Virgin … [Read more...]
Now is the Time to Plan a Trip to Great Britain
November 17, 2008 By 1 Comment
The Washington Times recently featured an article about how now is the time to book a trip to Europe. Prices are down, airfares are down, exchange rates are down. You can tell as much in the sidebar on this blog, airfares are a steal right now! Many people have been turned off of going to England … [Read more...]
London on the Cheap for Anglophiles – 9 Cheap London Tips
November 3, 2008 By 2 Comments
My fellow Anglophile over at Hail Britannia recently wrote about some tips for traveling to London on the cheap. You can read about London on the Cheap here. I thought I'd write up a few tips of my own to save money while traveling in the world's most expensive city. I've been there 5 times, so I've … [Read more...]
Easy Way to Save for a Trip to England
November 3, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Came across this cool product a couple weeks ago. It's called the Cash Passport and it's from Travelex, the currency exchange firm. Basically it's a debit card denominated in the local currency of the country you are traveling to. Instead of carrying your regular bank ATM with you abroad, you can … [Read more...]
London Help and Some London Safety Tips
October 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I came across this article on Digg today. Called London Help, it's a very informative article filled with info to keep in mind if you are ever in an emergency while traveling London. I recommend that anyone traveling to London bookmark this site! This is the brief summary they wrote: Finding … [Read more...]
Under London Bridge Art Haven
October 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I came across this pretty cool video on Current.com. It's a profile of an art colony of sorts underneath the London Bridge tube station. It's an abandoned train depot with beautiful arches and spaces perfect for the creation and enjoyment of art. Some of the art is a little out there, but still … [Read more...]
One Woman’s Journey to British Citizenship
October 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment
One thing that I plan to cover more and more as time goes on is the process of moving to and settling in the UK. It's a process that is not simple and can be very complicated. One of my pipe dreams is to move to England and settle and get my own scarlet colored passport one day. Until then, I can … [Read more...]
Anglophile Alert: Another Free Trip to the UK Contest
October 21, 2008 By Leave a Comment
There appears to be another contest running on the site called Transatlanticism. It's a really cool site. All you need to do to enter is choose the artwork you like those most and enter your details. The prize includes: One (1) trip for two (2) people to Britain. Round-trip economy class airfare … [Read more...]
Anglophile Movie Preview
September 25, 2008 By 1 Comment
I love movies and I love British Movies even more. There's a lot to look forward to in the next few months for Anglohpiles. So much that I thought it a good time to make a list with all the relevant information so Anglphiles out there don't miss one! Most of the movies are coming out this fall … [Read more...]
Death of Another London Icon – The Black Cab?
August 12, 2008 By Leave a Comment
It's bad enough they put ads on them. London has seen the death of many icons in the past few years. Cell phones have made the phone booth increasingly irrelevant and the iconic red phone box is becoming a rarer and rarer site. Despite promises to keep the classic Routemaster bus, former … [Read more...]
British Pound Exchange Rate
Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.
