World Blog : London, England

Gunpowder, fireworks, Guy Fawkes will never be 'forgot'

Petra Cahill — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:45:00 GMT

By Chris Hampson, NBC News Director of International News

LONDON – It gets dark very early in London at this time of year. By five o'clock it’s pitch black.

Tonight, though, the sky is lit up with the bright and sparkling explosions of fireworks.

Bonfires blaze in towns and villages across the country.

If you want to know why, you'll need a kid of my generation or older to tell you.

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder treason, Should ever be forgot …"

We used to chant this scrap of verse every year.

Nowadays it's Halloween that captures the imagination. But for close to 400 years we've celebrated a quaint little custom here called Guy Fawkes night.

Mike Hewitt / Getty Images

Conor Hewitt, 11, makes light circles with a sparkler during Guy Fawkes Night celebrations in Brighton.

Back in 1605 a bunch of conspirators – disgruntled Catholics – decided to try to kill the king and members of parliament because they felt badly treated. They smuggled 36 barrels of gunpowder into a cellar under the House of Lords with a plan to blow the place sky-high.

But the aforementioned Mr. Fawkes got caught red-handed in the early hours of Nov. 5 and, as was the custom back then, got tortured and executed for his trouble.

Londoners were encouraged to celebrate the safe deliverance of the king with bonfires. Then a hundred years or so later someone got the smart idea of putting an effigy of Guy Fawkes on top and burning it. Someone else added fireworks. And so the tradition was born.

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Attention, shoppers! Gold bars in Aisle Three!

Petra Cahill — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:31:00 GMT

By NBC News' Emily Wither

LONDON – It’s a gift they’re sure to treasure.

Customers flocking to Britain’s most prestigious department store, Harrods, this holiday season will now be able to add gold bars to their basket while shopping for the perfect present.

This latest arrival to hit the shelves comes in a range of sizes, from just under one pound to 27.5 pounds. There’s also a range of coins on offer, from British sovereigns to South African Krugerrands to American gold eagles.

AFP - Getty Images

A selection of gold ingots and coins for sale in Harrods department store.

With new figures out last week showing Britain’s current recession as the longest on record, the strategy could be a successful one as up-market customers look for somewhere safe to put their money.

Chris Hall, head of Harrods’ bullion department, said the store saw a gap in the market.

"Up until now, London has had no well recognized name serving this market," he said. "Harrods saw the opportunity to help individuals buy physical gold in a prudent manner."

But the glittery metal probably won’t be flying off the shelves through the festive season. At today’s market prices, 2.2 pounds of Harrods gold will set you back about $35,000. And the top-of-the-line bar, which weighs in at 27.5 pounds, will cost you $429,482.

But Hall said sales had been promising, with several pieces of gold having been snapped up in the week or so it has been on sale.

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A touch too far by Michelle Obama?

Petra Cahill — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:05:00 GMT

By Chris Hampson, NBC News Director of International News

LONDON – Of all the G-20 moments, it was always tipped by those of us in the know as the meeting to watch, because the unthinkable could always happen. And it did.

It wasn’t President Barack Obama talking to Prime Minister Gordon Brown about how to bail out the world’s economies. Not the nuclear discussions with those tricky Russians either. Nor even what the Axis of Evil might get up to in London (France’s Sarkozy and Germany’s Merkel, that is!).

VIDEO: First lady touch, a royal faux pas?

No. It was a simple touch.

It came when the first lady of the United States of America met the first lady of Great Britain – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of State of the United Kingdom and of 15 other Commonwealth realms. She is our Head of the Armed Forces, Fount of Justice and Defender of the Faith.

The queen’s been on the world stage for more than five decades; Michelle Obama for about five minutes – but all of them quite dazzling.

Yesterday she showed Britons why.

It wasn’t only President Obama who slayed Britain with his charm. His wife was also successful, standing head and shoulders above the best.

She strode across the plush Buckingham Palace carpet to shake the queen’s hand with the kind of courteous informality that characterizes Americans. Unlike the British royals, they don’t do "stuffy." And they don’t curtsey much either.

The queen – accustomed to pomp and protocol at every step – seemed surprisingly at ease too. She took hold of Mrs. Obama’s hand firmly – not her usual end-of-fingertips, don’t-come-too-close handshake.

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12-year-old protester: 'Death of capitalism'

Petra Cahill — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:42:00 GMT

By F. Brinley Bruton, msnbc.com reporter

LONDON – Thousands of protesters from disparate walks of life danced and chanted in downtown London on Wednesday ahead of the G-20 meeting of world leaders.

Some came dressed as "zombie" bankers, while others donned crazy wigs and platform shoes. Many just wore jeans and t-shirts. A few even wore suits.

Brinley Bruton / msnbc.com

Lucien Windridge, 50, a skull painted on his face, attended the protests with his wife, son and daughters.

Dozens got bloodied scuffling with police, and more than a few drank beer out of tall cans.

Smiling through the skull painted on his face, Lucien Windridge said he was protesting because he believed regular people should have more of a voice in the global financial system.

"If people don’t protest, if people don’t have a voice, it means that they are complicit with corruption," the 50-year-old said at the start of one major protest in the heart of London’s ancient financial capital, The City.

"People must be able to express their anger at the system that has let them down," he said, standing next to his wife, son and two daughters.

Windridge was diplomatic, but his daughter Aeyla was less so. What did the 12-year-old want? "The death of capitalism," she said.

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In London, snow brings chaos and cheer

Petra Cahill — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:00:00 GMT

By Jennifer Carlile, msnbc.com reporter

London on a winter’s day evokes images out of a Dickens novel – quaint and covered in snow – which makes one wonder how a few inches of the white stuff could bring this world-class city of 8 million to a standstill more than 150 years after the author penned "A Christmas Carol."

The images of Scrooge awakening on Christmas morning, watching residents "scraping the snow from the pavements in front of their dwellings, and from the tops of their houses" are more fairytale than reality to modern-day Londoners.

Jennifer Carlile/msnbc.com

Becky Prince, Claire Shropshall, Sally Reid and Susie Webb, pictured left to right, pose with their snow man, woman and dog in Clapham Common, southwest London.

But Monday morning brought the heaviest snowstorm in 18 years, and Dickensian scenes of the "mad delight to see it come plumping down into the road below, and splitting into artificial little snowstorms" came to life for millions.

Along with the delight came the delays, and then the cancellations.

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Hunkering down in snowy London

Petra Cahill — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:50:00 GMT

By Chris Hampson, NBC News Director of International News

LONDON – And now some really big breaking news from the U.K.: It’s snowing.

Not the sort of chill-you-to-the-bones white stuff that freezes thermometers across whole swathes of the United States, where the snow comes to the eaves and you have to chisel your way out of an upstairs window.

SLIDESHOW: Snow blankets London, Paris

No, this is British snow. Light fluffy cotton-wool stuff you see on pretty calendars in December.

It’s about 28 degrees Fahrenheit – just below tee-shirt weather in some parts of the world. But here it’s enough to bring much of the country and its capital to a standstill.

It’s chaos.

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Londoners celebrate Obama's inauguration

Petra Cahill — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:44:00 GMT

By Jason Cumming, msnbc.com reporter

LONDON – The morning after Barack Obama's election triumph, the front-page headline in Britain's Metro newspaper read: "The Day America Became a Little Bit Cool Again."

As Obama was sworn-in as president 3,600 miles away today, there were few signs of such widespread ardor waning in London.

Morning newspapers vied for the best coverage of an event that hadn’t even occurred yet with The Independent devoting no fewer than 23 pages to the looming inauguration. Tuesday’s Guardian came complete with a section featuring Obama’s "finest" speeches.

Jason Cumming/ msnbc.com

Emma Betsy, 21, left, and Whitney Calvert, 24, right, celebrating Obama’s inauguration at a London pub.

How Obama could – or couldn’t – change the world was practically the only topic being discussed on Britain’s talk-radio stations, while the BBC devoted much of the day to events in D.C.

Packed pubs
But in a society where many people don't need an excuse to enjoy a pint, the sheer number of pubs showcasing a uniquely American piece of political theater was perhaps the best illustration of how Obama has captured the imagination of many Britons.

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‘Dancing pig’ lightens Brits’ spirits

Petra Cahill — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:50:00 GMT

By Chris Hampson, NBC News Director of International News

LONDON – Amid the economic gloom and coming pall of winter, it is perhaps unsurprising that we British are looking for a glimmer of light to brighten our damp and dreary evenings.

Quickstep forward our very own ray of sunshine – in the unlikely shape of John Sergeant, a roly-poly former political reporter for the BBC.

John Sergeant and his dancing partner Kristina Rihanoff seen in a promotional photo for "Strictly Come Dancing."

Sergeant, 64, made his name in the hallowed corridors of Westminster, interviewing such political heavyweights as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.

It is only fair to point out that, in the intervening years, Sergeant has become something of a heavyweight himself.

He was also born with two left feet.

All of which makes it somewhat unlikely that he would become a national pin-up.

But for six weeks now, thousands of TV viewers have defied common sense to keep Sergeant on "Strictly Come Dancing," the British equivalent of "Dancing with the Stars," booting off more accomplished contestants.

Some two dozen Facebook sites now are devoted to keeping him there.

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Recalling Grandad Leigh – a ‘Great War’ vet

Petra Cahill — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:40:00 GMT

By Chris Hampson, NBC News Director of International News

LONDON – Remembrance Day has always been a special part of my life. As a kid, my home in the North of England was full of talk about the wars.

My parents had lived, struggled – and danced – through World War II. My nimble-footed dad was the "Master of Ceremonies" at his munitions factory weekly "socials," and whisked his soon-to-be-bride (my mum) off her feet there.

Getty Images

The last surviving British World War I veterans from left to right, Henry Allingham,112, Harry Patch, 110, and Bill Stone, 108, gather at the start of the Armistice Day commemorations on Nov. 11 in London.

My uncle had fought the Japanese in Burma, and looked thin and gaunt the rest of his days. That may have been jungle warfare, or marrying my mum’s bad-tempered sister. Either way, it was a battle.

But my grandfather could beat them all, by fighting in what was once called the Great War – ironically, "the war to end wars" – World War I.

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Obama's win eclipses national news in Britain

Petra Cahill — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:30:00 GMT

By Jennifer Carlile, msnbc.com reporter

LONDON, ENGLAND – Britons awoke Wednesday to headlines like the Daily Express’ "A New World Dawns," and The Independent’s "Mr. President" in bold print below a full-page picture of Barack Obama wearing a winning grin.

From all-night television coverage to special, late editions of the morning papers, not printed until most polls had closed, the U.S. election has eclipsed all national news here. Although Obama’s win wasn’t announced until 4 a.m. GMT, early morning commuters across the capital already new the verdict from across the pond.

"It’s fantastic news; great for the U.S., great for the world – just an absolute milestone in history," 41-year-old Londoner Jamie Davies said as he sipped a coffee from Starbucks before heading to work.

Luke Macgregor / Reuters

Supporters celebrate as Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is announced President during an election party held at the U.S. Embassy in London, early Wednesday morning.

Ahead of the election, four out of five British citizens said the outcome would make a difference to their country, according to a Gallup Poll taken in October. That figure was higher than from any other country polled.

"Everyone knows that whatever America faces, the world faces," said Evans Olekanma, a shopping center employee in Hammersmith, West London.

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