The West End

The West End is the name given to the area of central London between the Malls and Oxford Street. It includes Trafalgar Square, the main shopping areas of Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, and the entertainment centres of Soho, Picadilly Circus, Leicester Squares and Shaftesbury Avenue. The name West End is associated with glamour and bright lights.

Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square was built at the beginning of the 19th century to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar. Admiral Lord Nelson's statue stands on top of a column in the middle of Trafalgar Square. The large square is a traditional place for people to meet: all sorts of protest meetings are held in Trafalgar Square. At Christrnas time carol singers gather round a huge Christmas tree which is sent to Britain from Norway every year. Behind Nelson's Column is the building of the National Gallary, a rich art gallery in which you can find many old masters.

S hopping. Most of London's big department stores are situated in Oxford Street and Regent Street. They are always crowded, but especially at sale times, in January and July, when there are so many people here that it is difficult to move.

Entertainment. Piccadilly Circus is the centre of night life in the West End. The square is quite small and many people are disappointed when they see it for the first time because they imagined that it would be much bigger. To the north of Piccadilly Circus is Soho, which has been the foreign quarter of London since the 17th century. Now it is famous for its restaurants, which offer food from different countries. Especially popular are Chinese and Italian foods.

London is famous for its theatres. In the West End there are over thirty theatres within a square mile. They offer a great variety of shows to choose from:

opera, musicals, drama, comedies, whodunnitst, and so on.

Westminster. Every day, when people in the UK and overseas witch on their radio to listen to BBC radio news, they can hear one of the most famous sounds in London: the chimes of Big Ben on the tower of the Houses of Parliament.

The Houses of Parliament occupy a magnificent building on the left bank of the Thames in a part of London called Westminster, that has long been connected with royalty and government.

King Edward the Confessorr built a palace beside the River Thames in the 11th century. His successors made the palace their main residence. Gradually Westminster became the centre of government. At first Parliament was organized to help the monach rule the country. The monarch called representatives of different groups of people together; so the House of Lords represented the Church and aristocracy, and the House of Commons represented the rich land-owners who expressed the views and interests of their own town or village. In the course of centuries, power gradually passed from the monarch to Parliament.

According to the long-standing tradition, the Queen still opens the new session of Parliament each autumn by reading the Queen's Speech in the House of Lords. Another tradition is that the Queen is not allowed to enter the House of Commons. This tradition goes back to the time of Charles I, more than three hundred years ago, and reminds everybody that the monarch must not try to govern the country.

Westminster Abbey. Opposite the Houses of Parliament stands Westminster Abbey. A church has stood here since Saxon times, when it was known as West Monastery (Westminster), because its position to the west of London's centre. Since William the Conqueror's times British monarchs have been crowned there, and since the 13th century they have been buried there. Many of famous people also buried in Westminster Abbey.

Whitehall. The street called Whitehall stretches from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square. Whitehall is often associated with the government of Britain.

Downing Street, which is a small side street off Whitehall, is the home of the Prime Minister who lives at number ten. Next door, at number eleven, lives the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is responsible for financial planning and the British economy. Just around the corner, in Whitehall itself, are all the important ministries: the Foreign Offices, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Offices and the Treasury.

ln the middle of Whitehall is the Cenotaph, a monument to the fallen in the two world wars of the 20^th century. According to tradition, on Remembrance Day, the Sunday nearest to November 11, the Queen lays a wreath of poppies at the Cenotaph. People of Britain remember their dead from the two world wars by wearing a red paper poppy.

Royal London. When you are in London, you are always reminded of the city's close connection with the Crown. There are royal palaces, royal parks and colourful ceremonies.

The most important building in London, though not the most beautiful, is Buckingham Palace, which is the official residence of the Queen. It stands in St. James's Park. Running through the park from the front of Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square is the Mall, a wide tree-lined avenue.

St. James's Park is one of ten so-called royal parks situated in or near London. These parks officially belong to the Crown, but are open to the public free of charges. These large parks are very good places for people to escape from traffic jams, crowded shops and the city noise. Each park has its own character.

Hyde Parks was originally a hunting forest and is es still popular with horse-riders. Regent's Park, which was also originally a hunting park, is now the home of London Zoo, and an open-air theatre which stages Shakespeare’s plays.

Knightsbridge. This area is a part of London where you can find many foreign embassies, large glamorous hotels, and the department store that is the symbol of expensive and high-class living – Harrods.

People say you can buy anything in Harrods, including wild animals – they even have a zoo which as well as more common pets such as dogs, cats or parrots.

Another place of interest here is the Albert Hall, a huge concert hall which gives festivals of popular and classical music concerts every summer.

Museums. Three of London's most interesting museums – the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum – are also in this area. The Natural History Museum has exhibits of birds, animals and reptiles, as well as life-size reconstructions of prehistoric animals. The Victoria and Albert Museum includes exhibits from almost every place and period, including costumes from the theatre, and paintings. The Science Museum covers every aspect of science and technology,.and its collections are constantly being enlarged. The museum is always crowded. In many of the rooms there are machines and computers which the visitors can work themselves.