The London Drummerboy -- London travel blog

I've been to both "Changing the Guard" ceremonies now (at Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade), and Trooping the Colour and the State Opening of Parliament too, so this was the last one to complete my set... the "Dismounting Ceremony", or "Four O'Clock Parade".

This one takes place every single day at Horse Guards, in the little courtyard that faces onto Whitehall. The reason that I've never been to it before is because I could never be bothered to wait around until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when it takes place. But today I steeled myself for the job and I did the deed.

Compared to the other ceremonies like Changing of the Guard, this one is just a sideshow. It's very short and not a lot happens. It's all over in ten minutes. All you get is six soldiers, two horses, and a big boss guy who walks around and shouts at them for two minutes. Then they all go inside. That is … read the rest of this post

Samuel Johnson is one of those famous people that no one knows anything about. If you read a lot of London history like I do (for this site), then of course you're going to bump into him from time to time. But 90% of the people out there won't have a clue I'm guessing. That might know that he was a London wit, who wrote a dictionary, but that's about it. So why would they bother to visit his house? That's a toughie.

Dr Johnson's House advertises itself as a perfectly preserved Georgian townhouse but I was a bit underwhelmed, to be honest. I didn't really feel like I was being transported back in time. If you stick a bit of carpet on the floor and some curtains on the windows, you might even be able to pass it off as your grandma's house. The problem is that it's too sparsely decorated... there's not enough stuff in it. Where's all his belongings? And his books, papers and … read the rest of this post

Okay... so I finally got around to watching Changing the Guard at Horse Guards today. I've already done the one at Buckingham Palace, so I thought I'd give this a go and see what the difference is.

I ended up going twice (once last week, and again today) because it's quite a difficult thing to watch from start to finish because the ceremony takes place in two different bits -- the parade ground, and the courtyard through the central arches. If you want to film the whole lot on one day then you've basically got no chance, because a succession of soldiers and horses will march back and forth between the two at intervals, and you'd be running around like a lemon. My advice is to pick a bit and stick with it, and just accept that you'll have to miss what's happening in the other section. Otherwise people will already have occupied the best spots in the other bit, and by the time you … read the rest of this post

I've seen Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace already, so I went to see other one today -- Changing the Guard on Horse Guards Parade. I'm not going to tell you about that this week though, because it takes place in two different areas at once -- on the parade ground and also in the courtyard, through the arches. And I could only film one of them today. So I will tell you all about that next week, once I have had an opportunity to film the whole lot.
But let me tell you about Horse Guards instead, which is worth a visit even if you don't get there in time for Changing the Guard. Horse Guards is the big parade ground that you'll probably recognise from events like Trooping the Colour. It's actually in two bits. The parade ground is the main bit, which borders onto one side of St. James's Park. But there is also a smaller bit which is just a courtyard, which faces out onto … read the rest of this post

I climbed up Big Ben today to see the bell, which was pretty cool. It's not as easy to get into Big Ben as it is to get into Parliament, which is a bit wierd. You can't just turn up and ask for a tour. What you have to do is write a letter to your local MP and ask for a ticket. I did that way back in May, and got a place for today a few weeks later -- four months in the future. They make you fill out a little spreadsheet too with all your personal details, so they can perform a security check. And that's before you even step through the door and get frisked and have your photo taken.

It's well worth it though. But when I got the letter they made it sound a little scarier than it actually is. First of all they insist you bring two forms of ID (like a passport, driving licence or utility bill). And they ban everything from your camera to phone, and even food and drink. If you turn … read the rest of this post

Another cold, grey and rainy day in London. I got absolutely soaked on the way to Parliament today and when I turned up at the gate where all the gun cops stand I felt like a right nana. I was the first one there too, right on the dot of 9 o'clock. The first tour doesn't start until 9.15, but after last year I wanted to get there early so I didn't have to wait around all day. That was a good move -- that is what you should do too if you decide to go. The ticket office opens at 8.45 AM and you should be there then, on the dot, grab a ticket, and hot-foot it over the road so you can speed through security at 9 AM. There are big advantages at being on the first tour of the day, as I will explain.

The tour was pretty much exactly the same as last year, except this time we had a nice old lady guiding us around instead of Colin. I thought Colin was pretty good last time, but this lady … read the rest of this post