Rather English - Climb Glastonbury Tor

Rising above the town like a pyramid, and topped off by a mysterious church tower, it is not hard to see why Glastonbury Tor so easily captures the imagination. Offering spectacular views, the Tor is thought to be the peak of the ancient Isle of Avalon, and was once literally an island, rising from the marshy Somerset levels.

Legend has it that the island was visited by King Arthur, Saint Patrick and even Jesus Christ's tin-trading uncle Joseph of Arimathea. The monks at Glastonbury Abbey even questioned whether a young Jesus himself visited, in a story immortalised in the hymn, Jerusalem.

For more, see http://www.glastonburytor.org.uk/

_{From mid November to late January, Tired of London, Tired of Life is becoming RatherEnglish.com and featuring interesting things to do in England}

Rather English - Admire the view from Selsley Common

An area of common land overlooking the town of Stroud in Gloucestershire, Selsley Common comprises nearly 160 acres of limestone grassland with stunning views over the the Severn Vale and towards the Stroud Valleys, which once boasted around 150 woolen mills, creating cloth for export around the world.

The town of Stroud is lucky to boast significant areas of common land, grazed by cattle but open to the public to roam as they please and popular with paragliders. However, Selsley is the most interesting, said to have been used as a camp and lookout by soldiers loyal to Edward - who was later to become King Edward I - during the Baron's War of 1263-67 and also boasting the remains of a neolithic long barrow called The Toots. Beneath the common, Selsley Church, funded by Sir Samuel Marling, and designed by G. F. Bodley, is celebrated for its gallery of pre-Raphaelite stained glass by William Morris and others.

For more, see http://www.cotswolds.info/places/stroud/

_{From mid November until late January, Tired of London, Tired of Life is on a Rather English tour, featuring interesting things to do in England.}

Drink at The Bell, Aldworth

Yesterday afternoon, your author set out from South East London in brilliant sunshine to rediscover England, making his first stop at the Bell Inn in Aldworth, Berkshire, a beautiful pub which traces its origins back to the 14th century, and on a sunny Sunday is a fine example of how a village pub can still be right at the heart of a community.

The Bell has been in the same family for some 250 years, and your author understands by way of a talkative local that it is very safe in the hands of the latest generation. Tucked away beneath the Ridgeway in a village who all seemed to be happily passing their Sunday enjoying each other's company over ale and crusty sandwiches, it certainly seemed to be. If all villages could have a friendly local like the Bell, busy with village life and and so beautiful inside that it warrants a listing in the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, the world would be a better place.

For more, see http://www.aldworth.info/Aldworth/bell.html

Until late January 2013, Tired of London, Tired of Life is featuring things to do in England. Content is also available at http://www.ratherenglish.com/

Visit the RAF Bomber Command Memorial

Today is Remembrance Sunday, and the perfect time to visit London's newest war memorial on, unveiled in June this year to commemorate those who flew with Bomber Command on missions during the Second World War.

The memorial is found in Green Park and is built in Portland stone. At its heart stand seven 9-foot-high bronze airmen, shown looking at the horizon, from which many of their comrades would sadly never return. 55,573 aircrew from all over the world lost their lives with Bomber Command during World War II.

For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Bomber_Command_Memorial

_{^Picture © Bryn Pinzgauer used under a Creative Commons license^}

Watch the Lord Mayor's Show

London is now on its 685th Lord Mayor, and some date the Lord Mayor's Show back to as 1215, when King John granted his charter to allow citizens of London to elect a mayor. Today, nearly 800 years later, the show is still going strong and today it hits the City of London, promising the usual mixture of spectacle and marching.

For this year's show, we're told to expect a three and a half mile procession, with over 6,500 participants as well as marching bands, horses, carriages and more from 11am until 2.30pm. Though this year the fireworks will not be happening, we are told that a flotilla will be taking place before the show from 8.30am as some sort of replacement.

For more, see http://www.lordmayorsshow.org/

_{^Picture © SPakhrin used under a Creative Commons license^}

Eat at Paolina Thai Cafe

Your author had a good meal with friends last night at the Paolina Thai Cafe near King's Cross station, and apart from the odd deserts and the rather compact toilet facilities, found it to be good value.

Though the cafe interior feels a bit more like being on an Austrian train than being in a Thai cafe, service is swift enough and prices reasonable, plus it's BYO, which is very civilized.

For more, see http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/restaurants/paolina-cafe-and-thai-restaurant-info-3724.html

Find St Faith's Parish Pump

Though the Church of St Faith has not existed for hundreds of years, St Faith's parish pump, dated 1819, still stands stranded by a fence between Paternoster Sq and St Paul’s Churchyard. The history of the parish of St Faith's is an interesting one. The original parish church of St Faith stood on the north side of Old St Paul’s until the 1250s, when we are told that it was demolished as part of work on the cathedral.

From the 1250s until the reign of Edward VI, the parish known as St Faith under St Paul's literally worshiped beneath St Paul's Cathedral, using a space the end of the west crypt under St Paul’s Quire. After this date the parish was united with St Augustine Watling Street. The pump was once situated against railings of St Paul's Churchyard close to St Paul's Cross, but was moved to its present position in 1973.

For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Faith_under_St_Paul's

Visit the RHS Lindley Library

Describing itself as the world's leading horticultural library, the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley Library is the largest such library in the world, based over a three locations but headquartered at the RHS building in Vincent Square, Westminster.

The Vincent Square building is the largest part of the library, and contains books from books covering horticulture between 1514 and the present day. The library is open to the public and provides free access to books and journals, and a lending service for members, Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm. They also hold regular talks and events.

For more, see http://www.rhs.org.uk/About-Us/RHS-Lindley-Library/

**Announcement** - Tired of London's Rather English change

As from next Monday, 12th November, there will be a temporary change here at Tired of London, Tired of Life. Whilst your author is not and will never be Tired of London, he will be spending a disproportionate amount of time out of town over the next couple of months researching a new project, which will temporarily make writing about London rather more difficult.

Therefore, as your author will probably be seeing rather more of England than London between now and the end of January, during that time this website will suggest one thing a day of interest to see or do in England, returning to London-centric content at the end of January. This English content will also be available on a new blog called Rather English for those who want to see only things about England, but readers should probably note that even that will contain occasional bits and pieces about London, which is in England.

Your author is thankful to the regular readers who continue to return to this website daily, and hopes that this time-limited change in format will continue to provide something of interest. Writing every day does take effort and this website isn't done to make money, so your author hopes that readers will accept this brief change and maybe even embrace it, as a way to learn about some interesting things to see and do in England. If for any reason you do not wish to hear about things to do in England, please take a break from reading until the end of January and click "un-follow" or "un-like" on the social media ones. If you aren't able to cope without a suggestion of one thing a day to do in London there is a great book available to buy for a very reasonable price, which coincidentally makes a great Christmas present.

For more, see http://www.ratherenglish.com/

See the first President of the United States of America

Today, the voters of the United States of America go to the polls to chose who will be the President of their country for the next four years. There are many statues of Presidents in London one of the first President, George Washington, stands on the lawn in front of the National Gallery.

The statue was installed in 1921, having been given by the US state of Virginia, and is a bronze copy of a marble statue by Jean-Antoine Houdon which stands in the rotunda of in Richmond, the capital of Virginia.

For more, see http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FB0811F83D5A1B7A93C3A9178CD85F458285F9

_{^Picture © ell brown used under a Creative Commons license^}

Visit St Sepulchre-without-Newgate

The largest parish church in the City of London, St Sepulchre-without-Newgate dates back to 1137, and an earlier Saxon church is known to have stood on the same site. Though the church was subsequently rebuilt in the 15th century, almost destroyed by the Great Fire of London, modified in the 18th century, and restored by the Victorians it maintains a timeless quality and is an interesting place to visit.

Nowadays, the church is known for its musical reputation and as well as being known as the National Musicians’ Church, a Musicians’ Chapel was established within the church in 1955 around the grave of Sir Henry Wood - the founder of The Proms who learnt to play the organ at St Sepulchre - to commemorate deceased British musicians and house the Musicians’ Book of Remembrance. The church still holds regular concert and is open to the public daily.

For more, see http://www.st-sepulchre.org.uk/

Go ice skating at Canary Wharf

It may not feel anywhere near wintry enough yet, but the ice skating rink at Canary Wharf reopened for the season yesterday in Canada Square Park, offering 720 square metres of ice to skate on.

It's a common seasonal occurrence in London, but your author was not aware the rinks were rolled out quite this early in the year, but the rink will now be open seven days a week - with the exception of Christmas Day - until 13th January.

For more, see http://www.skatecanarywharf.com/

_{^Picture © EEPaul used under a Creative Commons license^}

Watch the Blackheath Fireworks

One of London's biggest firework displays, Blackheath Fireworks takes place this evening, with around 100,000 people gathering on the Heath for a fireworks display, with no news yet on whether they have been the subject of the usual inter-borough wranglings.

Last year's was an impressive display and there are additional attractions to entertain including funfair rides from 4pm and bar and food stalls from 5pm. For what it's worth, your author will this year be returning to Brockham in Surrey in search of a proper village bonfire, but as that's outside the M25, the excellent display at Blackheath earns its place here.

For more, see http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/events/whats-on/fireworks/Pages/default.aspx

_{^Picture © John Tregoning used under a Creative Commons license^}

Watch the Brockwell Park Fireworks

It's the biggest fireworks weekend of the year this weekend in London and across the country, and the festivities kick off this evening with Lambeth Council's annual displays in Brockwell Park and on Streatham Common.

Whilst the fireworks display itself kicks off at 8pm, the events will be open from 4pm with stilt walkers, magicians and fire dancers if that's your sort of thing, and other entertainment and stalls running through until 9pm.

For more details click here or for a full breakdown of displays head over to Ianvisits

_{^Picture © michaeljesusday used under a Creative Commons license^}

Drink at the Newman Arms

A busy little free house in Fitzrovia, just north of Oxford Street, the Newman Arms was built around 1730 and served as a chandler, an ironmonger, a picture framers and a brothel before finding its new calling as a tavern around 1860. Since then, we are told, it's played host to the likes of George Orwell and Dylan Thomas and - for those with sharper cultural antennae - appeared in both the The Bill and the Ali G show.

Today, it's a characterful pub, run by three generations of the Bird family and is pleasantly eccentric, with a typically eclectic West End crowd, an annual "Soup Off" and an upstairs Pie Room serving a range of pies that were sadly unavailable at the time of your author's recent visit.

For more, see http://newmanarms.co.uk/