With Britain remaining the Number One tourist destination for Americans going to Europe during the years when it is not Number Two, it behooves visitors to remember the off-season pleasures of the place. November in London is one such time, and places to stay can still be as cheap as $45 a person per night, inclusive of a huge English breakfast.
The price mentioned is for the Coach House, a nice old Victorian (well, coach house) spot, with hospitality and ambiance as close to the true old-fashioned English style as one could hope to find outside one's own extended family.
Step out of your cozy parlor, then, to the pomp and circumstance of London, into something the British know better than anyone else in the world--pageantry. Top of the bill will be the State Opening of Parliament, sometime in early November (well, the Queen spends August in the Highlands, probably without her laptop, so the date hasn't been agreed upon yet!). The Queen drives in a marvelous gold-encrusted state carriage from Buckingham Palace down The Mall and around a corner of Trafalagar Square, thence down Whitehall, to the Palace of Westminster, commonly known as Parliament.
Before she emerges from her carriage, the Yeomen of the Guard will have searched the cellars ot Parliament for explosives, a precaution dating back to the Gunpowder Plot of November 1605 (more of which, see below). The Queen then reads the speech written for her by Prime Minister Blair (after a prolonged ceremony involving the appearance of the House of Commons members in the House of Lords chamber), and returns to her home, Buck House. (If you watch on TV, catch the performance by the rod-holding peer who walks backward before the Queen en route to and from the throne. Worth the price of admission in itself.) More details at www.royal.gov.uk.
Next most gorgeous is the Lord Mayor's Show on November 9. Every year a new Lord Mayor of the City of London is inaugurated. It is purely a ceremonial function, the holder usually being a highly successful businessperson on his or her way up the ladder. Since 1757, the lord mayors have traveled in a ceremonial gold coach, with lots of marching bands and floats, a few occasionally in questionable taste. (The first procession was held in 1215 when King John's Charter (to the City) stipulated that the new Lord Mayor must swear an oath of allegiance to the king and to show himself to the people. From 1422 for a couple of hundred years or more, the procession traveled along the River Thames (hence the term "floats" for the displays). Try to watch it along The Strand if you can. More details at www.lordmayorsshow.org.
On November 5 is the third big occasion for the month, with bonfires lit and fireworks displayed throughout the UK to commemorate the Gunpowder Plot, in which Guy Fawkes tried to blow up James I and his parliament. Actually, burning "the Guy" in effigy starts as much as two weeks before this date and goes on for about a week after. More details at www.bonfire.org/guy.
Celebrations of the Queen's 50th anniversary continue with the String of Pearls program, referring to buildings and organizations which lie along the Thames. Through December 2002 many of these places are opening themselves up to the public, physically and intellectually, for the first time, mounting special events and activities. More details at www.stringofpearls.org.uk.
To get rooms at The Coach House, go to www.coachhouse.chslondon.com or e-mail rentals@chslondon.com. Other properties managed by the same company (Coach House London Vacation Rentals) can be found at www.rentals.chslondon.com.
