[jackflashdrive]

I spent two months in London last summer. Fing expensive city, so I was always happy to find cool things to do for very cheap. Here are two suggestions:

(1) You have to see the British Museum and Tate Museums. My God the British Museum has items tucked away in the corner that any other museum would place in the center lobby with spotlights on it. Cost: FREE!!!

(2) In the summer the BBC sponsors concerts called "Proms" at Royal Albert Hall. Look it up on the web and see if one is happening while you are there. It's a really unique experience.

To understand what happens I have to tell you a little about Royal Albert Hall. It is a circular concert hall with three levels of seating around the center area. The orchestra is in the middle but the hall is so big that the orchestra takes up relatively little space. If you ever learned about Shakepeare's Globe Theater in High School you'll have an idea what I'm talking about.

So what they do is -- just as with the Globe Theater in Shakespeare's day -- they sell cheap tickets to the open space in the middle for those who don't want to spend the 50 pounds and up to sit in a reserved seat. Ya, we could have spent the money but I thought being in the 'plebes' area was actually much more fun. I saw two Proms while in London and enjoyed both. Cost: 5 POUNDS.

The highlight of my trip to london was seeing Langhorn Slim play in a WAY overcrowded basement bar (this show happened to be free -- why I don't know). If you like music you'll find a great scene in London and you should pay the 5 pounds or whatever for The Gaurdian's weekly guide to arts and music (I don't remember the name maybe someone can help me out). If you are into film you might find a film festival or two going on now (I went to a Robert Mitchum film festival while in London that was really fun).