Hello London

By Alex Maine

I’m not exactly the most well-travelled person but whether its business or pleasure or an unethical combination of the two, I seem to end up in the city of London. As you all know London is the capital city of England situated in the south east of the country.

Photo credit: Alex Maine & Tara MacPhee

For a workaholic like me London is a godsend. One minute you can be strolling along the banks of Westminster discussing the fluctuations of the current market with some stuck up banker who’s only purpose is to make a small fortune from you and 2 minutes away via the London underground you find yourself looking at some of the most treasured historical artifacts in the world at the various museums in Central London.

It seems every time I am in London I end up on the banks of the River Thames. There is so much to see. From the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to the London Eye and the Tate Modern Art Gallery. Some of the best views of London can be witnessed from the London Eye, or if like me you are looking for a business location of pure exhilaration you should check out the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre which has the most magnificent views of Westminster.

Those who think London is just a place of business are mistaken. Everywhere you look there are tourist attractions. To name a few: Buckingham palace, London Zoo, 02 area (Millennium Dome), Science/Natural History/Victoria & Albert museums just to name a few. You get the idea! I recently took Tara to the London zoo which was a fantastic experience. One thing to bare in mind is that all these attractions are wonderful and many of them are free but the ones that are not free, very much reflects what an expensive city London is. A day out in London with one paid attraction, transport and food can easily run you over $200.

Photo credit: Alex Maine & Tara MacPhee

London for many is the connection to the rest of the world. So many people have landed at Heathrow or one of the other 5 major airports in London. If you haven’t passed through Heathrow at some point you haven’t experienced organised chaos at its best. BAA (British Airports Authority) claim that Heathrow is the busiest airport in the world though it doesn’t take as many passengers per year as several other airports.. though on average one plane lands and another takes off every minute across the 5 consumer terminals at Heathrow and that’s not including terminal 6 for cargo.

So why am I babbling about Heathrow? Well for me it’s my connection between the UK and the east coast of Canada. It’s also the place where I first met @TaraMacPhee my Canadian partner.

London is vast…vibrant and very vocal. You haven’t experienced a European city until you have visited London.

Regent's Park - London

My name is Alex Maine. I am 21, British, currently on a five month visit to Nova Scotia. I am the former managing director of the National Variety Performance for the United Kingdom and have been working in the events industry since I was 16. I am currently the CEO of the Somerset County Awards for which I direct the Pride of Central Somerset. I have also recently launched the Haliwards here in HRM. I am also in the process of a permanent residency visa for Canada.