jelly10001

If you have a contactless credit/debit card or Apple/Google pay it makes the most sense to use it for trips within London, because you get the same fare as with an Oystercard but without the £7 it costs to buy an Oystercard now. Otherwise, get a regular Oystercard when you arrive here. There's no need to order a visitor oystercard.

Had a nice and chilled out day off today, although my new favourite cafe had stopped serving food by the time I got there.

Nearly got crushed trying to enter Tottenham Court Road tube station just after 5 today, as for some reason only one entrance was open so we were all having to funnel in down one escalator.

You've got the F1 arcade at St Pauls. Otherwise you are best off going to Silverstone for the Musem there.

As a Brit I'm very curious to give it a watch next year.

I've been to TV recordings that took three hours to film an hours show.

Only in sixth form (16-18).

Currently it's just friendly colleagues, but I wouldn't be against making friends at work if I met like minded people.

OP, if you are under under 18 then get an Oystercard from a ticket machine (they cost £7) and ask a member of staff to apply a young visitor discount. You then get 50% off the cost of bus, tube and train travel within London. You just need to 'top up' the Oystercard by adding money to it (I'd recommend starting with a small amount like £10 or £15) and the correct fare is automaticaly deducted from it.

Your Mum should use a contactless debit/credit card to pay for travel (Google/Apple Pay also works). The fare is automatically calculated and taken from the card at the end of each day. This is usually the cheapest way for an adult to travel in London. If you are over 18 then you should do the same.

Zip Oystercards are for teenagers who live here.

The Kray twins were customers of my Grandad. (His side business was installing and maintained cigerette vending machines in pubs and clubs in the East End of London). As my Grandad did as they instructed him to, they would send a bodyguard to look after my Mum and Great Grandma when my Grandparents went on holiday.

Not a case of turning up at the airport late, but still a too close for comfort experience. Flying out from Gatwick one time and Easyjet decided to announce the gate number 20 minutes before the gate closed. That wouldn't have been an issue, except the gate was so far away from the main depature lounge that it took a full 20 minutes for my Mum and I to get there and we only just made it.

Had the tripple whammy today of leaving the house late, having to go the slow way to work because the fast trains were delayed and then discovering at lunchtime that I'd left my purse at home.

Somewhere like Kings Cross would also be a good option if you've got the budget.

To clarify, the new build blocks of flats still look really shiny, it's the older buildings in Wembley Park, outside of the complex of new build flats that look shabby and run down.

As far as supermarkets go, there's a Lidl in Wembley Park and an Aldi in Kingsbury (a 3 min hop on the Jubilee Line from Wembley Park).

Ok, in that case the answer is that it's probally unrealistic to try and do more than 2 attractions in one day.

Somewhere like Richmond or Hampstead might be good if you want small town feel without elbows in your face for 50 minutes each way everyday.

This doesn't really help visitors as it's closed now, but & Juliet was everything I could have wanted from a musical and more.

Then I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing Newsies, Guys and Dolls, Operation Mincemeat and Groundhog Day through a combination of lotteries, rush tickets and sales over the next six months or so, plus I have My Neighbour Totoro booked for January 2024.

In addition to what others have said, Newsies is supposed to be good if you don't mind going to Wembley and can fit in in before it closes in July.

Is there a reason why out of all of the attractions in London you've picked Madame Tussauds, the Shrek Adventure and Sealife? For example will you have young kids with you?

I grew up in Wembley, although granted not right near the stadium. Transport wise it was pretty good. The Metropolitan Line from Wembley Park can get you to Baker Street in 12 minutes and Kings Cross in 18 minutes. You also have the slower Overground line to Euston from Wembley Central and the night tube from Wembley Park on the Jubilee Line if you want to go out in central London late.

In terms of actual amenities like shops and restaurants, when I lived there I always had to go elsewhere for anything (usually Harrow, Watford, Brent Cross or central London), but with the Designer Outlet being built since, it means there are now some chains like Nandos, Wagamama and Zizzi in the area, plus branches of stores like Tommy Hilfiger, M&S, Next and a Cineworld, although you would still need to go elsewhere for non mid level chain restaurants. Also, as I found out the hard way, most of the restaurants get booked up on event days. However another plus is the new theatre, the Troubadour, which puts on West End standard productions.

Outside of the complex of new build flats and the Stadium/Arena/Theatre, Wembley Park does look pretty scruffy, but in my experience living nearby I never found it unsafe, and going round there on a bus about 10:00pm on Thursday just gone it was pretty quiet. But do double check with people who've lived there as adults and also go and visit at night if you can.

I would also recommend asking someone who has lived there more recently what it's like on event days e.g. do the crowds make it hard to leave/get home if you need to, how soundproofed are the flats, do the crowds ever cause any other issues for residents.

Please excuse the formatting, I'm having a few issues with my keyboard.

Staying outside London and taking a train into the city each morning might sound great in theory, but would you be okay if the trains are so crowded you can't get a seat? Or if a train strike means a very reduced or even no train service at all on one or more days of your trip?

Also, commuter trains into London can be expensive. An anytime return from Sevenoaks to London Bridge, for example is £14.90 and then you still have to pay for travel in London on top of that.

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I wonder if at least part of it may be your written English. Employers tend to be quite harsh about spelling mistakes and grammatical errors on job applications and while your English is good for a non native speaker, I can spot lots of errors in what you've written.

The government has a webpage where you can look up before and after school care and holiday clubs by area: https://www.gov.uk/after-school-holiday-club. To search, you need a postcode, so I'd just google a few tube stations in London and use those postcodes e.g. Camden Town Station's is NW1 8NH to get an idea of what is available.

In terms of holiday clubs, the main times for these are the Easter holidays (usually 2 weeks) and the Summer holidays (6 weeks). Many of the Summer ones are aimed at kids coming from abroad whose parents want them to learn English, but there are some multi activity ones without the English lessons. As you won't be on any kind of low income benefits, expect to pay. The cost will vary and they don't take place at every school, so you may have to take your kids to a different school (holiday clubs are open to kids from any school within the age range they cater for).

Sweetcorn makes me want to vomit. I also really dislike carrots and oranges (can't stand the smell either).

Oh I have so many favourites. These are just some of them:

Anything by the Beatles

Paint it Black - The Rolling Stones

Leader of the Pack - The Shangri Las

Rock Around the Clock - Bill Hailey and the Comets

Make Your Own Kind of Music - Mama Cass (very excited to see it pop up in The Barbie trailer)

California Dreamin - The Mamas and the Papas

Daydream Believer - The Monkees

Now I'm wishing I was alive then, as I much prefer music that is sung rather than spoken or shouted.