A new £1 coin!

Have you heard the news?  The new 12-sided 1 pound coin goes into circulation this week!

What can you buy with your new £1 coin, you may ask? Well, I’ve been coming up with some ideas…

1.Buy a train or bus ticket.

Megatrain and Megabus are budget train and coach services with tickets starting at £1 (!), and there are countless offers between cities for only £5. The best prices can be found when you book early. Bookings can be made up to 45 days in advance and close at 3am on the day of travel. There’s a booking fee but it’s still pretty cheap. So go see Britain!

2. Try a half pint of amazing real ale.

Many cheap London pubs have pints of real British ale (and lagers, and ciders) for only a couple of pounds. And you can get a half pint in many places (try a Wetherspoons pub for the cheapest price) for around £1. Yum!

3. Buy a theatre ticket.

Can you believe that you can see a top production at London’s Royal Court Theatre for just 10 pence? Eight standing tickets are available every evening: you just need to turn up at the box office in Sloane Square an hour before the performance.

4. Visit your nearest £1 store.

Need a UK power converter plug? £1. 12 Kodak AA batteries? £1. Name-brand shower gel or shampoo? £1. A cute mug for your tea or coffee? £1. A pint glass or tumblers? £1.  Toothpaste or cotton swabs? £1. An enormous Toblerone chocolate bar? £1.   You get the idea…

Oh, yes: I should mention that the most popular chain of pound stores is called Poundland, which will sometimes make American college students giggle a bit… In any case, it is definitely worth a visit!

5. Buy a book.

There are no Goodwill stores in the UK, but there are dozens of charity shops, where the money you spend will go to many good causes. Oxfam, UK Cancer Research, the British Heart Foundation, and many others have shops all over the city.  It is a great place to shop for clothes (vintage or gently used) if you don’t want to spend a bundle (forget your rain jacket at home?  you can get one here and dispose of it before you leave!). You can pick up lots of bargains in the back of the shops – like used paperbacks for whiling away a lazy afternoon in a cafe. And every penny goes to charity!

6. Have an cozy cup of British tea.

Tesco’s everyday teabags are only 25p, and a pint of milk is 45p.  That leaves some change for a few biscuits to go with your tea…mmmm….

Favorite British biscuits (often less than £1): custard creams or chocolate Bourbon creams, digestives (especially the chocolate-covered Hobnobs!), Walker’s shortbread, shortbread with raspberry filling (in Britain it’s called the Jammie Dodger), ginger biscuits (the M&S brand is the best), and the controversial Jaffa Cakes (biscuits or cakes? you decide…)

 

A Perfect Afternoon in London

I think my favorite afternoons in London are the lazy ones, when you don’t have anywhere particular to be and you can spend time wandering down intriguing alleys, looking at amazing art, and perusing bookstalls. (Yes, I’m an academic and a book geek – can you tell?)

When I need one of these kinds of days, I make my way to the art galleries (the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery are both free!) in Trafalgar Square.

(Who can resist this beautiful room? It’s in the National Portrait Gallery…)

When I need a break, or want to catch up on some reading, I step over to Covent Garden (aka Theatreland) to one of the coffee shops. My favorite coffee hideaway is probably Double Shot Coffee, a tiny little place off to the side of the crazy busy plaza.  If I have even more time, I’ll meet a friend for lunch in the cool Cafe in the Crypt below the historic St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church (right on Trafalgar Square). (I should mention that there are gorgeous candlelit concerts of music in St. Martin-in-the-Fields at night, should you wish to return!)

If you are a total theatre nerd, you might want to try touring one of the historic 19th-century theatres while you are out exploring Covent Garden – the tour at the old Drury Lane Theatre is one of my favorites and it definitely does a great job telling you about the theatre’s 353-year-old history (you even get to go behind the scenes of whatever musical/show is currently playing there)!

There are loads of unique shops (and regular high street stores) in Covent Garden, but my favorite street for shopping is definitely Cecil Court, where all of the rare and antiquarian bookshops are located.

(Looks a bit like Diagon Alley, no?)

You can find antique maps and prints, old playbills, pulp fiction novels, and much more! If you are looking for a truly one-of-a-kind souvenir of London to keep forever, this might be the place to look for it…