Congratulations to Channel 4 for four fantastic new programmes this week challenging key episodes in British history as part of its Bloody Foreigners season. This theme may sound xenophobic but the hour long docu-dramas in fact, in my opinion, showed the positive contributions that immigrants have made to Britain over the years.
On Wednesday night the ‘Untold Great Fire of London’ set out to explore whether the fire, which devastated large swathes of the capital some 350 years ago, really was started by accident in a bakery in Pudding Lane. Experts interviewed on the programme reeled off historical documents which suggested that it was started arson and that foreigners were to blame.
While the flames were still burning, Dutch immigrants living in London were attacked in their homes and beaten in the street; there was nowhere in the capital that was safe for them to be. As bloody re-enactments on the programme showed, it must have been terrible for all the families that were caught in the chaos. Soon the blame moved to another of the Britain’s foreign enemies, the French, and more innocent people became caught up in the terror.
But then those advocating the blood foreigners theory had cause to celebrate as a Frenchman himself confessed to the crime of starting the Great Fire of London. They wanted someone to blame and now they had their man. He was sentenced to death and killed.
Over time it became apparent that the man in question couldn’t have possibly started the fire – he wasn’t even in the country at the time according to witnesses. Still it wasn’t until the 1820s, long after his killing, that the ‘guilty’ man’s name was publicly cleared.
The hatred for foreigners at the time was tied up with the long-running Reformation – Protestants blamed the Catholics for starting the English Civil war but even after the fighting on the battlefield ended, the religious conflict and suspicion continued. Even so in wider history, Britain’s treatment for immigrants has never been that great. Look at how some refugees fleeing recent violence in places like Uganda and Somali have been beaten up in their own homes – just for being foreign. Somehow though the contributors on the ‘Untold Great Fire of London’ thought that times had changed and that London was today a cosmopolitan place where everyone is welcome. If only things were that simple.
During the Fire of London there are records of Dutch immigrants pulling down their homes to stop the fire spreading, something that many of the English refused do. In another programme in the Bloody Foreigners season which re-considered the battle of Trafalgar, the contribution of foreigner fighters in the Navy was recognised. This totally counters the view that it was purely an English victory – there were in fact over 20 different nationalities involved in the battles, including ex-slaves.
Foreigners have in the past made an enormous contribution, and continue to make an enormous contribution, to Britain. Immigrants have brought new foods, they’ve started successful companies like Tesco, we’ve danced to the rhythms of their music and shared their smiles. Often their contributions are invisible from public view, which is a real shame. But they have played an amazing role in shaping the Britain that we have today.
As for the Bloody Foreigners season, as I said at the outside, I think Channel 4 should be commended because anything that make people take a fresh look at history has got to be a good thing. History teaching in schools has a reputation for being stale, but it’s well-made television programmes like these that make people sit-up and say: ‘actually history doesn’t have to be boring, I can see that what happened then matters to me today.’
At a time when the take up of history GCSEs is at an all time low, we need the people popularising history like Dan Snow, Niall Ferguson and Simon Schama, to name just a few, to lead the way. There will always be some academics that would say that there are no real new revelations in the TV programmes that apparently challenge history. But judging by the high level of coverage on the listings pages in newspapers, at least they are generating plenty of debate. That has only got to be a good thing in engaging future generations in our rich history.
Friday, July 2, 2010
The inspiration for getting 'Inside Bristol'
I've just hit 'post' on my blog about the new book (which I'm calling Inside Bristol) I'm working on which sets out to chart Bristol's history, but I thought I should explain where my passion for Bristol comes from......
It all started as I was sitting on the top deck of an open top tour as the familiar landmarks of Bristol unravelled in front of me. We passed the regenerated docks, the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge and St Mary Redcliffe church with it awe-inspiring spire (no pun intended!). There was the SS Great Britain, the world’s first great ocean liner – the start of what has become a multimillion cruise industry. We passed through Clifton, a suburb that easily rivals the nearby spa town of Bath, and then across the breezy and airy expanse of greenery that is Clifton and Durdham Downs.
The guide also reliably told us about all the museums, galleries, shopping areas, parks and theatres just a few minutes walk from the various stops.
Many on the tour that sunny summer day back in summer 2008 had travelled half way around the world to visit Bristol, the dialects and languages they spoke confirmed that. I hadn’t travelled so far – only about three miles from the centre of Bristol in fact. I was born in Bristol and lived in the city 18 years of my life, but didn’t feel I knew it intimately. Of course, I knew of John Cabot, the shameful slave trade and Brunel, but I couldn’t see how they all connected together to create the Bristol story. Getting on the open top bus and sitting amongst lots of ‘tourists’ provided the impetus to start a journey of discovery.
Arriving back in Bristol, after getting on for six years away, allowed me to see the place with fresh eyes. And from what I saw on those first days of re-discovering Bristol fascinated me. I wanted to know more so I read a succession of books about the city’s history. From exploring the streets again, I became completely fascinated by how Bristol was changing. Here was a city with new blocks of apartments and offices springing up all over the place while at the same time thriving culturally.
The book I am writing started off as a number of short diary entries chronicling what I had seen, what I had heard and what I had experienced. I have consulted a number of history books, but my biggest inspiration has been to put on good pair of sturdy shoes and head off exploring. I want to write the story of a city that can be recognised today. And, as you will have seen from my previous post, I want to tell that fascinating history through the people that have a special attachment to each of the different period's of Bristol.
I am certainly not intending to write a tourist guide written as a selective history with all the not so happy episodes carefully removed. Just as we should be proud of how Bristol has shaped the way we are in the world, there is much to be shameful, not least the city’s involvement in the slave trade. It’s important that we acknowledge that this has happened and make sure we act differently in the future.
While my intention is to look at Bristol from a 21st century perspective, this is a story that begun more than 1000 years ago when a settlement grew up near the current Bristol Bridge. It was known as Brigstow – the Saxon meaning ‘place by the bridge’. Settlers lived in simple structures made out of wood, thatch and clay. They traded by river with groups in South Wales, North Somerset and Ireland long before the 11th century, and quickly the population grew. In the Middle Ages Bristol was in fact the second city in England after London.
Bristol started as trading post, a place travellers passing between the capitals of Gloucestershire and Somerset could enjoy refreshments before continuing their journey. Over time Bristol’s merchants built up a good reputation exporting and importing goods. First they travelled to France to import wine, but then they became more adventurous and sailed further a field. It was John Cabot that left Bristol to be the first European to re-discover North America since the Vikings.
Success came at a price though. It was the shameful slave trade that made countless merchants rich. The financial district of Bristol was founded on the profits of human cargo and many Bristol houses were financed by the trade.
Then over the years, through industrialisation, the city became dirty and smelly. Bristol went through periods of economic decline and was ruled by merchants who, partly through their selfishness, lost trade to places like Liverpool. But the city was always, and still is, an important business centre.
Unfortunately for many books that’s where the story of Bristol ends leaving people today trying to make sense of the place confused. In cutting it short, the experiences of slums in the city being demolished from after World War One and after World War Two in favour of building new housing estates on the edge of the city are nothing more than passing sentences. To me, it’s a bizarre omission.
Authors should write about how things are, but they also need to discuss what things have become. It’s a way of connecting people with history. For example, in the 1970s the central docks were lying derelict after the waters were closed to commercial trade, but now we should be celebrating the regeneration with new restaurants, bars, cafes, offices and appartments. Today, there is mile upon mile of dockside where pedestrians can walk.
This will be a book about looking at where Bristol has come from, where it is today, and, dare I say it, where the city is going in the future. For so long I walked along the same roads and went in the same buildings. In this book I want to make amends and go beyond the familiar toutists attractions in the glossy brochures. I want to truly get ‘Inside Bristol’. I look forward to taking you on that adventure.
It all started as I was sitting on the top deck of an open top tour as the familiar landmarks of Bristol unravelled in front of me. We passed the regenerated docks, the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge and St Mary Redcliffe church with it awe-inspiring spire (no pun intended!). There was the SS Great Britain, the world’s first great ocean liner – the start of what has become a multimillion cruise industry. We passed through Clifton, a suburb that easily rivals the nearby spa town of Bath, and then across the breezy and airy expanse of greenery that is Clifton and Durdham Downs.
The guide also reliably told us about all the museums, galleries, shopping areas, parks and theatres just a few minutes walk from the various stops.
Many on the tour that sunny summer day back in summer 2008 had travelled half way around the world to visit Bristol, the dialects and languages they spoke confirmed that. I hadn’t travelled so far – only about three miles from the centre of Bristol in fact. I was born in Bristol and lived in the city 18 years of my life, but didn’t feel I knew it intimately. Of course, I knew of John Cabot, the shameful slave trade and Brunel, but I couldn’t see how they all connected together to create the Bristol story. Getting on the open top bus and sitting amongst lots of ‘tourists’ provided the impetus to start a journey of discovery.
Arriving back in Bristol, after getting on for six years away, allowed me to see the place with fresh eyes. And from what I saw on those first days of re-discovering Bristol fascinated me. I wanted to know more so I read a succession of books about the city’s history. From exploring the streets again, I became completely fascinated by how Bristol was changing. Here was a city with new blocks of apartments and offices springing up all over the place while at the same time thriving culturally.
The book I am writing started off as a number of short diary entries chronicling what I had seen, what I had heard and what I had experienced. I have consulted a number of history books, but my biggest inspiration has been to put on good pair of sturdy shoes and head off exploring. I want to write the story of a city that can be recognised today. And, as you will have seen from my previous post, I want to tell that fascinating history through the people that have a special attachment to each of the different period's of Bristol.
I am certainly not intending to write a tourist guide written as a selective history with all the not so happy episodes carefully removed. Just as we should be proud of how Bristol has shaped the way we are in the world, there is much to be shameful, not least the city’s involvement in the slave trade. It’s important that we acknowledge that this has happened and make sure we act differently in the future.
While my intention is to look at Bristol from a 21st century perspective, this is a story that begun more than 1000 years ago when a settlement grew up near the current Bristol Bridge. It was known as Brigstow – the Saxon meaning ‘place by the bridge’. Settlers lived in simple structures made out of wood, thatch and clay. They traded by river with groups in South Wales, North Somerset and Ireland long before the 11th century, and quickly the population grew. In the Middle Ages Bristol was in fact the second city in England after London.
Bristol started as trading post, a place travellers passing between the capitals of Gloucestershire and Somerset could enjoy refreshments before continuing their journey. Over time Bristol’s merchants built up a good reputation exporting and importing goods. First they travelled to France to import wine, but then they became more adventurous and sailed further a field. It was John Cabot that left Bristol to be the first European to re-discover North America since the Vikings.
Success came at a price though. It was the shameful slave trade that made countless merchants rich. The financial district of Bristol was founded on the profits of human cargo and many Bristol houses were financed by the trade.
Then over the years, through industrialisation, the city became dirty and smelly. Bristol went through periods of economic decline and was ruled by merchants who, partly through their selfishness, lost trade to places like Liverpool. But the city was always, and still is, an important business centre.
Unfortunately for many books that’s where the story of Bristol ends leaving people today trying to make sense of the place confused. In cutting it short, the experiences of slums in the city being demolished from after World War One and after World War Two in favour of building new housing estates on the edge of the city are nothing more than passing sentences. To me, it’s a bizarre omission.
Authors should write about how things are, but they also need to discuss what things have become. It’s a way of connecting people with history. For example, in the 1970s the central docks were lying derelict after the waters were closed to commercial trade, but now we should be celebrating the regeneration with new restaurants, bars, cafes, offices and appartments. Today, there is mile upon mile of dockside where pedestrians can walk.
This will be a book about looking at where Bristol has come from, where it is today, and, dare I say it, where the city is going in the future. For so long I walked along the same roads and went in the same buildings. In this book I want to make amends and go beyond the familiar toutists attractions in the glossy brochures. I want to truly get ‘Inside Bristol’. I look forward to taking you on that adventure.
What's this rumour about a book on Bristol?
As many people know I am currently working on a new book about Bristol. My aim is tell the story of Bristol from Anglo Saxon times up to the present through a series of interviews with people who have a special attachment to different historical periods in the city’s history.
For more recent episodes, such as the World War Two air raids on Bristol and the St Paul’s race riots, I want to speak to people who were there as witnesses as history was being made. To chart earlier history, for example life in the Medieval town and Bristol’s role in the English Civil War, I want to interview experts in their relevant fields.
The overall aim of the book is to tell the story of Bristol’s past but then also link its unique and rich history to the present. For example in reporting on Bristol’s role in the slave trade, I would want to examine contemporary thinking on the subject. Or for those that were there on the opening days of any of the new housing estates on the outskirts of Bristol, how do the launch celebrations after World War compare with the reality of estate life today.
I've done a the majority of the background research and consequently written a lot of the copy. I am now in the process of emailing people I want to interview - but obviously those who lived through the Blitz are a little hard to contact through this means of communication, so I may resort to traditional snail mail. I am asking my interviewees to meet me for a coffee in a Bristol cafe of their choice, nothing too formal.
If you know anyone who you may want to be part of this project in bringing to life the history of this remarkable city please let me know. I'd be especially keen to hear from anyone who has an email address for Banksy!
For more recent episodes, such as the World War Two air raids on Bristol and the St Paul’s race riots, I want to speak to people who were there as witnesses as history was being made. To chart earlier history, for example life in the Medieval town and Bristol’s role in the English Civil War, I want to interview experts in their relevant fields.
The overall aim of the book is to tell the story of Bristol’s past but then also link its unique and rich history to the present. For example in reporting on Bristol’s role in the slave trade, I would want to examine contemporary thinking on the subject. Or for those that were there on the opening days of any of the new housing estates on the outskirts of Bristol, how do the launch celebrations after World War compare with the reality of estate life today.
I've done a the majority of the background research and consequently written a lot of the copy. I am now in the process of emailing people I want to interview - but obviously those who lived through the Blitz are a little hard to contact through this means of communication, so I may resort to traditional snail mail. I am asking my interviewees to meet me for a coffee in a Bristol cafe of their choice, nothing too formal.
If you know anyone who you may want to be part of this project in bringing to life the history of this remarkable city please let me know. I'd be especially keen to hear from anyone who has an email address for Banksy!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Don't even think about writing off the British seaside tourism industry
FOR years people have been saying that the British seaside holiday is dead and buried. Those advocating this view have pointed to the growth of cheap flights abroad through the Nineties and Naughties. Why would you want to holiday in a British resort where you would be served dreadful food, it would rain for seven days and then be charged a small fortune for the privilege? Brittany Ferries is even currently using the slogan 'Why have a British summer when you can afford a French one?' on its adverts.
In truth, things have moved on a long way since Fawlty Towers, and the bad service offered by proprietor Basil Fawlty, hit our TV screens in the 1970s – British seaside resorts have grown up and are ready to welcome guests with open arms. I’ve just had a great weekend camping with friends on the south coast. We experienced the stunning coastal scenery near Lyme Regis in Dorset and then moved on to the charming seaside resort of Sidmouth in Devon. The food was great, the weather scorching and the staff in pubs and restaurants were friendly. And I didn't even have to endure a rough overnight crossing on a ghastly car ferry.
A new report from academics at Sheffield Hallam University suggests that that Britain's seaside tourism industry has not only survived, but is in fact growing. It directly supports 210,000 jobs plus large numbers indirectly through the supply chain, contributing £3.6bn to the British economy. The industry in England and Wales employs as many people as the whole of the telecommunications sector.
You don’t need to look very far in any of our seaside resorts to see that the industry has adapted to survive – B&Bs are clean and serve great breakfasts using the finest locally sourced ingredients, many cafes have ditched the instant coffee and serve the finest blends from around the world, and restaurants have much more on the menu than just fish & chips.
At a time when private, rather than public, sector growth is needed more than ever before, the strength of the seaside industry will be welcome news for the new Government. We are at a point where we can truly say that our resorts are ‘open for business’ – we need to do all we can to market the individual towns to foreign visitors. If they become as bustling as Lyme Regis and Sidmouth were at the weekend, then we are on to a winner. And we will also start to reap the benefits.
Brittany Ferries claims that 'France is not only a truly magical holiday destination' and with their great it is easy on the pocket as well'. But I for one will be enjoying Britain this summer.
In truth, things have moved on a long way since Fawlty Towers, and the bad service offered by proprietor Basil Fawlty, hit our TV screens in the 1970s – British seaside resorts have grown up and are ready to welcome guests with open arms. I’ve just had a great weekend camping with friends on the south coast. We experienced the stunning coastal scenery near Lyme Regis in Dorset and then moved on to the charming seaside resort of Sidmouth in Devon. The food was great, the weather scorching and the staff in pubs and restaurants were friendly. And I didn't even have to endure a rough overnight crossing on a ghastly car ferry.
A new report from academics at Sheffield Hallam University suggests that that Britain's seaside tourism industry has not only survived, but is in fact growing. It directly supports 210,000 jobs plus large numbers indirectly through the supply chain, contributing £3.6bn to the British economy. The industry in England and Wales employs as many people as the whole of the telecommunications sector.
You don’t need to look very far in any of our seaside resorts to see that the industry has adapted to survive – B&Bs are clean and serve great breakfasts using the finest locally sourced ingredients, many cafes have ditched the instant coffee and serve the finest blends from around the world, and restaurants have much more on the menu than just fish & chips.
At a time when private, rather than public, sector growth is needed more than ever before, the strength of the seaside industry will be welcome news for the new Government. We are at a point where we can truly say that our resorts are ‘open for business’ – we need to do all we can to market the individual towns to foreign visitors. If they become as bustling as Lyme Regis and Sidmouth were at the weekend, then we are on to a winner. And we will also start to reap the benefits.
Brittany Ferries claims that 'France is not only a truly magical holiday destination' and with their great it is easy on the pocket as well'. But I for one will be enjoying Britain this summer.
You don't need to be in Britain to discover our nation's riches
REGULAR readers of this blog have been asking me in recent weeks why I only seem to be writing about my travels in far flung countries like India, Dubai and Oman. If this is my chosen blogging subject matter then shouldn’t it be called ‘beingabroad’ or something similar? The simple answer is: no – ‘beinginbritain’ is a title that’s here to stay Allow me to explain….
Since setting up this blog, my emphasis has always been on discovering more about British heritage. I’ve toured our beautiful island and written about places in London, Manchester, Shropshire and the like. But Britain is about so much more than the cities, towns and villages stretching from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
Over the last 500 years we have, as a nation, had a major influence in numerous countries on all four corners of the globe. Take India, for example, where I visited just a few months ago. It was the British that brought the railways, the bureaucracy and the current schooling system. Walking around somewhere like Mumbai (formerly Bombay) today, you could be forgiven for thinking that you are actually in Manchester: the Victorian Gothic buildings with towering spires, have a remarkable resemblance.
There will be other opportunities to debate what sort of impact our colonial travels had on foreign populations. Anyone with even a limited grasp of history will know that the British didn’t always behave themselves when they took possession of foreign lands; there are probably literally thousands of books on the bloodshed that the British unleashed on local populations in most of the world’s continents at some point or another.
Here though my argument is that to discover all of this colonial history you need to travel to the places where the British had influence. You get a far greater impression and understanding of what it was like to like under the British Raj than you do by simply walking around the India galleries of the British Museum in London.
And a trip to the Indian subcontinent also continues the narrative of what happened after the British left by telling the story of the hardships for many today. Many live in slums, with no access to clean water and proper sanitation. Children grow up without a proper education and instead toil away in countless cottage-scale factories recycling goods for foreign international companies.
In summary, I’ve not deviated from my favourite subject of ‘Britain’ and ‘Britishness’ in recent months. I’ve just taken the opportunity to go abroad and delve further into the backstory of what makes our island such a special place. I’m now back in Bristol and can’t wait to bring you my thoughts from where British history began. It’s going to be a great summer.
Since setting up this blog, my emphasis has always been on discovering more about British heritage. I’ve toured our beautiful island and written about places in London, Manchester, Shropshire and the like. But Britain is about so much more than the cities, towns and villages stretching from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
Over the last 500 years we have, as a nation, had a major influence in numerous countries on all four corners of the globe. Take India, for example, where I visited just a few months ago. It was the British that brought the railways, the bureaucracy and the current schooling system. Walking around somewhere like Mumbai (formerly Bombay) today, you could be forgiven for thinking that you are actually in Manchester: the Victorian Gothic buildings with towering spires, have a remarkable resemblance.
There will be other opportunities to debate what sort of impact our colonial travels had on foreign populations. Anyone with even a limited grasp of history will know that the British didn’t always behave themselves when they took possession of foreign lands; there are probably literally thousands of books on the bloodshed that the British unleashed on local populations in most of the world’s continents at some point or another.
Here though my argument is that to discover all of this colonial history you need to travel to the places where the British had influence. You get a far greater impression and understanding of what it was like to like under the British Raj than you do by simply walking around the India galleries of the British Museum in London.
And a trip to the Indian subcontinent also continues the narrative of what happened after the British left by telling the story of the hardships for many today. Many live in slums, with no access to clean water and proper sanitation. Children grow up without a proper education and instead toil away in countless cottage-scale factories recycling goods for foreign international companies.
In summary, I’ve not deviated from my favourite subject of ‘Britain’ and ‘Britishness’ in recent months. I’ve just taken the opportunity to go abroad and delve further into the backstory of what makes our island such a special place. I’m now back in Bristol and can’t wait to bring you my thoughts from where British history began. It’s going to be a great summer.
Monday, April 5, 2010
The "hardship" of living in a country more advanced than Britain
Reading an article in the Times today (www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7087627.ece) about Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) workers being paid a “hardship” allowance in certain countries really made me laugh. That’s because Dubai, the emirate with better living conditions that we enjoy in Britain, was included on the list. The FCO told the Times: “The FCO pays staff allowances to compensate them for their requirement to live and work abroad, often in dangerous and challenging environments. These allowances are reviewed regularly to ensure that they are fit for purpose."
Having just returned from a long weekend seeing friends in Dubai I can assure that it’s not a difficult place to live. You have some of the biggest shopping malls in the world with all the big Western names. There are hotels with as many as seven stars where lavish entertainment is laid on every night where you can drink yourself silly if you so choose.
On Friday’s the big expat thing to do is to go to an international hotel and enjoy ‘Brunch’. Not just your full English breakfast items but everything from your own personalised noodle meal to the likes of good quality chargrilled steak. I love buffets and have visited many over the years, but none have been anything near as good as what’s on offer in Dubai.
There are also fantastic beaches where you can relax in your leisure time. On the outskirts of Dubai expats also enjoy games of golf on some of the best kept courses in the world. And then of course Dubai residents get to enjoy some of the world’s most spectacular architecture, including the world’s tallest building. Those with kids will enjoy the many waterparks or trips to Dubai zoo.
I do feel sorry for the poor FCO workers for having to put up with these terrible conditions. I really do.
Having just returned from a long weekend seeing friends in Dubai I can assure that it’s not a difficult place to live. You have some of the biggest shopping malls in the world with all the big Western names. There are hotels with as many as seven stars where lavish entertainment is laid on every night where you can drink yourself silly if you so choose.
On Friday’s the big expat thing to do is to go to an international hotel and enjoy ‘Brunch’. Not just your full English breakfast items but everything from your own personalised noodle meal to the likes of good quality chargrilled steak. I love buffets and have visited many over the years, but none have been anything near as good as what’s on offer in Dubai.
There are also fantastic beaches where you can relax in your leisure time. On the outskirts of Dubai expats also enjoy games of golf on some of the best kept courses in the world. And then of course Dubai residents get to enjoy some of the world’s most spectacular architecture, including the world’s tallest building. Those with kids will enjoy the many waterparks or trips to Dubai zoo.
I do feel sorry for the poor FCO workers for having to put up with these terrible conditions. I really do.
It's only right that we pay our way in India
There would be horror in many circles in Britain if you had two queues, one for ‘UK nationals’ and the other for ‘foreigners’ at our major tourist attractions. Yet in India this segregation has long been a reality. What’s more, from the Taj Mahal in Agra to the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai, overseas visitors pay a higher admission prices – often up to five times the amount.
Personally, I think it’s a bit silly people standing in different lines to pay for their tickets. From a practical point of view at least, you can end up with one very long queue while at the next window the attendant twiddles his or her thumbs. But I don’t have a problem with foreigners paying more to enter the major attractions. After all, if they’ve travelled all the way to India, surely they can afford to pay their way and help the Indian people preserve their heritage?
If you had the admissions at a standardised level for both foreign visitors and Indians then everyone would lose out. The Indian people either wouldn’t be able to afford to visit the museums and monuments that have shaped the identity of today’s country. Or the admission prices would need to be so low that the heritage would be in danger of falling into disrepair. After all, preserving monuments is an expensive process. The current approach in ticket prices is therefore ideal in ensuring that future generations, whatever their earnings, can enjoy India.
And what a fascinating place India is. You have for example the Taj Mahal, which I think is one of the greatest monuments ever built in the world. It looks amazing on postcards but when you get there it appears a million times more special. Erected by a Muslim Mughal ruler to remember his beloved wife, but it seems to sidestep religion. Today the Taj is enjoyed by Muslims and Hindus alike.
Then 20 miles or so from the Taj, there’s the abandoned red sandstone city of Fatehpur Sikri. Capital under the Mughal ruler Akbhar, the seat of the government later had to be moved after the water supply dried up. Being a Mughal Akbhar was a Muslim but he celebrated the diversity of religions. He even had three wives of different religions (Muslim, Hindu and Christian) and built them all their own palaces at Fatehpur Sikri. Akbhar’s armour is one of the many treasures at the Prince of Wales museum in Mumbai.
At a time of religious intolerance in the Indian subcontinent, it is fitting to look back at leaders like Akbhar and see how they not just tolerated, but also celebrated diversity. Reading the histories of Akbhar’s time, you discover just how successful India was at that time. Indeed, the West was only really just waking up after years of decline. For example Akbhar ruled 100m people, while Elizabeth I ruled just 3m people in England.
As the Indian leaders that followed Akbhar became less intolerant to different religions the tables well and truly turned. India was too busy fighting within its own borders to see the colonisation threat from Europe. As Hindu temples were being smashed up and other equally bad atrocities taking place, the domestic economy suffered and rule by nations like Britain became inevitable.
Every nation needs to understand the mistakes of its past in order to have a better tomorrow. It is therefore extremely important in India today that people get to see the sites where history took place and understand the happenings mean for them as modern citizens. Why shouldn’t Indians whatever their income levels get to enjoy their national treasures.
The West spent decades plundering countries like India, extracting riches for maximum profit. Now it’s only right that foreign visitors pay their way and not expect to have everything on the cheap.
Personally, I think it’s a bit silly people standing in different lines to pay for their tickets. From a practical point of view at least, you can end up with one very long queue while at the next window the attendant twiddles his or her thumbs. But I don’t have a problem with foreigners paying more to enter the major attractions. After all, if they’ve travelled all the way to India, surely they can afford to pay their way and help the Indian people preserve their heritage?
If you had the admissions at a standardised level for both foreign visitors and Indians then everyone would lose out. The Indian people either wouldn’t be able to afford to visit the museums and monuments that have shaped the identity of today’s country. Or the admission prices would need to be so low that the heritage would be in danger of falling into disrepair. After all, preserving monuments is an expensive process. The current approach in ticket prices is therefore ideal in ensuring that future generations, whatever their earnings, can enjoy India.
And what a fascinating place India is. You have for example the Taj Mahal, which I think is one of the greatest monuments ever built in the world. It looks amazing on postcards but when you get there it appears a million times more special. Erected by a Muslim Mughal ruler to remember his beloved wife, but it seems to sidestep religion. Today the Taj is enjoyed by Muslims and Hindus alike.
Then 20 miles or so from the Taj, there’s the abandoned red sandstone city of Fatehpur Sikri. Capital under the Mughal ruler Akbhar, the seat of the government later had to be moved after the water supply dried up. Being a Mughal Akbhar was a Muslim but he celebrated the diversity of religions. He even had three wives of different religions (Muslim, Hindu and Christian) and built them all their own palaces at Fatehpur Sikri. Akbhar’s armour is one of the many treasures at the Prince of Wales museum in Mumbai.
At a time of religious intolerance in the Indian subcontinent, it is fitting to look back at leaders like Akbhar and see how they not just tolerated, but also celebrated diversity. Reading the histories of Akbhar’s time, you discover just how successful India was at that time. Indeed, the West was only really just waking up after years of decline. For example Akbhar ruled 100m people, while Elizabeth I ruled just 3m people in England.
As the Indian leaders that followed Akbhar became less intolerant to different religions the tables well and truly turned. India was too busy fighting within its own borders to see the colonisation threat from Europe. As Hindu temples were being smashed up and other equally bad atrocities taking place, the domestic economy suffered and rule by nations like Britain became inevitable.
Every nation needs to understand the mistakes of its past in order to have a better tomorrow. It is therefore extremely important in India today that people get to see the sites where history took place and understand the happenings mean for them as modern citizens. Why shouldn’t Indians whatever their income levels get to enjoy their national treasures.
The West spent decades plundering countries like India, extracting riches for maximum profit. Now it’s only right that foreign visitors pay their way and not expect to have everything on the cheap.
The glamour of going to the movies
Going to the cinema in India is a completely different experience to watching a film back in Britain. People cheer, they laugh, they boo, they wail and they applaud. Mobile phones go off and cinema goers end up having fool blown conversations. But no-one complains about these disturbances, that’s because they are too busy joining in with the action.
Bollywood is a big industry for India, so it was only natural to go and watch a film while in the country. The fact that there were going to be no sub titles slightly worried me, but I shouldn’t have been concerned. The film I saw featured a simple plot of an unwelcome family visitor and his many irritating antics. In any case, the very public reactions of the audience helped me along greatly.
And it felt special going to the cinema as well. The Raj Mandir Movie Theatre in Jaipur has wonderful chandeliers in the lobby area. People had made an effort dressing up and were ready to make an evening of it. That just does not happen anymore in Britain. Brits drive in their cars to an out of town multiplex and then grab a KFC drive through on the way home. Where’s the glitz and glamour in that?
Bollywood is a big industry for India, so it was only natural to go and watch a film while in the country. The fact that there were going to be no sub titles slightly worried me, but I shouldn’t have been concerned. The film I saw featured a simple plot of an unwelcome family visitor and his many irritating antics. In any case, the very public reactions of the audience helped me along greatly.
And it felt special going to the cinema as well. The Raj Mandir Movie Theatre in Jaipur has wonderful chandeliers in the lobby area. People had made an effort dressing up and were ready to make an evening of it. That just does not happen anymore in Britain. Brits drive in their cars to an out of town multiplex and then grab a KFC drive through on the way home. Where’s the glitz and glamour in that?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Would my laundry come back in one piece?
When I was told earlier that there was a good chance that the clothes I'd arranged to have washed could have gone to Mumbai's biggest open air laundry I was worried. I thought I would never see my pair of jeans and two shirts again. What I saw at a visit to the site today seemed nothing short of chaos. How on earth could they keep track of so many clothes?
Apparently 3,000 people work washing garments in the open air pools. Exposed to the blazing sunlight, it gets very hot down there so many just toil away in their shorts. They dip the clothes in the soap water and then wring them out by hand. The clothes are then hung on giant make-shift wooden clothes rails jutting out from the washers' shack-like homes.
From some distance the different garments create a feast of colour on the eye. There are items from all over the city – green sheets from hospitals, a batch of jeans having their first wash before being sold and many more items for individuals. I'm assured that less than 1% of clothes are lost because everything is carefully tagged. Still, it wasn't enough to convince me that my clothes would arrive back in one piece.
But just a few minutes ago I had a delivery at my hotel room. Of course, I can't be sure that they were washed at the open air laundry, they could have just been put in some electric washing machine (increasingly popular gadgets in India which are unfortunately putting the future of open air laundries in doubt). Still, it's a pretty impressive, manual system that leads you to question why parcel companies have to spend so much on electronic tracking devices. I'm just happy to have my laundry back.
Apparently 3,000 people work washing garments in the open air pools. Exposed to the blazing sunlight, it gets very hot down there so many just toil away in their shorts. They dip the clothes in the soap water and then wring them out by hand. The clothes are then hung on giant make-shift wooden clothes rails jutting out from the washers' shack-like homes.
From some distance the different garments create a feast of colour on the eye. There are items from all over the city – green sheets from hospitals, a batch of jeans having their first wash before being sold and many more items for individuals. I'm assured that less than 1% of clothes are lost because everything is carefully tagged. Still, it wasn't enough to convince me that my clothes would arrive back in one piece.
But just a few minutes ago I had a delivery at my hotel room. Of course, I can't be sure that they were washed at the open air laundry, they could have just been put in some electric washing machine (increasingly popular gadgets in India which are unfortunately putting the future of open air laundries in doubt). Still, it's a pretty impressive, manual system that leads you to question why parcel companies have to spend so much on electronic tracking devices. I'm just happy to have my laundry back.
A hotel of defiance
I'm in sitting in a swish bar at the Taj Palace and Hotel in the centre of Mumbai. Peering out the window, the iconic Gateway to India is lit up. Indians, plus a few expats, gather in front of it and enjoying the warm evening. This is the best spot in the city and room rates (which start at $300 per night) at the Taj, which dates from the early 1900s, reflect that. The service is good and passing through the marble decorated corridors you reach some very luxurious shops.
Unfortunately I'm not staying here, I've merely just popped in to enjoy a drink and a very tasty chicken curry. The timing of my visit is significant, just yesterday the ballroom re-opened after the deadly 2008 bombings in which more than 160 people were killed. And coincidentally yesterday was also when the Indian government announced that the verdict of the only bomber captured alive will be May 3rd.
Today the national newspapers are full of the details about the trial – how much it's costing and stressing the Pakistan link (India holds Pakistan responsible for the difficulties in bringing to trial the suicide bomber.) And families of the victims killed in the atrocity say that the death penalty is not enough, they want to seem the bomber hung drawn and quartered in public.
But for the Taj, the swift progress in getting it open again sends out a message of defiance. The hotel re-opened its doors to guests just three weeks after the attack. The unveiling of the splendid ballroom pretty much completes that process. It signifies that terrorism won't be tolerated, not in India, not anywhere in the world. It says that terrorists will never win.
Unfortunately I'm not staying here, I've merely just popped in to enjoy a drink and a very tasty chicken curry. The timing of my visit is significant, just yesterday the ballroom re-opened after the deadly 2008 bombings in which more than 160 people were killed. And coincidentally yesterday was also when the Indian government announced that the verdict of the only bomber captured alive will be May 3rd.
Today the national newspapers are full of the details about the trial – how much it's costing and stressing the Pakistan link (India holds Pakistan responsible for the difficulties in bringing to trial the suicide bomber.) And families of the victims killed in the atrocity say that the death penalty is not enough, they want to seem the bomber hung drawn and quartered in public.
But for the Taj, the swift progress in getting it open again sends out a message of defiance. The hotel re-opened its doors to guests just three weeks after the attack. The unveiling of the splendid ballroom pretty much completes that process. It signifies that terrorism won't be tolerated, not in India, not anywhere in the world. It says that terrorists will never win.
The slum of a thousand smiles
They are probably the dirtiest streets and alleyways that I've ever walked along. Filthy water pours out of small factories, goats roam free and waste is piled high. I'm just a visitor, for some people the tumbling shacks, where large families sleep cramped in small rooms, this is their home. Others save money by sleeping on the floor of where they work. It can't be healthy given the many toxic 'recycling' processes that take place in these parts. Many do indeed get ill.
But there is another side to this Mumbai shantytown called Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum. Children play cricket and other games with their friends in the streets. They smile and want to shake the hands of Western vistors, but no-one demands any small coins. Overall, everyone seems to be simply enjoying themselves. They are doing what people of their age do in other places around the world, they are just being kids. They lark about, like by putting a baseball cap on a goat, but without being threatening.
Dharavi, home to more than one million people living in over 550 acres, is a strange place. Over the years a city within a city has sprung up, with an array of small stalls, shops and cafes on private land. Barbers cut people's hair at open air counters, Internet cafes have sprung up and there's even a police station. There are schools, many run by NGOs, which pupils attend in pristine uniforms either every morning or evening. The streets are not mapped, yet the postman still has addresses and knows where to deliver the mail each day.
There maybe be 21st innovations like the Internet and you see slum dwellers with mobiles and Blackberries, but many of the cottage-based industries use very simple working processes. Recycling the likes of drinks cans and plastics employs many in single-room factories. They work laboriously in the dingy shacks to sort all of the different composites by hand. In the narrow alleyways the raw materials, like the plastics from computer monitors, sourced from the city and the world are piled high.
Health and safety inspectors from the West would have a heart attack visiting Dharavi. Nothing and no-where is risk assessed. Factory workers are exposed to the toxic fumes of plastics being melted down and have no protection from welding sparks as they produce the machines for crushing cans. Bakeries roll out bread on the dirty floors, women make poppodoms in dusty conditions in the open air. Electrical cables hang down in the alleyways leading to individual homes, they are barely wide enough for a person to pass and sharp stakes stick out.
With these conditions, it's no wonder that diseases like Cholera, Malaria and Typhoid are rife. Living and working like this reminds me of accounts of the middle ages in Britain. Back then people became ill from having their homes so close to dirty industrial processes. Little seems to have changed. The waste products of small-scale tanneries, potteries and the the like that flow into the streets look absolutely filthy.
For the privilege of working in this stench, factory workers get about 120 Rupees (less than £2). Many come to Dharavi from small villages outside Mumbai and send money back to their families. So in the areas with the network of workshops, you see mainly men. As already mentioned, they often sleep on the factory floors so they maximise the amount they send back. This may be a slum, but with every inch of land taken those that have built up property over the years charge rents of around 1500 Rupees (just under £20) a month for a small house. A small amount by Western standards, but it represents a considerable amount of slum take home pay.
In total the 15,000 factories turn over an incredible £700 million a year. Through a series of middle men deals are cut with a number of well-known large international companies. It's for this reason that business leaders have been interested in finding out more about the economic miracle that is Dharavi.
So what of the legality of the slum dwellers? On paper Dharavi is built on private land which was left vacant by speculators waiting for land prices to go up. In reality though the dwellers have rights. In 1995 the Indian Government made records of all those living in Mumbai in their slums and the properties they had erected. All those part of this census can't be evicted without compensation from developers (but any homes built after 1995 can simply be pulled down and residents evicted without compensation).
For the slums built pre 1995, developers need 70% approval from dwellers before they can demolish their homes. If they do get the go-ahead, tower blocks are built for the displaced residents. Developers give several floors free to the evicted slum dwellers, but then profit by selling apartments on other floors on the open market. Bill Clinton and Prince Charles visited the opening of the first such tower block in Dharavi in 1997. Since then many more have sprung up.
But many living in the slums resist the offers of the developers. They say they don't want to live in small flats, high up in the skies where there won't be any provision for their workshops. Other slum dwellers have made considerable sums of money in business (there are rumoured to be millionaires in Dharavi), but like the close-knit community of the shantytown. You get many living in the slums but then traveling to the commercial districts for work each day. Slum dwellers may even be answering the phones in call centres for UK based companies.
As a visitor, I worried slightly about going into a slum, particularly from a security point of view. But I can say that walking around, it felt one of the safest places I've been to in India. You certainly don't get the hawkers that congregate in the tourist areas and hassle you with every kind of crap souvenir that is possible. According to the statistics, crime is much lower in Dharavi than in other parts of Mumbai.
The question remains though, is it responsible tourism to visit somewhere like Dharavi? Aren't visitors just invading residents' privacy? These are questions that I thought long and hard about and did my research. I came across an organisation called Reality Tours and Travel. They give 80% of the profits of the visits to NGOs that operate in the slums. For example, on my trip we popped our heads in at a nursery that is completely funded by the organisation. Next year it will take over an ailing school. And Reality operates a strict 'no photography policy'.
But it is important to do your research. Following the release of the hit film Slumdog Millionaire many tour companies have started slum tours, unfortunately the profits don't always benefit the dwellers. Reality actually spent a month talking to people in the alleyways of Dharavi before it launched its tours four years ago. Ending my visit at a community centre, funded by Reality, I saw where slum dwellers can take free English classes, I think what the organisation does is every bit responsible.
As for Dharavi itself, I think the positive work ethic displayed in the factories offers a model for how India should develop. The wages are low, but the cost of living is also low. What Dharavi has, and what other areas of Mumbai don't have, is community spirit. It would be suicidal for the slums to be totally destroyed and the residents moved to endless tower blocks. Just look at how crime levels in Britain shot up when such blocks were built after World War Two. Council estates became 'no go areas'.
And for me, one of the most humbling things was seeing those living in the Muslim sector making Hindu shrines. Over the last few years people from the two religions have in fact grown closer together. Non-Muslims go to schools run by Muslim charities, for example. This harmony is a rare commodity in other parts of India and neighbouring Pakistan.
So Dharavi and other smaller slums across Asia should be allowed to evolve. Services need to be improved and workers need advice on better protection. But it would be absolutely criminal to totally destroy what has grown so naturally over the years. Let Dharavi be a blueprint for the rest of India.
But there is another side to this Mumbai shantytown called Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum. Children play cricket and other games with their friends in the streets. They smile and want to shake the hands of Western vistors, but no-one demands any small coins. Overall, everyone seems to be simply enjoying themselves. They are doing what people of their age do in other places around the world, they are just being kids. They lark about, like by putting a baseball cap on a goat, but without being threatening.
Dharavi, home to more than one million people living in over 550 acres, is a strange place. Over the years a city within a city has sprung up, with an array of small stalls, shops and cafes on private land. Barbers cut people's hair at open air counters, Internet cafes have sprung up and there's even a police station. There are schools, many run by NGOs, which pupils attend in pristine uniforms either every morning or evening. The streets are not mapped, yet the postman still has addresses and knows where to deliver the mail each day.
There maybe be 21st innovations like the Internet and you see slum dwellers with mobiles and Blackberries, but many of the cottage-based industries use very simple working processes. Recycling the likes of drinks cans and plastics employs many in single-room factories. They work laboriously in the dingy shacks to sort all of the different composites by hand. In the narrow alleyways the raw materials, like the plastics from computer monitors, sourced from the city and the world are piled high.
Health and safety inspectors from the West would have a heart attack visiting Dharavi. Nothing and no-where is risk assessed. Factory workers are exposed to the toxic fumes of plastics being melted down and have no protection from welding sparks as they produce the machines for crushing cans. Bakeries roll out bread on the dirty floors, women make poppodoms in dusty conditions in the open air. Electrical cables hang down in the alleyways leading to individual homes, they are barely wide enough for a person to pass and sharp stakes stick out.
With these conditions, it's no wonder that diseases like Cholera, Malaria and Typhoid are rife. Living and working like this reminds me of accounts of the middle ages in Britain. Back then people became ill from having their homes so close to dirty industrial processes. Little seems to have changed. The waste products of small-scale tanneries, potteries and the the like that flow into the streets look absolutely filthy.
For the privilege of working in this stench, factory workers get about 120 Rupees (less than £2). Many come to Dharavi from small villages outside Mumbai and send money back to their families. So in the areas with the network of workshops, you see mainly men. As already mentioned, they often sleep on the factory floors so they maximise the amount they send back. This may be a slum, but with every inch of land taken those that have built up property over the years charge rents of around 1500 Rupees (just under £20) a month for a small house. A small amount by Western standards, but it represents a considerable amount of slum take home pay.
In total the 15,000 factories turn over an incredible £700 million a year. Through a series of middle men deals are cut with a number of well-known large international companies. It's for this reason that business leaders have been interested in finding out more about the economic miracle that is Dharavi.
So what of the legality of the slum dwellers? On paper Dharavi is built on private land which was left vacant by speculators waiting for land prices to go up. In reality though the dwellers have rights. In 1995 the Indian Government made records of all those living in Mumbai in their slums and the properties they had erected. All those part of this census can't be evicted without compensation from developers (but any homes built after 1995 can simply be pulled down and residents evicted without compensation).
For the slums built pre 1995, developers need 70% approval from dwellers before they can demolish their homes. If they do get the go-ahead, tower blocks are built for the displaced residents. Developers give several floors free to the evicted slum dwellers, but then profit by selling apartments on other floors on the open market. Bill Clinton and Prince Charles visited the opening of the first such tower block in Dharavi in 1997. Since then many more have sprung up.
But many living in the slums resist the offers of the developers. They say they don't want to live in small flats, high up in the skies where there won't be any provision for their workshops. Other slum dwellers have made considerable sums of money in business (there are rumoured to be millionaires in Dharavi), but like the close-knit community of the shantytown. You get many living in the slums but then traveling to the commercial districts for work each day. Slum dwellers may even be answering the phones in call centres for UK based companies.
As a visitor, I worried slightly about going into a slum, particularly from a security point of view. But I can say that walking around, it felt one of the safest places I've been to in India. You certainly don't get the hawkers that congregate in the tourist areas and hassle you with every kind of crap souvenir that is possible. According to the statistics, crime is much lower in Dharavi than in other parts of Mumbai.
The question remains though, is it responsible tourism to visit somewhere like Dharavi? Aren't visitors just invading residents' privacy? These are questions that I thought long and hard about and did my research. I came across an organisation called Reality Tours and Travel. They give 80% of the profits of the visits to NGOs that operate in the slums. For example, on my trip we popped our heads in at a nursery that is completely funded by the organisation. Next year it will take over an ailing school. And Reality operates a strict 'no photography policy'.
But it is important to do your research. Following the release of the hit film Slumdog Millionaire many tour companies have started slum tours, unfortunately the profits don't always benefit the dwellers. Reality actually spent a month talking to people in the alleyways of Dharavi before it launched its tours four years ago. Ending my visit at a community centre, funded by Reality, I saw where slum dwellers can take free English classes, I think what the organisation does is every bit responsible.
As for Dharavi itself, I think the positive work ethic displayed in the factories offers a model for how India should develop. The wages are low, but the cost of living is also low. What Dharavi has, and what other areas of Mumbai don't have, is community spirit. It would be suicidal for the slums to be totally destroyed and the residents moved to endless tower blocks. Just look at how crime levels in Britain shot up when such blocks were built after World War Two. Council estates became 'no go areas'.
And for me, one of the most humbling things was seeing those living in the Muslim sector making Hindu shrines. Over the last few years people from the two religions have in fact grown closer together. Non-Muslims go to schools run by Muslim charities, for example. This harmony is a rare commodity in other parts of India and neighbouring Pakistan.
So Dharavi and other smaller slums across Asia should be allowed to evolve. Services need to be improved and workers need advice on better protection. But it would be absolutely criminal to totally destroy what has grown so naturally over the years. Let Dharavi be a blueprint for the rest of India.
A very British city in India
Walking around the Fort and Colaba areas of Mumbai reminds me at times of Britain's capital, London. There's a museum with a resemblance to London's British Museum, the Victoria Terminus train station is modeled on St Pancras and then there are countless fenced off gardens in the centre of roundabouts with fountains. And all the grand public buildings have remarkable similarities to many of the financial buildings in Britain's capital.
Given Mumbai's recent history none of this is at all surprising. By its previous name of Bombay, this was Britain's first colony proper in India (previously Britain had just had trading posts and small factories.) Bombay would different. The British took possession in 1665 of the seven islands which today make up the city. Just a few years later they were leased to the East India Company for £10 per year. Bombay flourished as a trading port and such was the strategic importance for the Company that a fort was built in the 1700s. From the opening of the Suez canal in 1869, Bombay became the principal gateway to the subcontinent.
Nowadays, the defence walls that surrounded the city survive only in the district name Fort. The actual fort was pulled down as the grand city that greets visitors today was built in the second half of the 1800s. It's as well-constructed as any of the great Victorian cities in places like Manchester and London. And it's also a real pleasure to walk around, so unlike many cities in India.
St Thomas Cathedral is the oldest British building (construction took place from 1672 to 1718), in Mumbai. Walking inside the white-washed building, you read memorial after memorial commemorating those Britons that worked for the East India Company. It doesn't make comfortable reading for post-colonial India as the language used talks about individuals 'brave' work in the 'Conquest' of the subcontinent. You also read had lives were so intertwined with Britain, with people living their lives in places like Birmingham and Bristol, then coming out to India.
I also love the extravagance of aformentioned Victoria Terminus, today Asia's busiest railway station. The cathedral-like Gothic building features an array of towers, turrets and spires. It has to be one of the grandest stations in the world. Opened in 1887, it is now deservedably a World Heritage site and is undergoing much needed renovation work.
Then there's the Oval Maiden, which is surrounded by more grand Victorian buildings like the High Court and the University. For the best of the action look to the green grass of the Oval itself, it's here where impromtu cricket matches crop up. The British brought cricket to India and today it's the country's national sport. IPL cricket matches are big events and wherever you go, people ask you if you like cricket.
For Mumbai's buildings and monuments from the period of British rule, perhaps the most popular is the Gateway to India. Built to commemorate the visit to India of King George V in 1911, it was completed in 1924. It's a place today where tourists and local alike tend to congregate. Security is therefore tight and you are frisked as you get up close to it. This was the place where the last British troops left India after independence in 1948. What a fitting link between Mumbai's colonial past and its independent future.
Given Mumbai's recent history none of this is at all surprising. By its previous name of Bombay, this was Britain's first colony proper in India (previously Britain had just had trading posts and small factories.) Bombay would different. The British took possession in 1665 of the seven islands which today make up the city. Just a few years later they were leased to the East India Company for £10 per year. Bombay flourished as a trading port and such was the strategic importance for the Company that a fort was built in the 1700s. From the opening of the Suez canal in 1869, Bombay became the principal gateway to the subcontinent.
Nowadays, the defence walls that surrounded the city survive only in the district name Fort. The actual fort was pulled down as the grand city that greets visitors today was built in the second half of the 1800s. It's as well-constructed as any of the great Victorian cities in places like Manchester and London. And it's also a real pleasure to walk around, so unlike many cities in India.
St Thomas Cathedral is the oldest British building (construction took place from 1672 to 1718), in Mumbai. Walking inside the white-washed building, you read memorial after memorial commemorating those Britons that worked for the East India Company. It doesn't make comfortable reading for post-colonial India as the language used talks about individuals 'brave' work in the 'Conquest' of the subcontinent. You also read had lives were so intertwined with Britain, with people living their lives in places like Birmingham and Bristol, then coming out to India.
I also love the extravagance of aformentioned Victoria Terminus, today Asia's busiest railway station. The cathedral-like Gothic building features an array of towers, turrets and spires. It has to be one of the grandest stations in the world. Opened in 1887, it is now deservedably a World Heritage site and is undergoing much needed renovation work.
Then there's the Oval Maiden, which is surrounded by more grand Victorian buildings like the High Court and the University. For the best of the action look to the green grass of the Oval itself, it's here where impromtu cricket matches crop up. The British brought cricket to India and today it's the country's national sport. IPL cricket matches are big events and wherever you go, people ask you if you like cricket.
For Mumbai's buildings and monuments from the period of British rule, perhaps the most popular is the Gateway to India. Built to commemorate the visit to India of King George V in 1911, it was completed in 1924. It's a place today where tourists and local alike tend to congregate. Security is therefore tight and you are frisked as you get up close to it. This was the place where the last British troops left India after independence in 1948. What a fitting link between Mumbai's colonial past and its independent future.
Save the spice, people just want cheap flight tickets
Air India has been losing a lot of money for some time now. Even merging with Indian Airlines, a fellow state owned carrier, has not been able to improve performance. Many analysts blame the rise of no frills airlines like Kingfisher, Spice Jet and Jet Lite. Advertising hoardings around the country for such organisations claim you can fly for little more than the cost of a train ticket (which is already extremely cheap).
But I know the real flaw of Air India is that its dishing out too many curries. No matter how short the flight, they seem to stick a spicy dish or two in front of you. There is no need for a curry, rice and chocolate pudding on a 45 minute from Mumbai to Goa, for example. And when I flew a few days earlier from Delhi to Goa I ended up getting two meals (they must has considered it two flights because of a touchdown in Mumbai en route). All totally unnecessary.
Delivering hot food on such short flights also creates hysterical scenes in the cabin. The air stewardesses have to almost throw the meals at passengers as they race down the plane with the trays. They then do another trip to pour a cup of coffee. Then they have to clear it all away again. And if there's a bit of turbulance in the middle of proceedings, they even need to check that everyone has fastened their seatbelts.
Even the ultra staid and traditional British Airways has done away with food on short flights to compete in price with the likes of easyjet. Perhaps Air India should do the same to save on costs. But you'd hope they know their customers. It maybe be that there would be more drama (than delivering the food) in the cabin from complaining passengers. Personally I'd just settle for poppodom!
But I know the real flaw of Air India is that its dishing out too many curries. No matter how short the flight, they seem to stick a spicy dish or two in front of you. There is no need for a curry, rice and chocolate pudding on a 45 minute from Mumbai to Goa, for example. And when I flew a few days earlier from Delhi to Goa I ended up getting two meals (they must has considered it two flights because of a touchdown in Mumbai en route). All totally unnecessary.
Delivering hot food on such short flights also creates hysterical scenes in the cabin. The air stewardesses have to almost throw the meals at passengers as they race down the plane with the trays. They then do another trip to pour a cup of coffee. Then they have to clear it all away again. And if there's a bit of turbulance in the middle of proceedings, they even need to check that everyone has fastened their seatbelts.
Even the ultra staid and traditional British Airways has done away with food on short flights to compete in price with the likes of easyjet. Perhaps Air India should do the same to save on costs. But you'd hope they know their customers. It maybe be that there would be more drama (than delivering the food) in the cabin from complaining passengers. Personally I'd just settle for poppodom!
This could almost be Blackpool
If it wasn't for the hot weather and blue sky, this could be a British seaside report like Blackpool. Europeans on package holidays hang out at beach shacks named 'Weather Spoons', 'Sam's Bar' and the like. They go straight for the full English breakfasts on the menu, washed down with a nice chilled beer. Nearby at endless rows of shops you can buy the usual seaside resort tat.
But before you start thinking I'm on the Spanish Costas, I will tell you I'm in Goa in India. Indians work in the bars and restaurants and there are plenty of Indian food options on the menus, but it's the 'Continental' options that everyone seems to be ordering. True, in Goa there are still some unspoiled beaches on the coast, but here on the stretch that features the resorts of Baga, Calangute and Candolim (which seem to merge into each other) it's far from quiet.
Despite all the British brashness, I'm quiet enjoying here, especially with the typical 'Goan' touches. For example, it's quiet amusing (from the relative safety of beachside shacks!) seeing small herds of cows gathering next to Europeans on the sun beds. You also have ringside seats for the various entertainment features that pop up in different spots on the sands – like trapeze artists walking the tightrope. In the evening many of the beach shack bars put on BBQs and firework displays.
Many Indians also come on holiday here (there's a particular area in the Baga, Calangute and Candolim stretch that's currently pretty much exclusively given over to domestic tourists – they've got some cheap deals given it's nearing the end of the season). But the majority of Indians that you see provide the services for the tourists. Many live in terrible conditions in very primitive 'camps', often right next to luxury tourist resorts. Finding a gap in the high fence, I can see one such abode – home to the locals in little more than shacks.
It just goes to show that not everyone around here has money to spend on luxuries like beer and pizzas. You have people watching Premiership football in loud pubs alongside Indians living in far more simple life, where pigs roam the muddy lanes.
The Brits and Germans dominate in these parts, but following the area's history would logically make you think it should be mostly Portuguese on holiday. For from the 1500s to 1961 Goa was administered by Lisbon. There is a brutal story to tell here, as the local population was murdered in in droves and Hindu heritage destroyed in the name of Christianity.
Save for the odd white-washed Catholic church on the coast and colonial fort, you need to travel inland to find the Portuguese influences. As you pass the villages you witness lovely European-style villas that look like they've been imported straight from the Algarve.
The best examples of Portuguese history can be found in what is now termed Old Goa, a World Heritage Site and the original colonial capital. Here visitors are greeted by an abundance of churches, including Asia's largest church, Se cathedral – at over 76m long and 55m wide. Just across the road there's the equally grand Basilica of Bom Jesus which contains the tomb and mortal remains of St Francis Xavier, the so-called Apostle of the Indies.
Christianity was central to the colonisation of Goa by Portugal. Afonso de Aluquque who established early forts (he first attacked Goa in 1510) had a real hatred for Muslims. After some early battles, as the second Viceroy he ordered for Muslims to be killed. Later on the Portuguese became even less tolerant – Hindu temples were destroyed, only the baptised could retain land and heretics were burned at the stake.
Of course, the Portuguese had also come for Goa's spices – they had wanted to find a sea route to compete with the Arab's overland monopoly in spices for some time. It was profits from the spice levies that financed the building boom in Old Goa (and also the many schools and hospitals that were built by missionaries).
Today, despite being a major tourist draw there is little to see of Old Goa apart from the churches and a grand archway called the Viceroy's arch – erected by Vasco de Gama's grandson in 1597. One inscription shows a European women wielding a sword at an Indian, showing who was boss at the time. But apart from these imposing structures you just have to imagine the grand houses that are where grassy fields now stand. The population was wiped out by Cholera epidemics from the 1600s and the wealthy moved to the current capital of Goa, Panjim (it officially became the capital in 1845, although many moved much earlier than that.)
European rivals like Britain and the Dutch became more powerful from the end of the 1500s, but Portugal held onto to Goa (although it did require concessions like giving the British free access to the ports). Portugal crushed uprisings calling for independence. But then in 1961 India sent the military in and captured Goa.
Soon the tourist trade in Goa was born, first with the hippies in the 1960s (tourist attractions in their own right, considered many) and later travelers searching for a little more luxury. It's the Brits and other Europeans that holiday here today – but as the east becomes more powerful at the expense of the west, who knows who the holidaymakers of tomorrow will be?
But before you start thinking I'm on the Spanish Costas, I will tell you I'm in Goa in India. Indians work in the bars and restaurants and there are plenty of Indian food options on the menus, but it's the 'Continental' options that everyone seems to be ordering. True, in Goa there are still some unspoiled beaches on the coast, but here on the stretch that features the resorts of Baga, Calangute and Candolim (which seem to merge into each other) it's far from quiet.
Despite all the British brashness, I'm quiet enjoying here, especially with the typical 'Goan' touches. For example, it's quiet amusing (from the relative safety of beachside shacks!) seeing small herds of cows gathering next to Europeans on the sun beds. You also have ringside seats for the various entertainment features that pop up in different spots on the sands – like trapeze artists walking the tightrope. In the evening many of the beach shack bars put on BBQs and firework displays.
Many Indians also come on holiday here (there's a particular area in the Baga, Calangute and Candolim stretch that's currently pretty much exclusively given over to domestic tourists – they've got some cheap deals given it's nearing the end of the season). But the majority of Indians that you see provide the services for the tourists. Many live in terrible conditions in very primitive 'camps', often right next to luxury tourist resorts. Finding a gap in the high fence, I can see one such abode – home to the locals in little more than shacks.
It just goes to show that not everyone around here has money to spend on luxuries like beer and pizzas. You have people watching Premiership football in loud pubs alongside Indians living in far more simple life, where pigs roam the muddy lanes.
The Brits and Germans dominate in these parts, but following the area's history would logically make you think it should be mostly Portuguese on holiday. For from the 1500s to 1961 Goa was administered by Lisbon. There is a brutal story to tell here, as the local population was murdered in in droves and Hindu heritage destroyed in the name of Christianity.
Save for the odd white-washed Catholic church on the coast and colonial fort, you need to travel inland to find the Portuguese influences. As you pass the villages you witness lovely European-style villas that look like they've been imported straight from the Algarve.
The best examples of Portuguese history can be found in what is now termed Old Goa, a World Heritage Site and the original colonial capital. Here visitors are greeted by an abundance of churches, including Asia's largest church, Se cathedral – at over 76m long and 55m wide. Just across the road there's the equally grand Basilica of Bom Jesus which contains the tomb and mortal remains of St Francis Xavier, the so-called Apostle of the Indies.
Christianity was central to the colonisation of Goa by Portugal. Afonso de Aluquque who established early forts (he first attacked Goa in 1510) had a real hatred for Muslims. After some early battles, as the second Viceroy he ordered for Muslims to be killed. Later on the Portuguese became even less tolerant – Hindu temples were destroyed, only the baptised could retain land and heretics were burned at the stake.
Of course, the Portuguese had also come for Goa's spices – they had wanted to find a sea route to compete with the Arab's overland monopoly in spices for some time. It was profits from the spice levies that financed the building boom in Old Goa (and also the many schools and hospitals that were built by missionaries).
Today, despite being a major tourist draw there is little to see of Old Goa apart from the churches and a grand archway called the Viceroy's arch – erected by Vasco de Gama's grandson in 1597. One inscription shows a European women wielding a sword at an Indian, showing who was boss at the time. But apart from these imposing structures you just have to imagine the grand houses that are where grassy fields now stand. The population was wiped out by Cholera epidemics from the 1600s and the wealthy moved to the current capital of Goa, Panjim (it officially became the capital in 1845, although many moved much earlier than that.)
European rivals like Britain and the Dutch became more powerful from the end of the 1500s, but Portugal held onto to Goa (although it did require concessions like giving the British free access to the ports). Portugal crushed uprisings calling for independence. But then in 1961 India sent the military in and captured Goa.
Soon the tourist trade in Goa was born, first with the hippies in the 1960s (tourist attractions in their own right, considered many) and later travelers searching for a little more luxury. It's the Brits and other Europeans that holiday here today – but as the east becomes more powerful at the expense of the west, who knows who the holidaymakers of tomorrow will be?
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
How many assistants to serve a chocolate cake?
How many people does it take to sell a piece of chocolate cake? That was the question I asked myself as I was ushered from counter to counter at an upmarket patessierie in the centre of New Delhi. Walking into a shop filled with wealthy Indians and expats buying tasty desserts and other delacies, one assistant put my selection into a box while another prepared a receipt on the computer. Then, while a third assistant was called to carry the cake to the collection desk, I was ushered to pay at the cash desk. I handed in my receipt to the assistant (number four) along with the equivalent of 35p and a new receipt was printed for me. Finally assistant number five handed me my cake at the collection desk.
If all this seems very labour intensive, then you will have a good chuckle travelling around India. The metro in Delhi has an employee manning every door of every carriage of the Metro. Restaurants and bars often have so many waiters that they out number customers, even when busy. I've laughed when, on more than one occasion, I've had one waiter handed me my food while another checks each item off against the order slip. Lurking very close behind the pair, the manager asks if everything is okay. Before I'd even had a chance to have a bite of the meal.
And then of course there are the hotels. Even the lowest quality establishments have an army of porters ready to carry your bags 24-hours a day. I checked into a two star hotel in Delhi and three people competed to carry my suitcase. Two door staff had opened the doors for me. And another three people seemed to have an important role in the process of checking in. Once in my room, I was introduced to two different people who could provide room service. Who knows how many people were in the kitchen. All this for a hotel with just 26 rooms!
I'm now staying in a 3* hotel that has a lift attendant. What a fun job that must be riding up and down from floor to floor each day. You wouldn't get that sort of service at a similar establishment back home.
All this bureaucracy and complicated procedures can only be blamed on the British. They made the act of keeping detailed records and getting every action double counter signed part of everyday life. Central to the Industrial Revolution was that every worker had a particular role to play in the production process. This theory of not deviating from jobs was then just transferred to the service sector.
But as the West makes many huge numbers of job cuts, more and more people are being forced to multiskill. What's more, you can certainly go into some businesses in Britain today and struggle to find someone to help you. That rarely happens in India, where there is a (sometimes friendly) face ready to take you along a process – no matter what it is.
So why the difference between India and the West? Given the current economic climate you could hardly say that Britain is more competitive because it less labour intensive. On the other hand, India is on course to be ahead of America in terms of GDP output by 2030. The difference then is that labour in India is so much cheaper than the UK. One room service attendant told me he earned the equivalent of less than £200 a month (long days, with only 4 days off out of 30).
Management have this idea that if they've got more people vying for food and drink orders, then there's more chance of bringing those orders in. Labour is cheap and wages are topped up by guests tipping. And they hope that with a big workforce there is a good chance of improving the customer's experience. That may be true, but sometimes rather than being able to attend to every need it just creates chaos.
In recent days I've also spoken to some people who work outside bars, enticing customers in. They have a deal with bar owners in which they can work at their establishments for next to nothing, but they can sell their own bag of 'souvenirs'. Places like Goa attract northern Indians who bring bag fulls of stone carvings. They spend the winter selling to tourists, then when the resorts shut down in the summer they return to their villages to make batches of the goods ready for the next year.
But to answer that chocolate cake question – five people served me (seven if you include the two door staff). It took a little longer to get served than at my local Greggs, but it tasted about a million times better so I'm not complaining.
If all this seems very labour intensive, then you will have a good chuckle travelling around India. The metro in Delhi has an employee manning every door of every carriage of the Metro. Restaurants and bars often have so many waiters that they out number customers, even when busy. I've laughed when, on more than one occasion, I've had one waiter handed me my food while another checks each item off against the order slip. Lurking very close behind the pair, the manager asks if everything is okay. Before I'd even had a chance to have a bite of the meal.
And then of course there are the hotels. Even the lowest quality establishments have an army of porters ready to carry your bags 24-hours a day. I checked into a two star hotel in Delhi and three people competed to carry my suitcase. Two door staff had opened the doors for me. And another three people seemed to have an important role in the process of checking in. Once in my room, I was introduced to two different people who could provide room service. Who knows how many people were in the kitchen. All this for a hotel with just 26 rooms!
I'm now staying in a 3* hotel that has a lift attendant. What a fun job that must be riding up and down from floor to floor each day. You wouldn't get that sort of service at a similar establishment back home.
All this bureaucracy and complicated procedures can only be blamed on the British. They made the act of keeping detailed records and getting every action double counter signed part of everyday life. Central to the Industrial Revolution was that every worker had a particular role to play in the production process. This theory of not deviating from jobs was then just transferred to the service sector.
But as the West makes many huge numbers of job cuts, more and more people are being forced to multiskill. What's more, you can certainly go into some businesses in Britain today and struggle to find someone to help you. That rarely happens in India, where there is a (sometimes friendly) face ready to take you along a process – no matter what it is.
So why the difference between India and the West? Given the current economic climate you could hardly say that Britain is more competitive because it less labour intensive. On the other hand, India is on course to be ahead of America in terms of GDP output by 2030. The difference then is that labour in India is so much cheaper than the UK. One room service attendant told me he earned the equivalent of less than £200 a month (long days, with only 4 days off out of 30).
Management have this idea that if they've got more people vying for food and drink orders, then there's more chance of bringing those orders in. Labour is cheap and wages are topped up by guests tipping. And they hope that with a big workforce there is a good chance of improving the customer's experience. That may be true, but sometimes rather than being able to attend to every need it just creates chaos.
In recent days I've also spoken to some people who work outside bars, enticing customers in. They have a deal with bar owners in which they can work at their establishments for next to nothing, but they can sell their own bag of 'souvenirs'. Places like Goa attract northern Indians who bring bag fulls of stone carvings. They spend the winter selling to tourists, then when the resorts shut down in the summer they return to their villages to make batches of the goods ready for the next year.
But to answer that chocolate cake question – five people served me (seven if you include the two door staff). It took a little longer to get served than at my local Greggs, but it tasted about a million times better so I'm not complaining.
The shackles of a colonial past
The Imperial Hotel in Delhi is a calm oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the busy bazaars. After passing through three security check points, you reach a glistening cream and gold themed lobby laden with chandeliers. Well-dressed guests wait for their private drivers in the lounge areas while others enjoy a cocktail in the '1911' bar (named after the date New Delhi was announced as British India's capital – although construction of the city was not complete until 1931.)
Built in 1933, the Art Deco Imperial provides a link with Delhi's colonial past. The corridors form a massive art gallery, with painting after painting showing British supremacy. They capture the pomp and circumstance of the Viceroy's receptions, others show the British troops crushing the Indians in the 1857 mutiny. Locals that are pictured are reduced to subordinate roles.
Yet, there are no paintings in the Imperial that capture India winning independence in 1947. From the depicted images and the way the hotel provides a totally Western service for its guests, you could be led to believe that British Raj was still in existence. That maybe explains the high security getting into the complex – this, after all, would be a target for anyone wanting to attack India's colonial past.
Outside the comforts of the hotel things are much more hectic. For example, the bartering in the bazaars is about as far from the British shopping experience as you will find. But look around and the clues to British rule can still be seen in New Delhi. The heart of the city is a large area called Connaught Place, here Robert Tor Russel designed in 1932 an imitation of the grand Royal Crescent in Bath. The buildings may now be crumbling through lack of maintenance, but the symbol of British mock Georgian architecture is here. Away from the crazy drivers, Central Park is a lovely calm place to relax for a few hours. This also couldn't be more British, with a band stand and iron railings around the lawns similar to those you find in London parks.
This is the area to head for the best shops and Western brand names. Its where the expats hang out alongside wealthy, well to do Indians. The impoverished Delhi suburbs may only be a few miles away, but the feel of the place still has echoes of London many, many miles away. There is clearly more of India for the independence movement to remove from the shackles of the colonial past.
Built in 1933, the Art Deco Imperial provides a link with Delhi's colonial past. The corridors form a massive art gallery, with painting after painting showing British supremacy. They capture the pomp and circumstance of the Viceroy's receptions, others show the British troops crushing the Indians in the 1857 mutiny. Locals that are pictured are reduced to subordinate roles.
Yet, there are no paintings in the Imperial that capture India winning independence in 1947. From the depicted images and the way the hotel provides a totally Western service for its guests, you could be led to believe that British Raj was still in existence. That maybe explains the high security getting into the complex – this, after all, would be a target for anyone wanting to attack India's colonial past.
Outside the comforts of the hotel things are much more hectic. For example, the bartering in the bazaars is about as far from the British shopping experience as you will find. But look around and the clues to British rule can still be seen in New Delhi. The heart of the city is a large area called Connaught Place, here Robert Tor Russel designed in 1932 an imitation of the grand Royal Crescent in Bath. The buildings may now be crumbling through lack of maintenance, but the symbol of British mock Georgian architecture is here. Away from the crazy drivers, Central Park is a lovely calm place to relax for a few hours. This also couldn't be more British, with a band stand and iron railings around the lawns similar to those you find in London parks.
This is the area to head for the best shops and Western brand names. Its where the expats hang out alongside wealthy, well to do Indians. The impoverished Delhi suburbs may only be a few miles away, but the feel of the place still has echoes of London many, many miles away. There is clearly more of India for the independence movement to remove from the shackles of the colonial past.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Don't destory the Delhi chaos
Delhi, like other large cities across, is a dictionary definition for chaos. Car drivers ignore any rules of the road there are and compete with rickshaws and delivery wagons to fight their way through the city. They criss cross lanes of busy traffic as they try to squeeze past parked cars. But it's not easy as vehicles are double, perhaps triple, parked at a variety of angles – both on the road and the pavement (or whatever is left of a pavement anyway).
Traffic policemen are on hand to direct the show, but they just add to the confusion – waving through diffrent vehicles at the same time. The result: gridlock. Horns are sounded but no-one moves. You can easily envisage being stuck in jams in narrow streets for hours.
And into this chaos, pedestrians and cyclists must somehow keep hold of their lives. It's not easy. If you are following the lead of the locals, you just make a run for it – even if that means dashing across six lanes of deathly traffic.
The Delhi authorities want to restore some normality to proceedings and believe they have found the culprit: the autorickshaw. Painted in distinctive yellow and green colours, they have three wheels and are much smaller than a car but frequently carry up to 10 passengers, some clinging onto the side, of course. Yet as I write this there is outrage that Delhi's chief minister wants them phased out within five years. Claims that they are uncomfortable, pollute the environment and that drivers harass passengers have not gone down well. Many of the estimated 80,000 autorickshaw owners live in slum conditions and worry about their own futures if they are banned. They see themselves as scapegoats for the problems associated with a three fold increase in traffic in 15 years.
Having travelled on autorickshaws in Delhi and in other big cities, I think an important part of Indian culture would be lost if they completely disappeared. Yes, by weaving in and out of the traffic, they contribute to the chaos on the roads. But they also add a lot, especially for overseas visitors. It would be a shame if this holiday highlight was banned. Keep the autorickshaws but work harder to boost other forms of transport.
Traffic policemen are on hand to direct the show, but they just add to the confusion – waving through diffrent vehicles at the same time. The result: gridlock. Horns are sounded but no-one moves. You can easily envisage being stuck in jams in narrow streets for hours.
And into this chaos, pedestrians and cyclists must somehow keep hold of their lives. It's not easy. If you are following the lead of the locals, you just make a run for it – even if that means dashing across six lanes of deathly traffic.
The Delhi authorities want to restore some normality to proceedings and believe they have found the culprit: the autorickshaw. Painted in distinctive yellow and green colours, they have three wheels and are much smaller than a car but frequently carry up to 10 passengers, some clinging onto the side, of course. Yet as I write this there is outrage that Delhi's chief minister wants them phased out within five years. Claims that they are uncomfortable, pollute the environment and that drivers harass passengers have not gone down well. Many of the estimated 80,000 autorickshaw owners live in slum conditions and worry about their own futures if they are banned. They see themselves as scapegoats for the problems associated with a three fold increase in traffic in 15 years.
Having travelled on autorickshaws in Delhi and in other big cities, I think an important part of Indian culture would be lost if they completely disappeared. Yes, by weaving in and out of the traffic, they contribute to the chaos on the roads. But they also add a lot, especially for overseas visitors. It would be a shame if this holiday highlight was banned. Keep the autorickshaws but work harder to boost other forms of transport.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
I can't wait to explore Britain again....but will I be the only one??
It may still be cold outside in the mornings but I’ve seen signs that we will actually get a summer. As we experienced artic conditions across Britain in recent weeks I truly believed that this season could be under threat. Now with the snow cleared in Bristol, I’ve had some lovely walks around our green spaces in the city in the last few days. And being able to enjoy the great outdoors again can mean only one thing: Britain’s tourist season is about to kick off.
Easter traditionally heralds the time when visitors from all over the world arrive to see our wonderful country and heritage. They will want to see well known landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Stonehenge, plus less populated beauty spots like the Lake District and the Yorkshire Moors. Of course, it’s not just foreign visitors that will want to explore our island – we Brits love putting on our walking boots and heading for a good hike once the temperature warms up.
But just how good a summer season can Britain’s tourist industry expect this year? Well, with currency exchange rates the way they are, it is still very attractive for visitors from the Eurozone and the US (plus many other places around the globe) to visit.
The extent to which Brits will want to holiday at home is less clear. Last year the buzz word was ‘staycation’ – we shunned our foreign holidays in huge numbers and chose to have breaks around Britain. Or rather, we did until it started to pour with rain and we jumped on the next plane out of Heathrow, whatever the price of a ticket.
Even those with terrible memories wouldn’t have forgotten getting soaked on a beach in Skegness or hailed on in the North York Moors. Many may this year choose not to risk it and head straight to destinations abroad where warm weather is pretty much guaranteed.
Yet despite the many options to jet off, I firmly believe that Britain’s tourist industry will continue to grow and grow in the years to come. Not many countries can boast the sort of heritage we have on view for all to see. Where else can you see so many stunning stately homes, enchanting castles or walk such scenic routes?
I will go abroad to find warm, sandy beaches to relax on. But I still want to spend a great deal of time exploring Britain this year. I can’t wait to head off exploring our amazing islands again. Something tells me that I’m not going to be the only one.
Easter traditionally heralds the time when visitors from all over the world arrive to see our wonderful country and heritage. They will want to see well known landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Stonehenge, plus less populated beauty spots like the Lake District and the Yorkshire Moors. Of course, it’s not just foreign visitors that will want to explore our island – we Brits love putting on our walking boots and heading for a good hike once the temperature warms up.
But just how good a summer season can Britain’s tourist industry expect this year? Well, with currency exchange rates the way they are, it is still very attractive for visitors from the Eurozone and the US (plus many other places around the globe) to visit.
The extent to which Brits will want to holiday at home is less clear. Last year the buzz word was ‘staycation’ – we shunned our foreign holidays in huge numbers and chose to have breaks around Britain. Or rather, we did until it started to pour with rain and we jumped on the next plane out of Heathrow, whatever the price of a ticket.
Even those with terrible memories wouldn’t have forgotten getting soaked on a beach in Skegness or hailed on in the North York Moors. Many may this year choose not to risk it and head straight to destinations abroad where warm weather is pretty much guaranteed.
Yet despite the many options to jet off, I firmly believe that Britain’s tourist industry will continue to grow and grow in the years to come. Not many countries can boast the sort of heritage we have on view for all to see. Where else can you see so many stunning stately homes, enchanting castles or walk such scenic routes?
I will go abroad to find warm, sandy beaches to relax on. But I still want to spend a great deal of time exploring Britain this year. I can’t wait to head off exploring our amazing islands again. Something tells me that I’m not going to be the only one.
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