The London Eye

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames, in London, England. The entire structure is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft).

It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually.

The London Eye was formally opened by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on 31 December 1999, although it was not opened to the public until 9 March 2000 because of technical problems. Since its opening, the Eye has become a major landmark and tourist attraction.

In January 2011, a lighting-up ceremony marked the start of a three-year deal between nuclear company EDF Energy and Merlin Entertainment. Merlin said EDF would help it reduce the London Eye's overall carbon footprint using its expertise as the UK's largest producer of low-carbon electricity.

                                        LONDON TRAVEL GUIDE: THE LONDON EYE

British cuisine
Celtic agriculture and animal breeding produced a wide variety of foodstuffs for indigenous Celts and Britons. Anglo-Saxon England developed meat and savoury herb stewing techniques before the practice became common in Europe. The Norman conquest introduced exotic spices into England in the Middle Ages. The British Empire facilitated a knowledge of India's elaborate food tradition of "strong, penetrating spices and herbs". Food rationing policies, put in place by the British government during wartime periods of the 20th century,are said to have been the stimulus for British cuisine's poor international reputation.Contrary to popular belief, people in southern England eat more garlic per head than the people of northern France.
British cuisine has traditionally been limited in its international recognition to the full breakfast and the Christmas dinner. Other famous British dishes include fish and chips, the Sunday roast, steak and kidney pie, and bangers and mash. British cuisine has many regional varieties within the broader categories of English, Scottish and Welsh cuisine. Each have developed their own regional or local dishes, many of which are geographically indicated foods such as Cornish pasties, the Yorkshire pudding, Arbroath Smokie, and Welsh cakes
                                                                                                        British cuisune is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. British cuisine has been described as "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavour, rather than disguise it."However, British cuisine has absorbed the cultural influence of those that have settled in Britain, producing hybrid dishes, such as the Anglo-Indian chicken tikka masala.

Economy

London generates approximately 20 per cent of the UK's GDP (or $446 billion in 2005); while the economy of the London metropolitan area—the largest in Europe—generates approximately 30 per cent of the UK's GDP (or an estimated $669 billion in 2005). London is one of the pre-eminent financial centres of the world and vies with New York City as the most important location for international finance.

London's largest industry is finance, and its financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK's balance of payments. Around 325,000 people were employed in financial services in London until mid-2007. London has over 480 overseas banks, more than any other city in the world. Currently, over 85% (3.2 million) of the employed population of greater London works in the services industries. Due to its prominent global role, London's economy has been affected by the late-2000s financial crisis. The City of London estimates that 70,000 jobs in finance will be cut within a year The City of London is home to the Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, and Lloyd's of London insurance market.

Here are some pictures of urban transport.

Religion

London has centres of worship for a multitude of faiths. According to the 2001 Census, the largest religious groupings are Christians (58.2 per cent), followed by those of no religion (15.8 per cent), no response (8.7 per cent), Muslims (8.3 per cent), Hindus (4.1 per cent), Jews (2.1 per cent), Sikhs (1.5 per cent),Buddhists (0.8 per cent) and other (0.5 per cent). 

Many religions do not respect each other and there are conflicts between them.

Here a video of the pope that Muslims and Hindus asked to respect for the right to change religion.

VIDEO

sports

 England has a strong sporting heritage, and during the 19th century codified many sports that are now played around the world. Sports originating in England includeassociation football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, tennis, badminton, squash, rounders,hockey, boxing, snooker, billiards, darts, table tennis, bowls,netball, thoroughbred horseracing and fox hunting. It has helped the development of sailing and Formula One. Football is the most popular of these sports. The England national football team, whose home venue is Wembley Stadium, won the 1966 FIFA World Cup against the Germany national football team where they won it 4-2 in extra time helped by the fact that Geoff Hurst scored a hatrick. That was the year the country hosted the competition.At club level England is recognised by FIFA as the birth-place of club football, due to Sheffield FC founded in 1857 being the oldest club. The Football Association is the oldest of its kind, FA Cup and The Football League were the first cup and league competitions respectively. In the modern day the Premier League is the world's most lucrative football league and amongst the elite. The European Cup has been won by Liverpool, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, whileArsenal, Chelsea and Leeds United have reached the final.

Climate

 It is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0 °C  in winter and not much higher than 32 °C  in summer. The weather is damp relatively frequently and is changeable. The coldest months are January and February, the latter particularly on the English coast, while July is normally the warmest month. Months with mild to warm weather are May, June, September and October.Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year.