Family Travel

A fun London activity for kids is deep inside the crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square — the London Brass Rubbing Centre.

Rubbings are a way of putting an image on paper without damaging the item underneath. The ones used at the Centre are brass replicas of artworks depicting typically English people like medieval ladies, knights and St. George.

You put the paper over the image and rub with a special crayon, and the imprint comes out on the paper, which you keep. There is a small fee.

It’s harder than it looks because many of their replicas are very detailed and need a lot of rather hard rubbing; pick a smallish-sized item for the younger children.

The crypt also has a gift shop and a nice cafe.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields is well-known as a lovely place for music, both sacred and secular, so try to time your family’s visit to coincide with a concert (at lunchtime they feature works played by young musicians and students.) This is the home of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, a classical music group formed in 1958 and led by Sir Neville Marriner, so there are plenty of classical concerts but also some jazz.

The Web site has the full concert schedule. To get there, the closest Tube station is Charing Cross.

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, London, Brass Rubbing Centre, St Martin in the Fields

I’ve seen two items in one day indicating that my recent warnings about high-cost London and Britain are still accurate.

The UK’s Guardian says that “The prospect of a further UK interest rate rise this week and continued problems in the United States housing market combined yesterday to push the pound to its highest level against the dollar in more than a quarter of a century.” Read more here in Guardian’s business section.

Joe Brancatelli, a super-experienced business traveler who writes the Seat 2B column for the new Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, says, “Later, London” and laments that although he loves the town personally, having to pay DOUBLE New York prices is causing him to lose considerable enthusiasm.

Can you imagine the costs for travel with kids, the ones who don’t have business expense accounts?

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, London

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