Travelling on London's tube is a delight, with tiled patterns, and murals at the stations, art on the Underground, shopping arcades at Bond Street, Poems on the underground in leaflets, people watching and place spotting. You pass landmarks, bridges such as the red bridge, cross rivers, look down on an artificial lake and beautiful boats and gawp up at impressive new skyscrapers, each one a different design, balconies with bicycles, chairs for two around tables, trees in pots, different patterns of office lights at night, rows of circular lights or diagonals of oblongs. Amusing people on the train. Plus, of course, your destination.
Bank Station
The central London station where you change onto the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) is Bank, named after the Bank of England. The station has the London underground roundel (round shape) and tiles showing the dragon of the Arms of the City of London.
The World Travel Market is an exciting trade show with dancing girls and full of opportunities to be photographed with people dressed as animals and a few VIPs - this year I met Miriam Margolyes.
The event takes place every year in November at Excel exhibition centre on the Docklands Light Railway in East London, England, UK. It's where the deals are sealed telling your local travel agent and incoming and outgoing tour operators about flights, hotels, destinations, attractions. You find everything from guidebooks to give away to customers to clothing to wear on safari.
It's also a chance for the media, the travel trade press, the newspapers, TV stations, film crews making videos, and the blogger to plan their next trip.
Security
Security is tight. Not only bag searches. Packs of sniffer dogs at the entrance.
Helpers On Stations
Before you even get there, groups of people on station platforms are shouting orders. On the train, the usual international: 'mind the gap,' 'stand clear of the doors'.
Along the walkways officials direct you to the place to buy a ticket or tap your ticket in and out. With or without megaphones they are shouting information every time you step off a train onto the platform. "This train is ready to depart."
If anybody tries to hold open the door for somebody else, don't. A Big Brother or Big Sister voice tells you and everybody else: "Will the children at the far end of the train stop obstructing the doors - so we can all get to our destination on time!"
Route Information
The hi tech on trains seems to be improving daily. Signs flash overhead on the platform. Across the middle of the train are moving signs, reinforced by verbal messages, "This train is for bank. Change here for ..." If you are lucky they even tell you which side of the train to stand to disembark.
Stations have information phones. Press one button to get travel information if you cannot find your train or platform. The other button is to report an emergency.
The train journey is an entertainment itself. I started my train journey way up North of London and saw the spire of Harrow on the Hill. I recognised the Wembley Arch. it comes and goes through the trees. I never tire of looking at it. It plays hide and seek. I saw it. It's gone. There it is again.
The Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway gives you an aerial view of places you pass. On the Docklands Light Railway we saw two large circular buildings. I was later able to identify them. One was the stadium. The building with the spikes is the O2 where you can often see pop concerts and international artists perform.
Excellent ExCel
At one of Excel's entrance's I saw an informative panel about British successes in the Olympics. I noticed Jade Jones had been awarded an MBE and her sport was Taekwando.
At Excel by the end of the third day I was a bit fed up with so many times having to traipse downstairs lugging my suitcase on wheels, growing increasingly heavy with brochures. However, on one occasion I was rewarded by seeing on the back of the toilet door a useful advertisement for a cabin bag. I didn't have time to read it all a second time and note down the website, so I took a photo of it.
I found one place where you could take a lift down to a basement bar, the toilets, and escape the heat indoors for a stroll and breath of fresh air and a view of the riverside buildings and boats.
On the evening of the third day I was back on the train home, with plans for a dozen trips, including next year to the World Travel Market at ExCel.
As I left I saw a panel about the brand new stations including Canary Wharf on the new Elizabeth line. Something new every day.
More news on the new Elizabeth train line from
www.crossrail.co.uk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_and_Monument_stations
Details on the World Travel Market:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Travel_Market
More about ExCel: ExCel.London.co.uk
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker.
