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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indian Politician Wants to Ban Climbing on Sacred Kangchenjunga
Authorities in Sikkim, India, are demanding that Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak, be banned to climbers out of respect for local deities. When British pioneers Joe Brown and George Band climbed 8,586m Kangchenjunga for the first time 70 years ago, they stopped some meters short of the highest point out of respect for the religious beliefs of the local communities in Sikkim. For them, the protective deity Dzoe-Nga, also worshipped as Pho-lha, lives on its white slopes. For years, subsequent expeditions followed that tradition, but this sign of respect was eventually abandoned. Nowadays, climbers focus instead on ensuring that they reach the true summit of Kangchenjunga, which is easy to mistake for other points on its jagged ridge. Kangchenjunga lies in the northeastern corner of Nepal on the border with Sikkim (India) and is also very close to Tibet. The peak has four main climbing routes. Three are in Nepal, and only the eastern one goes up from Sikkim. The Sikkim route has only been climbed three times. The most straightforward route, up the Southwest Face in Nepal, was the chosen line for several early attempts, and the one where the expedition led by Charles Evans succeeded for the first time in 1955. For decades, there were attempts and summits from the north side of the mountain, also in Nepalese territory, but the Southwest Face soon became the normal route and the one offered to commercial teams. Last week, the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Prem Singh Tamang, asked India's Home Minister, Amit Shah, to ensure that the footprints of climbers no longer deface the slopes of Kangchenjunga. Climbing Kangchenjunga from the Sikkim route has not been an option since 2000, when all ascents from Sikkim were officially banned. This is the first time that Sikkim authorities raised their voices about the matter since then. The problem is, Tamang wants the ban to extend to the entire mountain, including the routes in Nepal, not just from Sikkim. While the measure is unlikely to succeed, it does highlight the sensitivities around the mountain. "Scaling this sacred peak is not only a matter of serious concern but also a violation of both the prevailing legal provisions and the deeply held religious beliefs of the people of Sikkim,' Tamang said. He bases his demands on the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991, which prohibits expeditions to sacred sites, as well as Sikkim Government Notification No. 70/HOME/2001, which reaffirmed the state's limited ban on summiting Kangchenjunga, reported. Ironically, the call for a ban was prompted by a climb launched by the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) of Arunachal Pradesh. On that Indian expedition, five members summited via the normal route in Nepal on May 18, together with their Nepalese guides. Other Indian climbers were also on the mountain, including those with a joint Nepali-Indian army expedition. This year, about 30 climbers summited Kangchenjunga despite unstable weather. Others had to retreat due to harsh conditions. There were also some rescues, and one climber died while attempting to reach the top. Nepal's Department of Tourism has no restrictions on the number of climbers on any mountain. In the case of Kangchenjunga, 78 permits were granted to foreigners this season. All climbers were supported by local guides and usually took advantage of brief periods of calm. Kangchenjunga has become increasingly popular among commercial high-altitude climbers. Virtually all expeditions take the normal, Southwest Face route from Nepal. India cannot legislate on the part of the mountain beyond its borders, and it is unlikely that Nepal will do so. Nepal also has sacred peaks banned to expeditions. The best known is Machhapuchhre (6,993m) in the Annapurna region, considered sacred for the Gurung people and never climbed, as far as we know. Sherpas revere mountains, and while they agree to climb them, they always perform puja (offering) ceremonies to ask permission for passage from the mountain gods. Similar cases of sacred mountains in nearby countries forbidden for climbers include Tibet's striking Mt. Kailash and Gangkhar Puensum in Bhutan. At 7,570m, the latter is the highest unclimbed peak in the world, and it should continue to remain so for many years. According to some sources, the silhouette of Kangchenjunga's summit points resemble the shape of a sleeping Buddha, especially when seen from the southwest. In his letter, Chief Minister Tamang recalled that the name of the mountain means the Five Treasures of the High Snow. It refers to five hidden virtues that will only be revealed to devotees if the world is in serious danger. In his extensive report about the Kangchenjunga summit area for Rodolphe Popier ends up with the following words: The magnetic attraction of Kangchenjunga will keep attracting mountain lovers from all over the world, maybe for something more than climbing and/or peak-bagging? As Doug Scott recalled it in his last book, [Kangchenjunga] is the 8,000m summit with the greatest religious significance.
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Time of India
A cheapskate in London: Budget-friendly attractions and affordable eats you can't miss
Jet lag can be so demanding. Within an hour of arriving in London , my case led me to a 5.50-pound (about $7) slice of lemon, raspberry and pistachio cake at the cafe in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum itself was free and included the unquantifiable payoff of dining in opulent 1868-vintage rooms with arches, stained glass and William Morris wallpaper. It fit my bottom line on travel in London: Free museums, priceless surroundings and slightly expensive food that together deliver a net gain. Though London often winds up on lists of the world's most expensive cities, travelers will find free attractions and arresting architecture linked by easy-to-navigate public transportation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas In Dubai | Search Ads View Deals Undo Hotel prices often seem high. But unlike rates in the United States, they generally include taxes and extras like breakfast -- and no surprise $30 amenity fees at checkout. And tipping is not standard, saving 15% to 20% on each meal. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) There are many worthy ways to splurge in London, including visiting landmarks such as the Tower of London (35 pounds), Westminster Abbey (30 pounds) and St. Paul's Cathedral (26 pounds). Live Events I took a wide-angle approach over a recent four-day, budget-stretching trip, staying in three neighborhoods, one central and two more outlying, to assess what's gained and lost by chasing bargains. A combination of free art, attractions and 4-pound lunches, with some minor splurges on entertainment, kept my expenses to about $200 a day. Secrets and Salt Beef To reach the V&A from the airport, I took the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station (25 pounds) in 15 minutes, which saved me more than half an hour on the Tube underground train (5.60 pounds). (The airport is distant, but most bus and subway rides within central London cost less than 3 pounds and are capped at 8.90 pounds a day when you use the same credit card or electronic payment method each time.) In addition to cake, jet lag led me to a Secret London Tour from Fun London Tours (18 pounds). I hoped the 90-minute walk would keep me moving despite exhaustion. In Trafalgar Square, I met Joe Brown, a former London cabby -- "I quit because people were talking behind my back all the time," he quipped -- who guided our group of 15 to "secrets" that were hidden in plain sight. They included a Trafalgar Square police station disguised as a light fixture; Goodwin's Court, a Covent Garden alley lined with 17th-century buildings; and the last street lamp lit by sewer gas located, ironically, near the high-end Savoy hotel. My cheaper lodging choice in the Brick Lane area of East London took about a half-hour to reach by Tube. With 15 cozy rooms above a small, stylish restaurant, the Buxton's thoughtfully designed quarters included espresso machines and books on the city from the nearby Libreria Bookshop. Though the room (150 pounds) was a reach for my budget, it included a generous breakfast. The location anchored me on lively Brick Lane, where markets and restaurants run by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs meet street art, vintage clothing shops and bakeries selling beigels (aka bagels) with salt beef (about 8 pounds). Art with Backstories Sherlock Holmes, Scrooge, Shakespeare: London is synonymous with incredible characters. But have you heard the one about Canaletto? A Venetian, Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, was a favorite of 18th-century British travelers to Venice where he sold detailed, souvenir-size paintings. When an Austrian war stifled travel in 1740, he followed his fans to London only to find forgers making a fortune impersonating him. In 1749, he painted "London: The Old Horse Guards from St James's Park," a broad canvas of blushing clouds above a cityscape now hanging in the Tate Britain (free). "Canaletto painted this large canvas to prove he was not an impostor," said Malcolm Morris, a gallery docent. The gallery also displays artworks made in the country or by artists including John Singer Sargent and J.M.W. Turner over the last 500 years. From the Tate Britain, I headed to the riverbank and caught an Uber Boat by Thames Clippers (9 pounds) for the six-stop ride past the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben to the south shore Southwark area bound for the bustling Borough Market. Dating to 1756, the indoor-outdoor complex hosts produce stands, cheese shops and wine stores among a world of prepared-food vendors. Crowds shuffled through the market scarfing down oysters, paella, shawarma and cannoli while vendors hawked samples of wild mushroom risotto and triple-cooked chips. I settled on a pork, Parmesan and fennel slaw ciabatta sandwich from the Black Pig (12 pounds) that was big enough for two. I walked it off along the untouristed streets of neighboring South Bank to reach Waterloo Station and its subterranean Leake Street Arches. Street artist Banksy began painting in the abandoned, nearly 1,000-foot-long Leake Street tunnel in 2008. Today, it's a constantly changing gallery of spray-painted works (free). Up and down the tunnel, I watched artists perfecting their work in colorful, fluid strokes. A pair of teenagers chose a relatively empty patch of wall near the tunnel's quiet south entry, explaining that the etiquette was not to paint over any work better than your own. Finishing some vivid floor-to-ceiling portraits, Marc Craig, the tunnel's artist-in-residence, explained that he expected his works to be painted over within a day. "Down here, it's an infinite game," Craig said. "You just keep the game going with another picture and then another picture." The Price-Location Tradeoff On day two, I moved to another East London neighborhood, Dalston, for a residential stay and the chance to explore the area's offbeat attractions, including the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, a former railway line turned into an outdoor cafe and park (free), and the Dusty Knuckle, a bakery that supports at-risk youth with job training in baking crusty sourdough (5 pounds) and shattering croissants (3 pounds). The loft-style Luxury Inn, home to four rooms (from 110 pounds, including breakfast) in a former industrial building, also exerted considerable sway. My airy room offered shared access to a skylit living room and well-stocked kitchen. Escaping London's teeming tourist districts was its own attraction, but returning to Soho, a buzzy nightlife quarter near the West End theaters, took 40 minutes on a double-decker bus during rush hour. I made it in time for a pre-theater meal at the 30-seat Bao Soho, which caters to diners at the bar with a "Long Day Menu" of five small Taiwanese courses, including savory peanut milk, fried chicken and guinea fowl rice (20 pounds). Afterward, I walked to the former Playhouse Theater renamed the Kit Kat Club in honor of its resident show, "Cabaret," where I had booked a relatively cheap seat in the second to last row (50 pounds). The performance was electric, even viewed from two stories up. Cabstand and Crypt Dining On my last day, I moved to the more central Bloomsbury area and the no-frills Judd Hotel, with a crescent-shaped Georgian exterior. My tidy single accommodated little more than a narrow bed and desk but I was paying for location (154 pounds, including breakfast). I found a more distinctive breakfast option nearby in Russell Square, home to Cabmen's Shelter, one of 13 remaining green cottages conceived in 1875 as roadside rest stops for carriage drivers. Today, only taxi drivers are welcomed inside for meals while a public window sells basic bargain fare (5 pounds for eggs with sausage and bacon) for takeaway to a park bench. Around the corner, the 10 a.m. opening-hour line for the British Museum (free) was snaking down the block. The vast collections of antiquities are overwhelming. My stimulation limit was two hours, enough time to explore Rooms 4 (Egyptian sculpture) and 41 (the remains of the Anglo-Saxon burial ship Sutton Hoo, which was the subject of the 2021 film "The Dig"). By noon, I was back in Trafalgar Square at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, an Anglican church with 13th-century roots -- the current building dates to 1726 -- which is renowned for its music programming, including bargain Friday afternoon concerts (10 pounds). From a wooden pew, I caught classical Indian vocalist Sach Dhanjal accompanied by a moody harmonium and a hand drum. Before the 1 p.m. show, I visited the church's Café in the Crypt, serving bargain food in the brick-vaulted basement. Healthy servings of two delicious salads for 4 pounds -- quinoa and beets, and pearled couscous with chicken -- was the food bargain of the trip. That evening, I aimed for a London double feature -- a pub and a show -- by visiting a pub theater. Normally above a bar, pub theaters showcase local comedians, theater companies and emerging artists in small venues. I arrived in the Earl's Court neighborhood to find the pub downstairs from the Finborough Theater disappointingly closed for renovation. But the show, a riveting revival of the 1933 screenplay "The Silver Cord" (35 pounds), more than compensated. "It's like being inside the telly," said my seatmate on one of 10 cushioned benches arrayed around the set representing a New England living room. Afterward, the Tube whisked me back to busy Chinatown for a messy late-night crepe from Chinese Tapas House (5 pounds) and the always-free theater of London street life.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trans rights supporters rally outside UK parliament after landmark ruling
Thousands of people on Saturday rallied in central London in support of trans rights, after a landmark court ruling on the definition of a "woman". Britain's Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the legal definition of a "woman" is based on a person's sex at birth, with potentially far-reaching consequences for how single-sex spaces and services are run. At a protest in Parliament Square, activists, protesters, trade unions and community groups waved flags and held up banners with slogans such as "trans women are women!" and "trans rights are human rights". "My main fear -- the extremists will feel empowered by this decision. Hate crimes against (the) trans community (will) go up," said Eevee Zayas, a 32-year-old researcher from Spain, describing themself as non binary transgender. The court ruling said that single-sex spaces and services including changing rooms, toilets and women-only hospital wards "will function properly only if sex is interpreted as biological sex". "Everything in the transition is going to be harder. Coming here in big numbers is very important to stand gainst the Supreme Court decision," added Joe Brown, a trans woman in the process of transitioning. Brown said other fears included not being able to access health care and children being scared to come out as trans. The court ruling followed a legal battle between the Scottish government and campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) involving clashing interpretations of the Equality Act. While the Scottish government argued that the law gave trans women with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) the same protections as a biological female, the campaign group disagreed. har/giv
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
HIGH POINT CONFIDENTIAL: A beacon of darkness High Point scandal sheet covered the city's seamier side
HIGH POINT Long before America had the National Enquirer, High Point had The Beacon. Most old-timers of a certain age in these parts remember — or have at least heard about — The Beacon, a titillating weekly tabloid of the 1940s and '50s that relished looking on the seedy side of life in High Point: Extramarital affairs. Sensational slayings. Crooked businessmen. Contentious divorces. You get the idea. 'It was the local scandal sheet, but people sure read it,' the late Joe Brown, a former High Point Enterprise reporter and editor, once told The Enterprise for a story about The Beacon and its pseudo-journalistic exploits. 'People bought it on the street, but then they hid it under their coats when they went to work because nobody wanted to be seen with it.' Of course, being seen with The Beacon wasn't nearly as bad as being seen in The Beacon. Imagine being the subject of one of these juicy stories: 'Wife Catches Hubby In Hotel Room With Girl.' 'Drunk Smacks Aged Mother In Face.' 'Husband Catches Man In Wife's Bedroom.' 'Well Known Local Man May Be Arrested For Carnal Knowledge.' One particularly embarrassing front-page story in 1948 told of a local couple's separation — The Beacon actually published their names, though we won't do that here — in which the wife filed for divorce because her husband could not perform in the bedroom. 'Immediately after their marriage,' The Beacon wrote, quoting court records, 'the plaintiff discovered that her husband was entirely impotent and incapable of sexual relations or cohabitation.' This is the same publication that published front-page photos of grisly crime scenes, including the brutal 1951 murder of Mary Hopkins and the 1942 murder of Thomasville police officer George Arnold Kemp, whose body was found at the bottom of an elevator shaft. In other 'Hall of Shame' moments, The Beacon once wrote about a local middle-school music teacher having an affair with a prominent businessman; contacted a psychic about the 1954 mysterious disappearance of High Point waitress Veronica Cox; called Elvis Presley a 'champion hog caller'; told the story of a well-known High Pointer who impregnated a 15-year-old girl and then tried to get her to have an abortion; chronicled the journey of a man who had a sex-change operation in the early 1950s; featured the story of a young man who married a pretty High Point nurse, only to discover his bride was actually a man; and told the tale of 'Floggin' Flossie,' a paramour who, when confronted by her lover's angry wife, beat the woman senseless with an umbrella. The Beacon was the brainchild of Wade Renfrow, a former Enterprise reporter who decided to launch his own newspaper ... if you can call it that. A fearless scandalmonger — think Jerry Springer with an old, rickety typewriter — Renfrow tattled and titillated. Salacious stories not only peeked into couples' bedrooms but also routinely exposed philandering husbands who'd gotten caught with their pants down, sensationalized gory murders, overplayed incidents of domestic violence, scandalized interracial relationships, ridiculed drunkenness, and skewered mighty businessmen and holier-than-thou politicians. Renfrow ran The Beacon from 1939 until 1952, attracting countless readers — and no doubt making countless enemies — with his reckless, no-holds-barred, tabloid-style journalism. He was sued — or threatened with legal action — on several occasions. Copies of The Beacon sold for a nickel apiece, and the sales boys frequently sold out when the paper hit the streets on Thursday mornings. Just ask acclaimed journalist and author Jerry Bledsoe, who grew up in Thomasville and worked as a Beacon paperboy during the mid-1950s. 'It never took long to sell all the papers I was allowed to have,' Bledsoe told The Enterprise for an article in 2007. 'Easiest money I ever made as a kid.' When Renfrow sold The Beacon in 1952, about a year before his death, the new owners vowed to change the paper's sullied reputation. For a time, they did just that, replacing the lurid copy with stories that were far less juicy and, frankly, far less interesting. It wasn't long, though, before more lascivious stories began to creep back onto the front page. The owners tried one last time in January 1956, proclaiming in a front-page story, 'Beacon To Avoid Filth In Militant New Policy.' Adultery, divorce proceedings, illegitimacy and other scandalous topics would become taboo, the article stated. Alas, that announcement may have sounded The Beacon's death knell. Within a year, the paper folded. Today, it's but a memory for those old enough to remember one of the most colorful chapters of High Point history.
New York Times
17-04-2025
- New York Times
A Cheapskate in London
Jet lag can be so demanding. Within an hour of arriving in London, my case led me to a 5.50 pound (about $7) slice of lemon, raspberry and pistachio cake at the cafe in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum itself was free and included the unquantifiable payoff of dining in opulent 1868-vintage rooms with arches, stained glass and William Morris wallpaper. It fit my bottom line on travel in London: Free museums, priceless surroundings and slightly expensive food that together deliver a net gain. Though London often winds up on lists of the world's most expensive cities, travelers will find free attractions and arresting architecture linked by easy-to-navigate public transportation. Hotel prices often seem high. But unlike rates in the United States, they generally include taxes and extras like breakfast — and no surprise $30 amenity fees at check out. And tipping is not standard, saving 15 to 20 percent on each meal. There are many worthy ways to splurge in London, including visiting landmarks like the Tower of London (£35), Westminster Abbey (£30) and St. Paul's Cathedral (£26). I took a wide-angle approach over a recent four-day, budget-stretching trip, staying in three neighborhoods, one central and two more outlying, to assess what's gained and lost by chasing bargains. A combination of free art, attractions and £4 lunches, with some minor splurges on entertainment kept my expenses to about $200 a day. Secrets and Salt Beef To reach the V&A from the airport, I took the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station (£25) in 15 minutes, which saved me more than half an hour on the Tube underground train (£5.60). (The airport is distant, but most bus and subway rides within central London cost £2.80 to £2.90 and are capped at £8.90 a day when you use the same credit card or electronic payment method each time.) In addition to cake, jet lag led me to a Secret London Tour from Fun London Tours (£18). I hoped the 90-minute walk would keep me moving despite exhaustion. In Trafalgar Square, I met Joe Brown, a former London cabby — 'I quit because people were talking behind my back all the time,' he quipped — who guided our group of 15 to 'secrets' that were hidden in plain sight. They included a Trafalgar Square police station disguised as a light fixture; Goodwin's Court, a Covent Garden alley lined with 17th-century buildings; and the last street lamp lit by sewer gas located, ironically, near the high-end Savoy hotel. My cheaper lodging choice in the Brick Lane area of East London took about a half-hour to reach by Tube. With 15 cozy rooms above a small, stylish restaurant, the Buxton's thoughtfully designed quarters included espresso machines and books on the city from the nearby Libreria Bookshop. Though the room (£150) was a reach for my budget, it included a generous breakfast. The location anchored me on lively Brick Lane, where markets and restaurants run by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs meet street art, vintage clothing shops and bakeries selling beigels (a.k.a. bagels) with salt beef (about £8). Art with Backstories Sherlock Holmes, Scrooge, Shakespeare: London is synonymous with incredible characters. But have you heard the one about Canaletto? A Venetian, Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, was a favorite of 18th-century British travelers to Venice where he sold detailed, souvenir-size paintings. When an Austrian war stifled travel in 1740, he followed his fans to London only to find forgers making a fortune impersonating him. In 1749, he painted 'London: The Old Horse Guards from St James's Park,' a broad canvas of blushing clouds above a cityscape now hanging in the Tate Britain (free). 'Canaletto painted this large canvas to prove he was not an impostor,' said Malcolm Morris, a gallery docent. The gallery also displays artworks made in the country or by British artists such as John Singer Sargent and J.M.W. Turner over the last 500 years. From the Tate Britain, I headed to the riverbank and caught an Uber Boat by Thames Clippers (£9) for the six-stop ride past the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben to the south shore Southwark area bound for the bustling Borough Market. Dating to 1756, the indoor-outdoor complex hosts produce stands, cheese shops and wine stores among a world of prepared-food vendors. Crowds shuffled through the market scarfing down oysters, paella, shawarma and cannoli while vendors hawked samples of wild mushroom risotto and triple-cooked chips. I settled on a pork, Parmesan and fennel slaw ciabatta sandwich from the Black Pig (£12) that was big enough for two. I walked it off along the untouristed streets of neighboring South Bank to reach Waterloo Station and its subterranean Leake Street Arches. The street artist Banksy began painting in the abandoned, nearly 1,000-foot-long Leake Street tunnel in 2008. Today, it's a constantly changing gallery of spray-painted works (free). Up and down the tunnel, I watched artists perfecting their work in colorful, fluid strokes. A pair of teenagers chose a relatively empty patch of wall near the tunnel's quiet south entry, explaining that the etiquette was not to paint over any work better than your own. Finishing some vivid floor-to-ceiling portraits, Marc Craig, the tunnel's artist-in-residence, explained that he expected his works to be painted over within a day. 'Down here, it's an infinite game,' said Mr. Craig. 'You just keep the game going with another picture and then another picture.' The Price-Location Tradeoff On day two, I moved to another East London neighborhood, Dalston, for a residential stay and the chance to explore the area's offbeat attractions, including the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, a former railway line turned into an outdoor cafe and park (free), and the Dusty Knuckle, a bakery that supports at-risk youth with job training in baking crusty sourdough (£5) and shattering croissants (£3). The loft-style Luxury Inn, home to four rooms (from £110, including breakfast) in a former industrial building, also exerted considerable sway. My airy room offered shared access to a skylit living room and well-stocked kitchen. Escaping London's teeming tourist districts was its own attraction, but returning to Soho, a buzzy nightlife quarter near the West End theaters, took 40 minutes on a double-decker bus during rush hour. I made it in time for a pre-theater meal at the 30-seat Bao Soho, which caters to diners at the bar with a 'Long Day Menu' of five small Taiwanese courses, including savory peanut milk, fried chicken and guinea fowl rice (£20). Afterward, I walked to the former Playhouse Theater renamed the Kit Kat Club in honor of its resident show, 'Cabaret,' where I had booked a relatively cheap seat in the second to last row (£50). The performance was electric, even viewed from two stories up. Cabstand and Crypt Dining On my last day, I moved to the more central Bloomsbury area and the no-frills Judd Hotel, with a crescent-shaped Georgian exterior. My tidy single accommodated little more than a narrow bed and desk but I was paying for location (£154, including breakfast). I found a more distinctive breakfast option nearby in Russell Square, home to Cabmen's Shelter, one of 13 remaining green cottages conceived in 1875 as roadside rest stops for carriage drivers. Today, only taxi drivers are welcomed inside for meals while a public window sells basic bargain fare (£5 for eggs with sausage and bacon) for takeaway to a park bench. Around the corner, the 10 a.m. opening-hour line for the British Museum (free) was snaking down the block. The vast collections of antiquities are overwhelming. My stimulation limit was two hours, enough time to explore Rooms 4 (Egyptian sculpture) and 41 (the remains of the Anglo-Saxon burial ship Sutton Hoo, which was the subject of the 2021 film 'The Dig'). By noon, I was back in Trafalgar Square at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, an Anglican church with 13th-century roots — the current building dates to 1726 — which is renowned for its music programming, including bargain Friday afternoon concerts (£10). From a wooden pew, I caught the classical Indian vocalist Sach Dhanjal accompanied by a moody harmonium and a hand drum. Before the 1 p.m. show, I visited the church's Café in the Crypt, serving bargain food in the brick-vaulted basement. Healthy servings of two delicious salads for £4 — quinoa and beets, and pearled couscous with chicken — was the food bargain of the trip. That evening, I aimed for a London double feature — a pub and a show — by visiting a pub theater. Normally above a bar, pub theaters showcase local comedians, theater companies and emerging artists in small venues. I arrived in the Earl's Court neighborhood to find the pub downstairs from the Finborough Theater disappointingly closed for renovation. But the show, a riveting revival of the 1933 screenplay 'The Silver Cord' (£35), more than compensated. 'It's like being inside the telly,' said my seatmate on one of 10 cushioned benches arrayed around the set representing a New England living room. Afterward, the Tube whisked me back to busy Chinatown for a messy late-night crepe from Chinese Tapas House (£5) and the always-free theater of London street life. Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2025.
