Heathrow invites you to kiss under the world’s largest mistletoe

by Katie Hammel on

Remember that scene from the movie “Love Actually” that takes place in Heathrow Airport? The one where everyone is arriving and being greeted with big hugs and happy kisses from their loved ones? That may be what Heathrow really looks like now that the airport has hung the world’s largest mistletoe.

The 10X8 structure, which weighs 43kg, will hang in Terminal 5 through December (and according to the Heathrow press release), other giant mistletoe will be hung in Terminals 1, 3, and 4.

Heathrow officials expect nearly 3 million people to arrive at Heathrow in the coming month, with close to 500,000 of them coming between December 19th and December 24th alone. The airport is hoping that 2 million kisses will take place beneath the giant mistletoe this month.

London the new bargain basement destination for Europeans

by Scott Carmichael on

It has been a very tough year for London – not only has it been rated as having the worst hotels in Europe, it also lost its spot as one of the most expensive (and profitable) in Europe.

Of course, the people that benefit this most from this are people that don’t live in the UK. Prices in London are so low, that many Europeans are turning to the British Capital for its cheap shopping opportunities. The combination of a weak Pound and ultra cheap airfare is sending 100’s of planeloads of Europeans to London each day.

With plane tickets being sold for as little as $1 (Thanks Ryanair!), it can be cheaper to fly to London, than to load up the car and drive to many traditional shopping destinations. The Dutch used to drive to German Christmas markets to do some shopping, but now many of them head to the nearest airport and spend the day walking up and down Oxford Street.

Five years ago, one Pound would cost about one and a half Euros – at the current exchange rate, they are almost on parity with each other. Combine this with stores offering steep discounts, and you have a country that has become one big outlet mall. Items that cost EUR1500 in Europe, are selling for GBP450.

Gadlinks for Friday 12.4.2009

by Brenda Yun on

It’s time to take in the first weekend of December. The web’s been abuzz with tons of travel-worthy stories, so your weekend reading material is pretty hearty. Hope you enjoy!

‘Til Monday, have a great weekend.

More Gadlinks here.

London theater for all: Device translates performance into 8 languages

by Alison Brick on

Captions aren’t just for the opera anymore.

London theater is becoming more welcoming to foreign visitors by offering AirScript — a hand-held device that gives live translations in eight languages. The captions scroll throughout the performance — about seven lines at a time — in orange letters on a black background to cut the glare factor. Theater-goers can pick from English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese.

The first theater in London to offer the device is the Shaftesbury Theatre for its current show, Hairspray. The price to the patron? £6. 200 AirScripts can run at one time in a single theater.

Because it’s important that lines sync with the action on the stage, a manual operator cues the translations — the job can’t be automated.

No historical plaque for Scientology founder

by Sean McLachlan on

English Heritage has rejected an application to put up a plaque at the former home of L. Ron Hubbard.

The American science fiction writer, who became a controversial figure when he founded Scientology, was based at 37 Fitzroy Street in London’s West End from 1957 to 1959. The Hubbard Foundation had applied to English Heritage for a blue plaque to mark the building. Blue plaques are recognizable to anyone who’s been to London as marking the spot of a famous event or building, or where a famous person has lived, worked, or died.

English Heritage states they rejected the application because, “It was felt that since Mr Hubbard had died only relatively recently, in 1986, that more time was required to make an objective assessment of the importance and longevity of his achievements. The panel also noted that Mr Hubbard had no address in London which could be considered as comparatively settled, and moved around a great deal.”

The Hubbard Foundation owns the building and runs it as a museum. They are appealing the ruling.