[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly City of London Polytechnic[EBOLD][PARA][BOLD]For general information about London: [EBOLD]see [ULNE]University of London[EULNE]. [PARA]London Guildhall University is based at... um, well... 9 places, [PARA]really. And they're all in the City - the financial and corporate [PARA]centre of London and the UK (with the 'EC' postcodes). Except [PARA]for the sites in the East End (with just 'E' postcodes). Anyway, [PARA]they're all around there and they're all[ITAL] fairly drab[EITAL] concrete [PARA]constructions. Except for some of them, like the building at [PARA]Moorgate which is built in [ITAL]elegant [EITAL]grey stone, or the Jewry Street [PARA]building. The City, the famous square mile from about 3/4 to 2 [PARA]miles east of Trafalgar Square, is not one of London's shopping [PARA]areas, nor is it residential and there are very few local [PARA]entertainments - the entertainment is business. Big business and[PARA]big buildings. In fact, the city has the nearest Britain offers to [PARA]compete with Manhattan's skyscrapers. The Bank of England, [PARA]the famous Richard Rodgers Lloyds Building, the NatWest [PARA]Tower - they're all here. The East End is well-known enough [PARA]because of a certain TV soap. However, the 3 East End sites [PARA]are around Aldgate East, an area which hasn't been residential or[PARA]even remotely reminiscent of Albert Square (which, by the way, [PARA]is fictional) for 50 years. Nowadays, it's quite similar to the city, [PARA]but has fewer high rises and more cafes.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]For such a dispersed college in the centre of London, the [PARA]University has a surprisingly united identity as an open, [PARA]unpretentious place. The students manage to achieve some [PARA]semblance of solidarity by quite a hefty emphasis on ents, which,[PARA]compared to London's bright lights, are something of a sputtering [PARA]candle. Many of the courses have vocational links, often taking [PARA]advantage of local money meddling, but ironically, this hasn't [PARA]discouraged a fair number of the more esoteric or right-on kind of[PARA]student.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]THE SITES:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA]Not all the sites, [ITAL]but 5 of the most prominent [EITAL](some students are [PARA]based at more than one site):[PARA][BOLD]Central House:[EBOLD] (550 students - Art, Design, Manufacturing) A [PARA]grey 60s block [ITAL]with a laid back atmosphere[EITAL], about 7 minutes [PARA]walk from Calcutta House, one of the University's most essential [PARA]student ports of call.[PARA][BOLD]Moorgate: [EBOLD](2,600 - Law, Economics, Accountancy, Business [PARA]Studies, Financial Services) [ITAL]An old, positively ancient building, [PARA]looking vaguely important, but very easy going. [EITAL]15 minutes walk [PARA]from Calcutta House[ITAL].[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Tower Hill: [EBOLD](450 - Computing) Opposite the Tower of London, but [PARA]being 60s concrete, [ITAL]hardly a reflection of its glory[EITAL]. [ITAL]Quiet with a [PARA]serious work ethic. [EITAL]3 minutes from Calcutta House.[PARA][BOLD]Commercial Rd: [EBOLD](1,500 - Art, Design, Manufacture) Another 60s [PARA]building, 8 minutes from Calcutta House.[PARA][BOLD]Calcutta House:[EBOLD] (2,000 - Human Sciences) Once an old tea [PARA]house. 5 minutes from Calcutta House.[HDNG]LIFE IN LONDON:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Samuel Johnson wrote 'When a man is tired of London, he is [PARA]tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.' [PARA]Obviously, he wasn't living on a student grant at the time; for there[PARA]is only a certain amount in London that a student can afford. SJ [PARA]was right in that London is second to none in its diversity, but you [PARA]can't do it all. It's easy to feel that you're not making the most of [PARA]London if you're not spending every waking minute at the theatre,[PARA]ballet, opera or cinema, in clubs or fashionable markets, and in [PARA]museums and galleries, sports grounds and parks. However, if [PARA]the truth be known, even taking advantage of the many freebies [PARA]you can dig up if you try, you'd be broke within a week if you tried[PARA]to keep up with the tearaway pace. When it comes to [PARA]opportunity, choice and life in the fast lane, London is the [PARA]turbo-boosted Porsche. London is supposed to be the city that [PARA]never sleeps, leaving the bright lights burning all night long. In fact,[PARA]as international metropolises go, this one tends to shut down [PARA]when the pubs close. Getting more than a cheeseburger after [PARA]midnight can be as difficult in London as it is in a Turkish jail. Not [PARA]everyone likes the pace or the impersonal atmosphere that many[PARA]find in London. Whilst it's hard to be alone, it's easy to be lonely, [PARA]and most students in London find this at some time. London can [PARA]be oppressive and if you're not streetwise, or at least street [PARA]sensible, it can be a dangerous place. Bomb scares are usually [PARA]just that, but violent crime is on the up. [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] There are a number of responses to the high cost of living in [PARA]London: (1) burst into tears; (2) mug someone; (3) live on credit; (4)[PARA]ask daddy for lashings of cash. Alternatively, if these don't [PARA]appeal, you can always use the following methods: (1) Limit your [PARA]spending by only going out when and where you can afford it [PARA](ULU fits the bill, offering cheap events for students). (2) Buy [PARA]second hand - for books, there's ULU, Charing Cross Road and [PARA]Waterloo and, for clothes, try Camden Market, Greenwich, Brick[PARA]Lane and Portobello Road. (Many a London student falls prey to [PARA]fashion, but not always at vast expense.) (3) Get a job - [EITAL]more [PARA]London students have part time jobs than anywhere else.[ITAL] [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] London also has more overseas students than almost [PARA]anywhere else, which, in Britain's most international city, is an [PARA]appropriate addition to the already spicy variety of life. The extent[PARA]of London's cosmopolitanism is unique. Nowhere else are there [PARA]as many students of every different shape, colour, vintage, creed[PARA]and flavour.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL] To be young in London and have flexible demands on your [PARA]time is an ideal recipe. The daily downers such as the time spent[PARA]travelling have a minimal effect, whereas the opportunities are all [PARA]there. If you happen to live in London, it's good to be a student, [PARA]but if you're a student, London isn't necessarily a good place to [PARA]happen to live.[EITAL][HDNG]THE CITY and EAST END:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Money lust in its full spandex body-suited underwear: power [PARA]dressing and cell phones.[EITAL] The City (as distinct from the city) is [PARA]so busy making money in phallic towers, that property prices are [PARA]too sky-scraping high for anything else to get a look in. There is [PARA]the barest minimum of extremely expensive wine bars, East End[PARA][ITAL]theme park[EITAL] pubs and sandwich bars which provide so much [PARA]packaging you never know whether it may be part of the [PARA]sandwich. Some recent developments like the Broadgate Centre[PARA](near Liverpool St Station) are[ITAL] a welcome urban playground for [PARA]pinstripes on their lunch break[EITAL]. [ITAL]But to get right away from stocks [PARA]and shares, the shocks and stares of the West End are still [PARA]anybody's best bet. [EITAL]Thankfully, it's just a bus ride or brisk walk.[PARA][ITAL]The East End is a less cash coughing crocodile.[EITAL] Traditionally, it [PARA]is the home of London's dispossessed: first, Jews; nowadays, [PARA]Asians and yuppies. [ITAL] It has a lively community atmosphere which[PARA]is hard to find elsewhere in inner city London.[EITAL] The market in [PARA]Petticoat Lane may be a bit more [ITAL]gimmicky [EITAL]than once upon a [PARA]time, but Brick Lane is a [ITAL]massive overdose for the shopaholic[EITAL], [PARA]even late into the night.[PARA]Other local attractions worth noting are the labyrinthine Barbican [PARA]Centre, one of the country's largest arts centres, and, [ITAL]for a good [PARA]hard laugh at capitalism up the proverbial creek,[EITAL] Canary Wharf [PARA]and Docklands. Or, for one of London's most ensnaring tourist [PARA]traps, check out the Tower of London.[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains: [EBOLD]London is the centre of the network: Bristol (1:40hrs, 1/hr); [PARA]Birmingham (1:40hrs, 3/hr); Manchester (2:30hrs, 1/hr); Glasgow [PARA](5:20hrs, 12/day); Edinburgh ( 4:20hrs, 1/hr); Newcastle (2:45hrs, [PARA]2/hr); Leeds (2:30hrs, 1/hr); Norwich (1:49hrs, 1/hr). Trains come [PARA]into the 8 mainline termini and if passing through London (for [PARA]example from Canterbury (Kent) to Manchester), it is often [PARA]necessary to travel by tube (at extra expense) between mainline [PARA]stations .[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] London is also the centre of the National Express [PARA]system and a whole variety of other national bus services (Green[PARA]Line, Blue Line and so on). Some example National Express [PARA]journeys: Birmingham (ú9.50, 2:30hrs, 1/hr); Bristol (ú12.50, [PARA]2:15hrs, 1/hr); Edinburgh (ú25, 7:50hrs, 3/day); Glasgow (ú25, [PARA]7hrs, 7/day); Manchester (ú16, 3:30hrs, 7/day); Newcastle [PARA](ú17.50, 5:10hrs, 7/day).[PARA][BOLD]Local Trains: [EBOLD]Network SouthEast operates local overground [PARA]trains [ITAL]which are a speedy and sometimes pleasant way to travel [PARA]and are moderately efficient. The main problems are the ease of[PARA]use (a fair level of understanding is necessary), the high fares [PARA]and the early closing[EITAL] (last trains between 11pm and 1am).[PARA][BOLD]Underground:[EBOLD] The 'tube' is the largest underground train system [PARA]in the world and generally,[ITAL] it is fast, easy to use, efficient (well, [PARA]maybe not the Northern Line) and takes you just about anywhere [PARA]you want to go, although South-East London is a bit hard done by.[PARA]However, it is often crowded,[EITAL] shuts down at midnight,[ITAL] it's often [PARA]disrupted by bomb scares[EITAL] and the minimum fare is 90p. [ITAL]Talking [PARA]to other tube passengers is tantamount to threatening their [PARA]mother - the only people who do it are tourists and people who [PARA]want to talk to you about Jesus.[EITAL] Nearest tube to Senate [PARA]House/ULU Building: Goodge St (Northern Line).[PARA][BOLD]Local Buses: [EBOLD][ITAL]In the tube you can't see the real sights, so why not [PARA]take the buses which are just as efficient,[EITAL] offer even more [PARA]destinations and are slightly cheaper (50p minimum). [ITAL]But buses [PARA]are slow and, until you know your way around, it's difficult to [PARA]know which ones take you where.[EITAL] After midnight, buses come [PARA]into their own - Night Buses are London's only form of all-night [PARA]public transport and[ITAL] if you don't mind how long it takes,[EITAL] you can [PARA]go almost anywhere within 10 miles of the centre.[PARA][BOLD]Travelcards:[EBOLD] For a legal way of dodging the expense of tubes, [PARA]buses and trains, Travelcards are available at ú2.60 for a daily [PARA]pass for the central 2 zones of the network.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis: [EBOLD]There are 2 types:[ITAL] the classic black cabs which are well [PARA]regulated and enormously expensive, and dodgy merchants in [PARA]Ford Escorts which are almost as expensive. There are now [PARA]also some run by and for women. Basically though, forget all [PARA]taxis, except late at night when all else fails and/or you're in a [PARA]party of 4 or more.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Parking in Central London is impossible, and, although there[PARA]is only one rush hour every day it lasts from 6 in the morning to [PARA]midnight. Driving in London is excellent training for being a [PARA]volcano.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Air: [EBOLD]Served by 4 airports, including Heathrow, the world's [PARA]busiest. Regular flights to anywhere and back.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[ITAL] [EBOLD]Not possible from Central London, but get out a little [PARA]way on to the city's escape routes or beyond the M25 and a [PARA]thumb's a first class ticket.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles: [EBOLD][ITAL] A popular form of student travel given the pros: it's [PARA]cheap and you can get through traffic. But there are the cons: [PARA]London is big, full of exhaust fumes, lacking in cycle lanes and a [PARA]Houdini-proof lock is advisable. It's also an easy way to die.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Liverpool St and Fenchurch St mainline stations are both [PARA]within 5 minutes walk of almost all the University's sites.[PARA][BOLD]Buses:[EBOLD] The City and East End are well served by an enormous [PARA]number of buses and you must be kidding if you think we're [PARA]going to list them all, but here are the ones to catch to the SU [PARA]building: 8; 15; 15B; 25; 40; 67; and 253. Night buses: N6; N8; N16; [PARA]N76; N95; N97; and N98.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Parking? Parking! Ha ha ha, tee hee hee...[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Underground:[EBOLD] Moorgate (Northern, Metropolitan, Circle and [PARA]Hammersmith and City Lines), Aldgate (Metropolitan and Circle), [PARA]Aldgate East (Hammersmith and City and District), Tower Hill [PARA](District and Circle) and Tower Gate (on the Docklands Light [PARA]Railway) are all local. No 2 sites are further than 11/2 miles apart [PARA]so any of these stations will do for most sites.[HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Books: 260,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 2,000[ESTAT][PARA]There are 7 libraries around the University's buildings, based in [PARA]the faculties to which the books apply. As for computers, there [PARA]are PC and terminal laboratories on all sites, linked to the [PARA]University's various networks. There's also an Information and [PARA]Guidance Centre.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 5full/1part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1992): 19%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]The University's policy is to get as many students from as [PARA]many different backgrounds as possible. They go out of their [PARA]way to encourage applications from mature students, students [PARA]with disabilities, women and any group currently [PARA]under-represented in higher education.[PARA][BULL]The academic year consists of 2 semesters and courses are [PARA]modular ([ITAL]a sort of academic pick'n'mix[EITAL]).[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Graham Allen MP (Con); Joy Gardner (victim of overenthusiastic [PARA]extradition procedures); Kate Hoey MP (Lab, ex-Spurs physio); [PARA]Terry Marsh (former boxing champ); Michael Newland (BNP [PARA]press officer); Vic Reeves (comic fop); Mark Thatcher (Maggie's [PARA]sprog).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectus and individual course leaflets, and a mature students [PARA]guide.
