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