Study, work or travel in the UK. British
culture and life.
Things to do in the UK in February 2010
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Study, work or travel in the UK. British
culture and life.
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Things to do in the UK in February 2010
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FEBRUARY
2010
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 Snowdrops |
| Sat 6 Feb 2010 | Waitangi Day New Zealand's national day, commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 Feb 1840. New Zealanders may celebrate with a meal, drink or party. For details of celebrations in London see: http://www.waitangidaylondon.com * New Zealand links: Links/NewZealand |
| Sat 6 Feb 2010 | Queen's Accession: gun salutes, London/Windsor Queen Elizabeth came to the throne (aged 25) on 6 February 1952, the date when her father King George the Sixth died. To mark this event, cannons will be fired in the following locations: - A 41-gun salute at 12 noon fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park, London (opposite the Dorchester Hotel: map ; nearest Tube: Hyde Park Corner or Marble Arch) - A 62-gun salute at 1pm fired by the Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London (from the gunpark at the western end of London Wharf: map ; nearest Tube: Tower Hill). Guns have been fired from this location since the time of Henry the Eighth - A 21-gun salute at 12 noon at The Long Walk in the grounds of Windsor Castle, Windsor (near the Brook Street entrance: map) For background information about the gun salutes, see: http://www.royal.gov.uk/RoyalEventsandCeremonies/GunSalutes/Gunsalutes.aspx or http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/tourists/gun_salutes.cfm. * Royal traditions: Britain/Countries/Royalty. |
| Sat 6 Feb - Sun 7 Feb 2010 |
Six Nations Championship, UK International rugby competition (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy). Saturday: 2:30pm Ireland vs Italy ; 5pm England vs Wales Sunday: 3pm Scotland vs France * Rugby in the UK: Life/Sport/Rugby * Photos from a visit to a Six Nations game: Ideas/Album/SixNations |
 Six Nations rugby |
 Twickenham rugby stadium |
| Sun 7 Feb 2010 | Clown Service, London Each year, on the first Sunday in February, clowns gather for a church service in East London in memory of the British clown Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837). The church service usually starts at 3pm at Holy Trinity Church in Dalston (Tube: Liverpool Street, then bus 149 or 242; nearest train station: Dalston Kingsland; map). Afterwards there is normally a performance by the clowns in a nearby school, and a chance to visit the Clowns Gallery and Museum. * Photos from this event: Ideas/Album/ClownService |
| Sun 7 Feb 2010 | Maslenitsa, London A free event based on the Russian spring festival, from 1-6pm in Potters Fields Park (nearest Tube: London Bridge; map). See: http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/events/feb-10.jsp |
 Lady Maslenitsa (mascot of the Maslenitsa celebration) |
 Russian folk singers |
| Tue 9 Feb 2010 | Parliamentary Pancake Race, London Pancake races at about 10am-10:30am between teams from the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Press. The location is in Victoria Tower Gardens, on the south side of the Houses of Parliament (nearest Tube: Westminster; map - note that in previous years it has been held on the opposite side of the road in College Green). This event is organised by the charity Rehab UK (for people with brain injuries, see: http://www.rehabuk.org). Usually this event takes place on Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day), but in 2010 this has been moved forward by a week because of the recess dates of Parliament. See: http://golondon.about.com/od/februaryannualevents/ss/pancake_day_5.htm |
| Fri 12 Feb - Sun 28 Feb 2010 |
Winter Olympics, Vancouver (Canada) The 21st Winter Olympics take place in Vancouver, Canada. See: http://www.vancouver2010.com or http://www.bbc.co.uk/winterolympics |
| Sat 13 Feb - Sun 14 Feb 2010 |
Six Nations Championship, UK International rugby competition (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy). Saturday: 2pm Wales vs Scotland ; 5:30pm France vs Ireland Sunday: 3:30pm Italy vs England * Rugby in the UK: Life/Sport/Rugby * Photos from a visit to a Six Nations game: Ideas/Album/SixNations |
| Sun 14 Feb 2010 | Chinese New Year Today is the start of the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese calendar. The main public event in London is on Sun 21 Feb (see below). * Photos: Ideas/Album/ChineseNewYear |
| Sun 14 Feb 2010 | Valentine's Day, UK A time to tell someone that you love him/her. Both men and women can send cards or give presents. Traditionally, you do not write your name on the card or present (but you may add a clue so that he or she can guess it is from you). They are often sent by post, delivered by someone else or are hidden: they are not normally given directly to the person. Among the most common presents are chocolates, teddy bears and flowers. Couples sometimes go out for a meal: reserve a table early if you want to go to a restaurant on this day. This is the most expensive time of year to buy red roses. * Ideas for Valentine's Day presents: Ideas/Gifts/Valentine |
 Valentine's Day |
| Mon 15 Feb - Sun 21 Feb 2010 |
Jorvik Viking Festival, York A Viking festival in York, including a battle re-enactment on Saturday. For full details, see: http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/festival2010-Intro.htm * Guide to York: Travel/Tours/England/York |
 Battle re-enactment during the Jorvik Viking Festival |
| Tue 16 Feb 2010 | Brits Awards, UK Awards ceremony for British and international pop, shown on ITV1. For details, see: http://www.brits.co.uk. * British pop music: Britain/Music/Pop |
| Tue 16 Feb 2010 | Champions League Football AC Milan play Manchester United * Football: Life/Sport/Football |
| Tue 16 Feb 2010 | Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day), UK Historically, on Shrove Tuesday Christians confessed their sins and asked to be forgiven for them (this was known as "shriving"). It is the day before the period known as Lent, when Christians traditionally did not eat fatty foods (for example: meat, fish, eggs and milk) for 40 days until Palm Sunday, which is a week before Easter Sunday. Families had a feast on this day to eat those foods which could not be kept for 40 days: eggs and milk were used by adding flour and frying them to make pancakes. This tradition is still kept by many families. The popular name for Shrove Tuesday is Pancake Day. In France the day is called Mardi Gras, which means "Fat Tuesday". For more information, see here. |
| Tue 16 Feb 2010 | Pancake Races, UK About 500 years ago, a woman in the town on Olney in Buckinghamshire (map) was cooking her pancakes at home when she heard the bell calling her to church to make her confessions. She ran out of her house and rushed to church, still holding her frying pan and wearing her apron, tossing the pancakes into the air to stop them from burning. This became famous, starting a tradition known as pancake racing - people dress up with aprons, hold frying pans and race against each other. Pancake races are usually small events organised by local communities, and are often used to raise money for charity. A race still takes place each year in Olney - since 1950 there has been a friendly competition with the town of Liberal in Kansas, USA to see which of the towns can produce the fastest racer. Some of the pancake races in London are as follows: - Great Pancake Race: the races are on Tower Hill Terrace, Byward Street, London EC3 (opposite the Tower of London). The races will start at 1:00pm (Tube: Tower Hill; map). For details, see: http://www.allhallowsbythetower.org.uk/pancake_race.htm - Poulters’ Company Pancake Race: races from about 12 noon - 1pm (pancakes and hot drinks available from about 11am) in Guildhall Yard (in front of London's Guildhall in the City of London; nearest Tube: St Paul's, Bank or Mansion House; map). The contest is between teams representing each of the traditional livery companies (trade associations) and raises money for the Lord Mayor's chosen charity. See: http://www.poulters.org.uk/Poulters_events.html or http://www.thecookandthebutler.co.uk - The Better Bankside Pancake Race: event from 12 noon - 2pm, including races between teams from Bankside businesses. The location is in Cathedral Square, off Montague Close (to the north of Southwark Cathedral, close to the Mudlark Pub; Tube: London Bridge; map). See: http://www.betterbankside.co.uk - Great Spitalfields Pancake Race: race along Dray Walk at the Old Truman Brewery, 91-95 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL starting at 12:30pm (Tube: Aldgate East or Shoreditch; map). For details, see: http://www.alternativearts.co.uk/events * Photos from pancake races: Ideas/Album/PancakeRace |
 Pancake Races |
 Tossing a pancake |
| Wed 17 Feb 2010 | Ash Wednesday, UK Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the 40-day period known as Lent (the 40 days - excluding Sundays - before Easter Sunday). In Christian churches there are services in which ashes are used to mark a cross on people's foreheads. Some Christians stop eating some type of food during Lent, and use the period for religious thought. For more information, see here. |
| Wed 17 Feb 2010 | Champions League Football Porto play Arsenal * Football: Life/Sport/Football |
| Sun 21 Feb 2010 | Chinese New Year: Chinatown event, London Celebration of the Chinese New Year (2010 is the "year of the tiger") in the Chinatown area of London. The main events are in Trafalgar Square (map), around Gerrard Street (map) and in Leicester Square (map); the nearest Tube stations are Charing Cross and Leicester Square. - In Trafalgar Square, two groups from China will perform world-class dance, music and acrobatics after an official opening ceremony. There will also be firecrackers, Chinese dragons, lions and Chinese acrobatics. - In a specially decorated Chinatown there will be cultural stalls, food and lion dance displays. - Shaftesbury Avenue will become ‘Hong Kong in London Chinatown’ with a stage featuring performances by local Chinese artists. - A colourful fireworks display in Leicester Square will close the celebrations at 6pm. Note that the narrow streets of Soho can get very crowded: be careful to look after your belongings. For more information, see: http://www.londonchinatown.org * Photos: Ideas/Album/ChineseNewYear |
 Chinese New Year |
 Chinese dragon dancing |
| Wed 24 Feb 2010 | Champions League Football Inter Milan play Chelsea * Football: Life/Sport/Football |
| Fri 26 Feb - Sat 27 Feb 2010 |
Six Nations Championship, UK International rugby competition (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy). Friday: 8pm Wales vs France Saturday: 2:30pm Italy vs Scotland ; 4pm England vs Ireland * Rugby in the UK: Life/Sport/Rugby * Photos from a visit to a Six Nations game: Ideas/Album/SixNations |
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