I really don’t know how my friend convinced me to go with him on this trip, but he did, and he did it pretty quickly, damn it. The proposal seemed alright: a cheap return ticket to Edinburgh via two night-buses, and a whole day to stroll around the Scottish capital. “Well, I’ve never been there, why not?” I asked myself. Why Not? I’d have the answer soon enough.

The city was awesome, but it would have been even better if I was operating on at least one hour of sleep. I’ll not mention the lack of space for my legs on the bus, nor will I mention the snoring concert to which I was treated after the first 30 minutes of the trip. I won’t even go into the driver’s madness when—during heavy rainfall—he decided to pass a giant lorry while in the middle of a phone call and a great back-scratch. I’ll only say that if you didn’t have at least one litre of your best whiskey in the bag, that bloody night bus would kill you twice and with only one ticket.

View from the Edinburgh Castle. Photo Credit: Sergio Colombo

Still, no matter your means of transport, Edinburgh is worth seeing. Once you are in “Auld Rekiie” (as it is called in Scottish – meaning “Old Smokey”), breathing in the Scottish atmosphere is as simple as strolling through the medieval surroundings of the Old Town or staring over the horizon from one of the hills that surround the city.

Despite having more than one million people, Edinburgh doesn’t seem crowded. The sensation, especially after coming from London, feels like coming back to nature. From some angles, Edinburgh looks like a protected environment; the west side of the city is literally immersed in parks, fields and hills.

Blackford Hill dominates one side of the city. Atop it is the Castle, one of the Scotland’s most significant historical places. Renovation work is taking place at the moment, but it is possible to take tours from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (tickets cost £11). If you only have a few hours to spend around the town, you might prefer to skip the museum and building tours in order to visit as much of the city as you can.

The Waterfront is one of the most popular place to visit. It was established in 2000 and is one of the most developed parts of the city. It is situated in the east side, opposite to Calton Hill and attached to the New Town which was built during the 18th century. Moving from the new construction at the port to the Renaissance architecture of George III Street will takes you just a couple of bus stops.

Bus staff have our sympathy. Photo Credit: Sergio Colombo

Buses in Edinburgh are simply original, from the seats to the electronic displays. Every seat is covered in Scottish tartan, and signs ask for passengers’ sympathy: “Our staff have the right to work without fear of assault.” However, the easiest and cheapest way to get the most from a day in Edinburgh is to buy a £3 day-long ticket.

Eating and drinking is generally not very expensive either. The zone near the University for has plenty of pubs and restaurants. Haggis is definitely the food you must have. It is the national Scottish dish and contains the heart and lungs of a lamb cooked inside the lining of a sheep’s stomach and it is usually served with mash and boiled carrots.

Your choice of drinks, however, might require more serious reflection. Beer or scotch? Both are traditionally tasty in Scotland, and Edinburgh is no exception.

The Old Town. Photo Credit: Sergio Colombo

To conclude your day tour, we suggest to trek up Calton Hill at dusk. Once there, enjoy the sunset behind by the early 19th century monuments. Just a last recommendation: If you’re planning to visit the city during the winter, wear scarves, caps, gloves and whatever else you require to stay warm. Even if the average temperature isn’t lower than in London, the wind blows constantly.

Once you get back to London, you’ll think you’ve reached a tropical land.

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You’ve arrived to The Sports Café in Haymarket - just five minutes from Piccadilly Circus. This is the London bar where everyone who doesn’t want to miss their beloved team must go.

Pool tables abound at The Sports Cafe! Photo Credit: Mark Hillary

While the majority of London pubs show matches each day, they are principally oriented to British supporters. It’s usually easier to settle for an English third division game, than to convince a barman to switch the channel to a big European match like Barcelona vs. Real Madrid.

This is why the Sports Café exists and prospers.

Indeed football competitions represent the biggest part of what you can see at the Café, but after 11pm NBA, NFL and other American matches are shown live on big screens. Basically whatever sport is happening will be shown, and if for some reason it’s not, the staff take requests. This place is a haven for international students with a sports addiction.

Tuesday and Wednesday are without a doubt the most crowded due to the Champions League. The queue outside can be longer than a penalty area, and bouncers are more severe than a referee, only allowing a few people in every few minutes.

Waiting while your team is already on the pitch can be exhausting, but once inside, your patience is totally rewarded. For nearly two hours the bar turns into a stadium where supporters sing, scream, rejoice and despair. During half-time breaks they order pints and eat tasty nachos.

After the final whistle, people wearing various coloured shirts or scarves leave the place side-by-side. But only a short period later and the Sports Café is full once again. A new match is due to begin. If a “fans’ paradise” exists, it probably looks like this place.

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Anti-Islamophobia poster from Holland | Photo: Leonard Chien

Citizens of north London and representatives of the National Student Union fear that an attack on Muslims students outside the City University campus could represent the beginning of a violent racist wave in the Islington borough. A public meeting was held at Finsbury Town Hall on Monday with the rallying cry ‘Stop Islamophobia and Racism in EC1′.

Police have arrested two suspects for the latest attack in a series of racist aggressions that started last November. Foreign students, Muslims in particular, were the subjects to these racist attacks which have shocked the North London community.

Some people at the meeting voiced the suspicion that there could be a connection between the attacks and the British National Party (BNP) presence in north London. “The BNP hate the harmony we’ve created in this community and is trying to destroy it”, said Ceinwen Hilton, a City and Islington college teacher.

Anti-racism organisations such as Unite Against Fascism, representatives of the National Student Union and several City students are currently preparing a campaign to promote cultural integration in the area. However, as James Haywood of the National Students Union has seen, the University has not been much help.

Both the management and Student Union of City University have been strongly criticised for taking a soft approach to the problem, campaigners maintain. They refused to host a meeting on how to defend Muslim students.

In the end, the meeting took place last Monday at Old Finsbury Town Hall. “It’s a scandal that the City University Student Union disagreed to host us,” Haywood said. “There was lot of anti-racism talk before the student representative elections, but now they’ve failed.”

Dominic Kavakeb, an MA International Journalism student at City University, said that City’s Student Union “didn’t consider the attack as racist”. When he went to ask for space in the University to host the meeting they said that it would take 4 or 6 weeks to book a room.

Islington is no stranger to these kinds of racist attacks, as some of participants at the Finsbury Town Hall meeting pointed out. Kevin Muller, a teacher at Islington College, says that in 1990 some Asian students were attacked on their way home close to Islington Green. At the time the community reacted strongly, going door by door to ask for support against racist crimes committed by members of the National Front.

Muller describes his campaign in the audio clip below.

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Angel, in south Islington, has almost every distraction a person can seek. It is much more than just a convenient connection with the City and King’s Cross. Angel is a pulsing zone 24 hours a day.

You only have to walk a couple of meters up the main boulevard, Upper Street, to find something of interest. At any time you can find people in popular local pubs, “The York” or “The Angel” (not the most imaginative name, I agree). Finding someone to socialise with is the least of a newcomer’s problems, especially after dark. Opposite the station, in Bromfield Street, one of the oldest gay pubs in London, the EDVI, still does a brisk trade.

Pleasant to the eye

Fans of modern art may like the ‘Angel Wings’, a large iron structure behind the commercial centre on Liverpool Road. Though the area is not famous for its architecture, the streets near the station are pleasant to meander through.

Regent’s Canal passes through Angel and there is a peaceful park by the water off Graham Street.

Quirky and squeaky

Camden Passage is not a short-cut to the more famous area of Camden Town though you could be forgiven for thinking it might lead you there. This tiny street is characterized by a large number of furniture, antique and jewellery shops and hosts a flea market. Some objects they sell may seem quite bizarre – Union Jack armchairs or luggage from the First World War. But the atmosphere during the weekends is priceless (while some goods are undoubtedly expensive).

Cultural Angel

Angel’s reputation as a trendy area has been sealed in literature and films. Nick Hornby set two of his stories here; “About a Boy” and SLAM. George Orwell lived nearby – twice – on Lawford Road and in Canonbury Square. Actor Colin Firth, the Chelsea footballer Joe Cole and Big Brother’s first transsexual winner Nadia Almada are all residents.

Even Tony Blair commuted to Westminster from Angel before moving to the centre of London.

Director Molly Dineen chose Angel as subject of her documentary on the life of underground workers, “The heart of the Angel”, which won a BBC prize.

During the 1990s the station was almost completely re-built. It now contains the longest single escalator in Western Europe which enticed Norwegian freestyle skiier, Andreas Håtveit, to ski down the length of the escalator. The stunning footage of his exploit has unfortunately been removed from YouTube (otherwise we’d post it here for you!).

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