Arts
Royal Shakespeare Company
www.rsc.org.uk
The Unofficial London Theatre Guide
www.londontheatre.co.uk/
Heading over to London? Darren Dalglish is a theatre nut whose web site covers just about anything you need to know, including "unofficial" reviews.
Stage Door Playbill for Southwestern Ontario
www.stage-door.org/playbill.html
Big festivals, small festivals, alternate theatre, professional companies, amateur theatre - the site lists theatre companies with web sites located in Toronto and SW Ontario - and, of course, many of them offer productions of English plays. Plan a country excursion around one of the many small country theatres.
British Arts Festival Association
www.artsfestivals.co.uk/
This attractive site pulls together information on a large number of British festivals, both large and small. One small annoyance is that the Categories section is not hot-linked, so having found the small jazz festival of your dreams you then have to back up to the alpha section to find more information. However, there are then hot-links to web sites, where available.
Albemarle Theatre Booking Agency
www.albemarle-london.com/news.html
This is a somewhat more official London theatre site. It lists current and coming shows, includes reviews and news, and also offers secure (encrypted) on-line booking facilities.
General
English Speaking Union
www.esu.org/
Scions of Lucas - the British Cars World Wide Web
www.team.net/sol/
One of those brave souls driving a British car in the Canadian climate? This is your web site. Includes a useful list of translations of car-related words from UK to North American English. The site also offers links to specific marques sites and British car clubs around the world.
British-Canadian Heritage
firstlight_2.tripod.com/BritCdn.htm
Curious about the many souvenirs of the English and British heritage in Canada? This website will enlighten you, and refer you to other sites with more information.
Honourable Company of Freemen of the City of London of North America
www.freemenlondon.org/
Government & Monarchy
U.K. Government
www.direct.gov.uk
U.K. Home Office
www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Companies House
www.companieshouse.gov.uk
Inland Revenue
www.hmrc.gov.uk
British National Insurance Information
www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/osc.htm
Official Web Site of the British Monarchy
www.royal.gov.uk/
Royal family, palaces, succession, coronation - it's all here.
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
www.lt.gov.on.ca/
The web site of the Queen's representative in Ontario.
Web Site of the Governor General of Canada
www.gg.ca/
Want to know more about the Order of Canada? Would you like to know how to obtain a congratulatory message from the Queen? You can find out here.
Government of Ontario
www.gov.on.ca/
Just about everything you need to know about the functioning of the government of the Province of Ontario. If you can't find it here, they will tell you where to look.
Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners
www.britishpensions.com/
If you need information contact:
Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners
#202-605 Royal York Road
Toronto, Ontario M8Y 4G5
or telephone 416-253-6402
Government of Canada
www.canada.gc.ca/
Everything you need to know, and more, about the federal government. Need to find your favourite federal civil servant's phone number? A directory is available.
The United Kingdom Houses of Parliament
www.parliament.uk/
No glitzy virtual tours of Westminster here. Rather, this site is a compendium of any and all information you might want about the running of the mother of parliaments, together with onward links to other, extremely serious, sites.
The Monarchist League of Canada
www.monarchist.ca/
The British Trade & Investment Office in Canada
www.uk-canada-trade.org/
A department of the UK government established to support Canadian companies. The web site explains the work done by the Office and provides information on upcoming trade missions and trade shows in Canada. It also includes a database of over two hundred UK companies who are looking for agents, distributors and customers in Canada.
The Australian Monarchist League
www.monarchist.org.au/
The Australian Monarchist League is in the forefront of the battle to retain the monarchy in Australia. Their handsome site has information that may well, in due course, have a bearing here in Canada if the future of the monarchy in Canada becomes a major issue.
History of the St. George’s Society of Toronto
The St. George’s Society of Toronto 1834-1967
by Anne Storey
www.ourroots.ca
The entire contents of a history of the society, written by Anne Storey, that spans the period from the society’s founding in 1834 to 1967. The following useful information can be found in the book:
Honorary life members
Past presidents
List of members from 1834 to 1967
Key to the membership list
The society’s burial plot and burial pall
A list of people buried in the society’s burial plot in St. James’ Cemetery
City of Toronto Archives
www.toronto.ca/archives
The City of Toronto holds the archives of the St. George’s Society from 1834 to 2002. Some of these records can be seen through the City of Toronto’s website and conducting searches, by clicking on “search archives” and then “advance search” and entering specific search terms.
Media
Ecola Newsstand for British newspapers
www.ecola.com/news/press/eu/uk
Want to check your favourite British newspaper, including local ones? The Ecola Newsstand carries most of them. Have a look!
The British Broadcasting Corporation
www.bbc.co.uk/home/today/index.shtml
News from the UK - One. The 'beeb's web site initially offers text and photos of late-breaking news, but is a somewhat confusing site to navigate. For the latest version of the BBC TV news click on 'On Air' and then click where prompted. If you don't already have RealPlayer download it free in order to be able to view the somewhat jerky video (unless you have a super state-of-the-art p.c.).
Independent Television Network News
www.itn.co.uk/
News from the UK - Two. The ITN site, with one click on 'Radio Headlines' takes you straight to an audio only current news headlines service. If you need software to access it you will be invited to a free download.
Other Societies of St. George
Society of St. George of Greater Vancouver
www.stgeorgebc.ca/
Royal Society of St. George, England
www.royalsocietyofstgeorge.com/
The web site of the Royal Society of St. George in England, the parent of Royal Societies of St. George worldwide and with which we have an unofficial affiliation. The site includes listings of RSSG branches worldwide, wonderful contacts for travellers. They also have on offer some very attractive videos and recordings of English music.
St. George's Society of New York
www.stgeorgessociety.org/
We pride ourselves on being one of the oldest loyal societies in Canada. The St. George's Society of New York predates us by a good sixty years. They are a very active group with some extremely distinguished guest speakers.
Alberta St. George of England Society
internet.ocii.com/~stgeorge/
Founded in 1982, the Alberta St. George of England Society is one of the younger societies of St. George in Canada, but, from all appearances, an active group.
Places of Interest
The London Eye
www.londoneye.com
The British Library
www.bl.uk
Churchill Cabinet War Rooms
www.iwm.org.uk/cabinet
Number 10 Downing Street
www.number-10.gov.uk/
Visit the British PM's residence.
The Tower of London
www.tower-of-london.com/
If you have a speedy computer with ample memory this is a very entertaining site - for you or the kids! If you don't already have Shockwave as a plug-in you will need to take advantage of the download offered on the Home Page. Then head on in to enjoy the ghost stories, history, interactive game, and virtual tour of the Tower. A caveat, the latter, with its spoken commentary, is particularly heavy on memory.
Sport
Lord's - The Home of Cricket
www.lords.org/
Cricket news from around the world.
Sporting Life
www.sporting-life.com/
Web site of the British sports newspaper - covers rugby, boxing, cricket, racing, tennis, golf, etc. etc. A lot of info., but takes its time downloading.
REGATTA - the UK online rowing magazine
users.ox.ac.uk/~quarrell/REGATTA/
Covers the sport of rowing worldwide.
Travel
Royal Over-Seas League
www.rosl.org.uk
Visitors Information Centre
www.visitengland.com
British Tourist Authority Website
www.visitbritain.com/
British Airways
www.us.british-airways.com/
Museums around the UK
www.chin.gc.ca/vlmp/uk.html
The ultimate listing of UK museums, ranging from Bletchley Park, where you can see the famous German Enigma cipher machine, to the British Lawnmower Museum, where you can find out about the arcane sport of lawnmower racing.
The National Rail Track Time Table
www.rail.co.uk/ukrail/planner/planner.htm
How to work out your railway travel schedule in the UK - if there aren't leaves, swans or snow on the line, that is!
The European Travel Network
www.etn.nl/discount.htm
This is the Discounted Fares page of ETN. This Holland-based service is particularly useful if you are heading over to the UK and want a side trip without breaking your budget. You put in rough timing of your desired travel plans and this is distributed to member companies who contact you directly with their quotes. Caveat emptor, of course, and you will likely find yourself flying at uncivilised hours!
National Express Company
www.nationalexpress.co.uk/
Train travel costs being what they are in the UK, you might want to think of the long-distance bus service - or coach, as it is sometimes called. Fares are usually considerably cheaper, and you often travel pretty routes - takes longer, of course. You can check routes and services available here, and even book your bus in advance.
Locations of films shot in the UK
www.visitbritain.com/moviemap/
Want to know where 'Sense and Sensibility' was filmed? Would it ruin your day if you were told that scenes set in Sherwood Forest, in 'Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves', were filmed in three very different locations? Go to this web site for the inside info.
London Transport
www.londontransport.co.uk/
Of course, since Maggie Thatcher's last mad round of privatization there is no such thing as London Transport any longer. However, the mass of companies that now run bus services in London have kept the name for their web site. This link takes you straight to the page of information on Period Travelcards, which is what transit passes are called in London. They are VERY much cheaper than the passes available here. All you need to do is take a passport size photo of yourself to one of the main London Tube Stations to get a Photo Card, instantly issued, and you are all set to buy the Travelcard of your choice. The one covering Zones1&2 gives good coverage of central London. For other information on transit in London, back up to the home page or do a site search.
Trainline
www.thetrainline.com
After you have worked out your travel plans, you can buy tickets on line. If you have a lot of patience. Occasionally it is worth buying advance fares for the savings, but often it is not really worth the bother. It is no comfort at all that British rail fares are now officially the highest in the world.
