@ Charing Cross Road
 

A few months back, I read about the death of the owner of the famous bookshop  called Marks & Co at 84,Charing Cross Road,London.When Hitler declared that he wanted to burn all the books in captured countries in Europe during WW11,she sent a letter to Hitler and offered to buy all those books.However,Hitler being what he was,refused her offer and burnt all the books!May be he wanted all books in the world only in German language:-(

Last week I went to London with a friend.This is my umpteen times and still I am not bored of London.If I am bored of London,then I am bored of Life!Every time I came back home ,I always missed somethings that I wanted to see.This time it happens again and I bet it is going to happen again.I wanted to see the British Museum of Natural History and the Bletchley Park
(http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk) but due to time and money constraints I have to postpone again.At  least I will have another excuse to go there again;-))

By the way,to me,London is not only about bookshops.However, it is always on the top of my itinerary.There are a lot of things to do and to see there.Just visit the Virtual London website as below :-

(http://www.virtual-london.co.uk)

and you will know what I mean.When I told my wife that I am going to London again,she asked me why London?Last year,I celebrated my Eidul Adha there because I quarreled with myself and I was going there again.So,I told her I wanted to celebrate the first day of Muslim New Year there.In UK,the 1st Muharam,1421 was on the 5th April,2000.Actually,I have other plans and according to my elders who remind me never tell everythings to your wife!I told the truth but not all of it;-

So,both of us arrived in London Heathrow at 6.58pm on Tuesday,28/3/2000 after a twelve hours journey  on a cheap flight via Singapore. Technically,spring starts on the 21/03/2000 and I expected the weather should be around 10 deg.C or better.But to our 'lovely' suprise,the UK weather never follows any set of rules.It is as eccentric as the British themselves! Here,we  entered a virtual freezer with a temperature of 3 deg.C.My dear friend Madolah(his first visit to London) had to use lip gloss from the Boots to protect his 'tender' lips!

You can call me a WOG,but I am not!I came to London to see the future.I believe it is to my advantage and competitive strategy to see it earlier than others.Most of the new inventions were started here or by the British. Many of us tend to see from the outside,but I believe it is better to see things from the inside.From the outside,the clock needle moves clockwise but from within the clock,the needle moves the other way around.On the top of it(or rather from the bottom of it),you can observe the inner workings of the clock as well.On the lighter side of it,you also can fest your eyes on some beautiful 'bottoms' along the Oxford St.;-

After having a "teh tarik(RM 4.20 per glass!) and nasi lemak",a Malaysian favourite twin delicacies at Dining Hall at the basement of Malaysian Student Dept,we took a "tube ride" to Leicester Square.From there,we walked slowly to Charing Cross Road where there are at least a dozen bookshops on either side of the road.Despite the cold weather,my heart was beating very fast like a young man was going to meet his lover on a blind date.I was really so excited and very eager to see how the bookshop at 84 Charing Cross looks like.On arrival,I was shocked to see only just a plaque! It was not there any more.It was closed more than 30 years ago due to the death of the owner and also due to high rental.It was really frustrating:-(( My friend Madolah asked me to take a photo by the plaque,however I refused his good gesture.I don't wish  see me standing by the 'tombstones' of the bookshop that I like;I would prefer to retain the virtual picture that I weaved by reading the book about it.If you wish to know more about  this bookshop that I had a virtual love affair with,please read the book entitled 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD by Helen Hanff.There is also a movie about it.I can't wait to watch it...

All bookworms all over the world will be enthralled by the number of bookshops along the road.You can visit the new ones likes Borders and Waterstones.And also the old ladies like the Foyle, Blackwell, Zimmer, Anyamount of Books, BookCase,etc. Honestly,I lost count and forgot their names because my mind was still on the one  old lady that had passed away on Lot 84!Immediately,I went into Borders bookshop and asked for the book.It has only one last copy and it was meant for me!I read the whole book within three days...

Let me bore you to death with another interesting book story.Lately I am fascinated by a science called cryptography.It is the mathematics of it really-stuff like group theory,fuzzy logic,numeric algorithm etc.I bought a book called Station X by Michael Smith.It is the story of smart chaps at Bletchley Park where they used to crack the German military messages during WW11.One of them was Prof.Alan Turing( a revered Cambridge mathematician who invented the Analogue Engine and also the guy who invented the first programmable computer!)I bought the book on 31/3/2000 and read about the machine(called the Enigma) they used to break the German coded messages.On reading the book,I decided to see the infamous machine that helped Britain to win the war a few years earlier.To my suprise,a few days later on the 3/4/2000,I read in The Times(front page) that the machine (serial no:G 312) was stolen on 1/4/2000.What a coincidence! If I were to visit the place earlier,I may be a prime suspect?Just imagine,a middle age man from Malaysia was apprehended on suspicion of theft.The machine is missing,but he was caught with the book Station X in his over-coat!At the moment, they have not caught the thief yet.You are welcome to visit the website as mentioned above and read the latest development.

            The photo of Enigma....

As I said earlier,London is not about bookshops only.It has a lot to offer for the enquiring minds.During the trip,I learnt a few things about new ways to do business and life.It is with deep regrets that I could not tell you everythings because there are certain things that you have to be there yourself.It is one branch of learning that touched not only your brains but your hearts and your souls as well.