London [antikvár]

VihllA^LLaJLlIntroductionMaybe ifs because I'm a LondonerSo goes the opening line of a very famous old song. Full of sentimental clichés, it nevertheless gives a number of clues to what people feel about London. The main indication is in the word 'maybe', because you don't have to be a native of London to love her.Dr Johnson, who came from Lichfield, was in his soul, a Londoner. As everyone knows, he wrote the lines: 'When a man is tired of London He is tired of Life.' The capital has been a magnet for people from all over the world, and it's their contribution that has made and shaped our city today. From the moment the Romans decided on the present site London has not stopped growing, first within the Roman boundaries, then slowly but consistently along thehighroads and lanes extending beyond to engulf hamlets and villages.That growth is about people, people needing homes, people engaged in business and people making their way in the world.From the earliest times people, especially from Europe, never ceased to be amazed by the colour, noise and richness of life in London. Such burghers as William Walworth, who killed Wat Tyler, and Dick Whittington excited the imagination with their undreamed of wealth.Through the eyes of such people as Fitzstephen and John Stow the life of London from the Normans to Elizabeth I passes slowly by. Not only the monarchs and the magistrates but tradesmen, porters, innkeepers come alive. It is also