Summer in London 2013

Well we thought it was about time we blogged about something more than sporting events and plugging ourselves... Although we will obviously still be plugging Chirton Grange where possible...

Summer in London last year was nothing short of spectacular, as I'm sure anyone who was here can vouch for. Firstly, there was the Euro 2012 tournament (in Poland and Ukraine). Despite a poor performance from our own team, the support was as vibrant and patriotic as ever with the ever present St George's cross visible across England.

This was quickly followed by the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Spread from April until September, her UK wide tour even took in a visit to the Republic of Ireland and was celebrated in typical fashion with a Thames Flotilla and concert at the Palace. Throughout the whole weekend, London was a sea of mini Union Jack flags and smiling faces and in typical fashion torrential rain.

Of course, we couldn't mention last summer in London without mentioning the Olympics. Wow. That was all you can really say about it. Despite some British cynicism prior to the event, the whole country got behind the event, from the Queen to James Bond, from Jessie J to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. 2012 was certainly one of the finest summers in history in this country.

So how does 2013 stack up. Weather-wise it's pretty similar, we've been flipping from heatwave to downpours and back to heatwave within a typical week...

However, in terms of events, it's really only just getting going now. Wimbledon starts in two weeks and following on from his final appearance last year, the British public will certainly be hoping that Scot Andy Murray can go one better this time. The British public have accepted this Scot into their hearts (not always the easiest relationship England and Scotland) and Henman hill has been replaced by Murray Mount (fabulous alliteration) and the cries of "COME ON ANDY" certainly last longer into the second week than "COME ON TIM" ever seemed to.

Bang in the middle of this festival of tennis comes the British Grand Prix. Not quite London but about an hour up the road at Silverstone this three day event always brings in the crowds. Not the trickiest driving circuit for drivers but certainly the fastest track on the F1 calendar it always makes for an entertaining race, especially if the famous British summer weather strikes. Although McLaren and Jenson Button have struggled for pace this year and look well out of it, British driver Lewis Hamilton is in one of the fastest cars about (a German Mercedes) and will certainly look to add to his victory here in 2008. British based teams Lotus, ForceIndia and Red Bull will all look be competitive in this grand prix and with Scot Paul Di Resta looking increasingly likely to hit podiums in his middle of the range car, he'll be eyeing a good result at Silverstone.

No summer in England would be complete without Cricket. For those of you who don't understand the appeal of cricket (most of the World), what other sport could you spend 5 solid days sitting in the sun, being polite, queuing for your turn and drinking strong ales? It is a British thing through and through and in recent years we've done rather well at it too. The Aussies rolled into town a few weeks back for the ICC Champions Trophy (World Cup) and will stick around afterwards for the Ashes. Ah, the Ashes, typically of England, we've decided that as we invented the sport, the best tournament will involve us and one other team (former colony) Australia. Unfortunately for England, Australia have spent many years as the dominant power in World cricket. That dominance has been tempered in recent years by England and with their poor start in the ICC Champions Trophy, Australia will have to quickly improve for the Ashes.

So that's what summer holds in store for Britain and London this summer, but there's plenty of other fun to be had around this magical country of ours. Why not visit the Harry Potter studios? Royal Ascot? The proms at Royal Albert Hall? Buckingham Palace? One of MANY nightclubs in London?

There's so much fun to be had in Britain and London every single year so why not get in contact with Chirton Grange, book a car and enjoy the summer. While it lasts...