LMS_General

Bicycle Hire & Mopeds

Hiring a bicycle starts from around £10 for the first day, £5 for the second day and £3 for every day thereafter. To cover themselves against all the fraudulent people out there, they normally require quite a hefty deposit of around £200.

A South African licence will allow you to drive a 50cc moped. The cost starts around £15 per day and £90 per week.

Contact the London Cycling Campaign for more information on the nearest company that hires out mopeds and bicycles.

Tel: 020 7234 9310, www. lcc.org.uk

The London Bicycle Tour Company 1A Gabriel’s Wharf, 56 Upper Ground SE1, Tel: 020 7928 6838, www.londonbicycle.com, hires out bicycles for £12 per day and £36 per week.

Mopeds are becoming increasingly popular in London and can be hired from Scootabout, Tel: 020 7833 460.

Drivers must be at least 21 years old and hold an International Driving Permit. Rates for a day’s hire range between £20 and £85 (depending on model, style and engine size) and there is a minimum two-day hire period.

Electricity

Electricity supply to London conforms to the EU standards of approximately 230V. You will need a plug adapter for appliances brought in from South Africa.

Internet & Computer use

Internet Cafés are found across London, but the rates are normally quite steep (£1-£4). Easy Everything probably provides the fastest and cheapest service. Rates are very cheap off peak, which is normally later in the evening. There are a few big and central branches, namely at:

•160-166 Kensington High St.

•9-16 Tottenham Court Rd. (Oxford St. end)

•358 Oxford St. (opposite Bond St. Station)

•7 Strand St. (Charing Cross)

•9-13 Wilton Rd. (opposite Victoria Station)

Other Internet Cafés

•Internet Café 2001, 23-25 Queensway, W2., Tel: 020 7313 9933

•Comms Port Ltd., 153 Earls Court Rd., SW5., Tel: 020 7370 3304

•Internet Exchange, Whiteleys Shopping Centre, W2., Tel: 020 7792 0619

If you are in the Earl’s Court area, there is the very cheap The Internet Lounge, Tel: 020 7370 1734 (£1 per hour at all hours). As you exit the Earl’s Court station, cross the street and walk down the street just to the right of the Post Office. The shop is about 20 metres down the road on your right. There you can also do word processing and printing (for only 10p a page) and make international calls.

If you have your own computer and want to decide on a service provider, it is important always to read the fine print. A great number of providers boast about free connection and Internet calls, but in some cases there are hidden costs. Stiff competition between providers means you can get some extremely good deals, normally in the form of a flat rate per month, thus free calls if on-line during a certain time of the day. BT provides this service for £15.99 per month for calls made off-peak. AOL charges £14.99 per month flat rate. Always remember that there is a difference between free Internet ‘access’ and free Internet ‘calls’. These days you should under no circumstances pay for Internet ‘access’. Shop around for the best deals on call rates.

For general computer use (word processing, etc.):

The library in your area should be able to provide this service, but don't expect state of the art equipment. The use of the facility will cost ± £3/hour. There are also a great number of Input/Output Centres through-out the city that provide computer services and training (£7-£8/hour).

Check www.iocentre.co.uk for Input/Output Centre locations.

For computer courses:

•Commonwealth Academy, 640 High Rd., Leytonstone, E11 3AA, above the Zulus Bar, Tel: 020 8539 3594

•Lizard Learning, Turn Pike Lane, 16-20 High Rd., Wood Green, London, N22 6BX, Tel: 020 8888 8390

Other branches:

•68 Marchmont St., Russell Square, London, WC1N 1AB, Tel: 020 8888 8390

•248-250 Lavender Hill, Clapham, London, SW11 1LJ, Tel: 020 8888 8390

•London College of Business & Computing 206 Cambridge Heath Rd., London, E2 9 NQ, Tel: 020 8973 4193

Postal & Courier Services

The postal service in London and throughout the UK is excellent and guarantees first-class delivery on the next working day. Letters to South Africa take between four and seven days. A first-class stamp for a letter in the UK costs 28p (and 20p second class).

Cost: (International to South Africa)

•10 gram letter – 47 p

•20 gram letter – 68 p

•40 gram letter - £1.05

•60 gram letter - £1.42

•80 gram letter - £1.79

•Post card – 42 p

The Trafalgar Square Branch is the only Post Office that stays open until late:

Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Fri 8h30am-8pm, Sat 9am-8pm.

*24 - 28 William IV St., WC2 4DL. )020 7484 9304

This Post Office is also the city’s Poste Restante collection point.

Courier Services

•Federal Express, Tel: 0800 123 800 (next day delivery)

•Parcel Force, Tel: 0800 224466

•TNT, Tel: 020 7231 0455

Telephone Services

All telephone numbers changed on 14 October 2000 from the old codes of 0171 and 0181 to the new code of 020. If you bump into an old number starting with the old code, simply use 020 as the code and if the old code contains a 7 (as in 0171), then put the 7 in front of the number (and like-wise when it contains an 8). 0171 657 865 therefore changes to 020 7657 865.

To make an international call from London, you need to dial 00 (0027 for South Africa), then the country code, then the area or town code (without the initial 0 if there is one, i.e. Pretoria becomes 12 instead of 012) followed by the number. Bear in mind that it is cheaper to make international calls after 8pm.

Operator: Dial 100 if you have any queries about the following:

•You have difficulty dialing;

•To make a credit card call;

•¡If you want to know about the cost of a call;

•For an alarm call;

•Help with international person-to-person calls.

Dial 155 for reverse charge calls (collect calls). This service is very expen-sive. Don’t punish your nearest and dearest by doing this unnecessarily.

Directory Enquiries

Dial 118 888, 118 111 or 118 000 for enquiries about any number in Britain, and 153 for International number enquiries, £2 per call. Directory enquiries from a public call box are free, while they are fairly expensive from a private phone. Only one number allowed per call.

Talking Pages

This service is free and available 24 hours a day. Numbers of thousands of businesses in the UK are listed. Dial 0800 600 900 for enquiries.

Mobile Phone Services

Not having a mobile phone in London is quite a rarity, but whether you are on a contract or pay-as-you-go, it is not exactly a luxury that will do your purse any good. To get a contract you will need to provide proof of address as well as bank statements (in most cases). When they hear that old South Efriken accent they get even more cautious, since the standing rule is normally that you should be a resident of the UK to be entitled to take out a contract. Pay-as-you-go is obviously an option, but you will not always get the best phones included in the package and the call rates are really ridiculous. Carphone Warehouse claims to provide you with independent advice, so be on the look out for any of their branches if you are interested in getting yourself a mobile phone. In London it's not really a yuppie thing and can definitely make life a bit easier.

To bring a phone in from South Africa, you will have to make arrangements with your network provider. You will most likely be charged for incoming and outgoing calls.

Free SMS messages to South Africa

You can now send free SMS messages to your friends in SA by using the Internet. Just log onto www.mtn.co.za and register your friends’ mobile numbers and you’re ready to go. Even easier: type the number in on your mobile phone followed by @mtn.co.za. Vodafone has a similar service, as does www.breath.com. You need not to register any numbers on www.vodacom.co.za, but then you can only send SMSs to a Vodacom sub-scriber.

Lost & Stolen Credit Cards

Lost or stolen credit cards should be reported to the police as soon as possible, as well as to the relevant institution.

•American Express Card, Tel: 01273 696933

•Barclaycard, Tel: 01604 230230

•Diners Club Card, Tel: 01252 513500

•International Eurocard/Mastercard, Tel: 0800 964767

•International Visa, Tel: 0800 895082

•Lloyds TSB, Tel: 0800 096 9779

•NatWest, Tel: 01132 778899