DENVER — As the Denver Broncos prepare to play the New York Jets in London on Sunday, a large group of English-born Coloradans is offering some tips to fans who make the trip to the game.
The British Girls in Denver is a social group made up of hundreds of women who are from England but call Colorado home.
- Denver7’s Micah Smith took some of the suggestions to heart and explored London with their recommendations during our coverage leading up to the game. Watch in the video below.
Micah Smith, who is in London for the game, spoke with Martine Walker, a member of British Girls in Denver.
“Originally from London, and I was married, and we had our first child, and we were kind of thinking, what should we do?" she explained. "My husband's mother was American. He had dual nationality. We read something about Colorado in a magazine, and about a month later, we moved here."
For member Sylvia Lambe, love brought her to the Mile High City as well.
“I'm from South London," she said. "I've been in Denver for like, eight years now, and I originally came here because years ago, I met a guy who was just in a bar in London. And he said he was from Denver, living in New York, but working in London, and we started dating, blah, blah, blah. To cut a really long story short, he moved to the UK. We got married, and unfortunately, in 2016 he had a massive heart attack and he died. However, we had a child, and cultural identity is a big thing for me. And I said, 'You know what, when life gives you lemons, let's try and make some lemonade.' We picked up ourselves and went to Denver the next year, and have loved it, and it's been a great place of healing."
- Denver7's Micah Smith and Nick Rothschild are in London this week, and we're chronicling their adventures in the story below. They'll be meeting up with Broncos Country and exploring the city ahead of Sunday morning's game.
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A partner’s career move led British Girls in Denver member Nicky Fleming to Colorado.
“I am from southwest of London. In Surrey… It's in the suburbs of London. So, as the crow flies, probably about a 50-minute journey to central London. We've been here 12 years," she said. "My husband was the announcer for the Colorado Rapids for 10 years, and now he works for USA archery. So, we're here because of his job, and we came for two years, and 12 years later, we're still here. I absolutely love it."
All three shared some of their best suggestions for activities while visiting their home country.
“You have to do fish and chips while you're in London, so pretty much any pub,” Walker said. “And then, of course, I think you should go to Brick Lane for a curry. So, that's the east side of London, and England's favorite dish is chicken tikka masala.”
Walker also suggested visitors take a hop-on, hop-off bus tour.
“Which will take you all over London," she explained. "And it really, I think it's one of the first things you should do, because it really gives you your bearings."
Lambe agreed with the hop-on, hop-off bus tour suggestions and had other transportation and historic place tips.
“Shakespeare had the Globe Theater, which is on the Thames River. ... I think the hop-on, hop-off bus is an amazing idea," she said. "But also get on a boat — a river boat. And you can go along the Thames River and just jump, jump off. You can go to South Bank, which has lots of museums and art places, like the Tate Gallery is there."
Lambe said October is also Black History Month in the United Kingdom.
“There's Cash Black, which is a market that's happening in Camden, which is famous for all its second-hand stuff, and all the things are going to be Black-owned businesses and everything you can go there,” Lambe said. “Definitely go to Brixton, which I would say is the Harlem of Europe, where you can find everything from yams, bananas, green bananas, salt fish, very authentic Caribbean and African food as well. And also, it has a museum Black Cultural archives that is in Brixton, which is quite new.”
Fleming suggested getting outside of London for a day or two.
“Another place that is easy to access from London is Windsor Castle, that's very famous for lots of weddings," Fleming said. "It's beautiful, and it's a really, really picturesque town that you can walk through. The shops are fabulous as well. You can walk down to the river, get a little rowing boat, take a drink on the boat and have a picnic on the boat. If you'd like, you can also walk across the bridge to Eton, which is where all the Royals went to school."
Fleming, Lambe, and Walker said there is so much to do in the London area it can be impossible to do everything, but they hope Broncos fans who visit take in as much of the city as possible.
