London

London Marathon chief executive Nick Bitel said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened and shocked by the news from Boston". After the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, were you present at the London marathon to show your support or were you concerned about your own safety?

The media have concentrated their focus on the Boston Marathon in the last week. The news came to me on the many social networks. The web community seemed really affected, and has sent their prayers to the family and friends of the victims and injured.

Were the runners of the London Marathon scared? What about the hundreds of thousands of spectators? I do not know. One sure thing is that the Marathon did not get cancelled. The race from Greenwich Park to the mall (a 26 mile run) is a celebration for all running amateurs, passionate sportspeople and talents who take part in the event. It is a day of enjoyment planned every year.

Security was rearranged for the event as London mayor Boris Johnson had spoken to police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe "about the possibility of extra security for the London Marathon" for prudence. No less than 36,000 runners participated in the event.

Erik Redli is a university graduate from Slovakia who is currently living in London. Each week he gives his view on the events of the last seven days. This week, he looks at migration policy, binge drinking and feminism.

Free Online Educational Courses

A new craze is sweeping education, with free online educational courses called MOOCS growing in popularity. 

"Many graduates boast about their university degree certificate. But most employers look at your skills and what the prospective employee can bring to the company. If you earn money, no one will dig into where you learnt your skills. Therefore the main asset of education should be the skills and knowledge, not the piece of paper.

I think these online courses hit on the fact that a degree does not automatically stand for knowledge. For example, I completed two courses recently. Although I did not earn the certificates (the maths too difficult for me), I learned a lot of new things that I have already used in my life and job. This makes for a good excuse for the large percentage of students who do not complete their courses. They took what they needed and left the certificates for the academics.

I am not going to lie, sometimes I feel homesick even if I am not so far away from where I came from. And when I do feel homesick, I ring my mum; I mean it is only a two-hour flight. I miss the sun, the essence of citrus fruits and nature that floats in the air. I miss French bread too. But London, London... I can't even find the right words to describe this city.

London is more of a visual, artistic city. It is a multicultural city where many languages are mixed up. I rarely hear English, in fact I hear French everywhere I go. And whenever I go out somewhere people always tell me that I am the first French person they've ever met in London. Now that's impossible! Cultures have taken over the city and meander in the famous branded stores, the most popular streets, the coffee shops, pubs and clubs. International people have even taken over the gym I go to. The only language that we have in common is English. Oh, and the graffiti too!

London is amazing- I came here to improve my English speaking and writing skills, but to be honest, I have learned about many other cultures, and I now know a few words in several languages. London is an encyclopedia and a history manual all in one.

As the UK starts to descend into chaos ahead of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, thousands of families will be hitting the road to spend some quality time with one another.

We've searched the web to find its very own hidden easter egg gems and present to you the top 5 ways to cope with this hectic time of the year:

A recent report has revealed that people in London are eating more and more unhealthily as living costs continue to increase. Here Erik gives his view on this growing problem.

"Better quality foods are often more expensive, as well as often the healthier options. For example, a box of chips with two spicy chicken wings costs £1.50 at my local fast-food place, but when I asked for rice, which is healthier than chips, they wanted to charge me £4. No wonder many people do not have any other option than to just to live unhealthily.

Or bring their own food, which is often impractical, and unusual in the eyes of the consumer society. Recently, I saw a man open a sachet of instant soup and add to it hot water from a flask, right in one of the London's shopping malls. Way to go, but I thought him weird and would not like to be viewed as such. No one would. And therefore we choose rather to be the victims of fast-food than public disdain.