Hi everybody!

We'll be in London for 2 weeks in November, and I thought it would be fun to buy a garden gnome while I'm there. I'm looking specifically for gnomes in the same style as those featured in the movie "The Full Monty." I haven't had any luck finding gnomes in the right style on the net or here in the Boston area.

The problem here in Boston, I suspect, is that it's too urban to have any good sources of tacky lawn stuff. I might run into the same problem in London, but I thought I'd ask if anyone has seen garden/home shops in London selling gnomes.
I don't have a lawn or a garden, but I do have the perfect niche in a stairwell waiting for a gnome...

TIA

Don't know where in London but there is a lovely shop in Ironbridge on the banks of the Severn with dozens of every size and shape. Have you seen "Amelie"? A gnome is featured in one of the Fawlty Towers episodes also.

motorgirl. Several years ago. here in a burb of Boston, a guy stole his aunt's gnome and photographed it around the world, sending post cards from it. After the trip it was sent home in a limo with a bottle of champagne. The nephew was all all the talk shows including Letterman and the Today show. I suspect this inspired the writer of Amelie. Only last year, dozens of kidnapped gnomes were found in a forest clearing in Belguim where there is a gnome club.So maybe try our yellow pages> I'll repost if I find anything for you. mimi in Boston

You might try the Conrad shop. I believe they used to have them. Otherwise, the CASA chain in France has them at the moment

www.freethegnomes.com
this is the club I mentioned.
www.krupps.com has a selection as do dozens on google for "garden gnomes".
bon chance!

I think I saw garden gnomes at the local Walgreens recently. (I may be incorrectly assuming that Walgreens is a national chain). Don't know what material they were made from. Probably not as exciting as picking one up in London (but a lot easier to get back to your garden).

Lots of gnomes on ebay. Much easier than carrying them back!

Buy one at Target, pretend it came from London, and scratch out the "Made in Taiwan" marker on the bottom!

if you'll have a car you can buy one here.
http://www.gnomereserve.co.uk

If you're a typical visitor, your quest is likely to be in vain.

Gnomes are for suburban gardens. The British term for the place you buy them is "garden centre" - by definition, a kind of store that's located where land, and car parking, is cheap. London's periphery and provincial England temm with them, but few are handy for a visitor in a Central London hotel, dependent on public transport. There are a couple in the centre, and you might have fun with Yellow Pages when you arrive.

Or try the gardening depts at Harrods and Selfridges. The major Home Improvement chains (B&Q and Homebase) stock them sometimes. I can't think of any B&Q branches near the tourist trails, but you might try Homebase in Warwick Rd, London W14.

Whatever you do, don't buy a Gnome with learning difficulties.

It's not big and it's not clever.