goddesstogo and mr. goddess's big London adventure (an ongoing tale)
Dec 4th, 2010, 03:50 AM
#681
Do they think that shoppers can't figure out how to get in? And when the stores are cold, it sure doesn't encourage me to try things on. >>
probably no-one can be a...ed to close the doors! we're a funny lot.
probably no-one can be a...ed to close the doors! we're a funny lot.
Dec 4th, 2010, 07:04 AM
#682
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"So...a chav. Jonathan's friends told me it comes from CHelsea AVerage and it's a person (usually a girl, I think) who wears lots of cheap bling and designer knock-offs."
Never heard that one before, this is nearer the mark:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav
Never heard that one before, this is nearer the mark:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav
Dec 4th, 2010, 09:04 AM
#684
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Well, there you go, Hooameye. I'll pass that bit of wikiwisdom along to J's friends. (I think I just coined a word.)
A friend sent me that article, muskoka, and I wrote her back saying that I was pleased that we'd been to most of the places mentioned, some of them several times. And the #11 bus runs right past our house and it's a regular for us! I wish you were here too -- we'd have dinner!
A friend sent me that article, muskoka, and I wrote her back saying that I was pleased that we'd been to most of the places mentioned, some of them several times. And the #11 bus runs right past our house and it's a regular for us! I wish you were here too -- we'd have dinner!
Dec 4th, 2010, 10:17 AM
#685
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Oops, wrong about that bus -- it's the C11 that runs here, not the #11. It's the 139 that takes us from home to Trafalgar Square and beyond. The 328 is good too.
One of these buses goes to World's End. What's there?
One of these buses goes to World's End. What's there?
Dec 4th, 2010, 03:24 PM
#687
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Well, that sounds unexciting, Patrick. Why is it called World's End?
We had a busy and fun day today. We went back to Greenwich because when we were there a couple of months ago, we went to the Naval Museum and the Observatory but didn't get much of a chance to see the town centre so that's what we did today. Plus we wanted to go to the market. Because we'd taken the boat there last time, we just took the quicker route -- Jubilee line to Canary Wharf and then the DLR to Greenwich. The market was great. There were many craft tables and the shops around the perimeter where nice too. I saw lots of stuff I could have happily bought but didn't buy anything at all. I was very tempted, though, by a print in the little gallery there. The food at the market looked fabulous but there's no place to sit and eat and I'm not inclined to have lunch standing up. So we end up having 'standing-up crepes' for breakfast and putting off lunch and mid-afternoon we had an eggy lunch in a little cafe on the high street.
On the way back, we took Jonathan's advice and made sure we saw Canary Wharf. We even took some time to browse the shopping centre there and it was jam-packed with shoppers and kids. At first I thought it was just the corridor leading to the Waitrose store but when we walked the other way I realized there's a whole multi-storey mall there! They seem to be doing well, if I can judge by the hordes of people that were there today.
Dinner at home tonight and then we went dancing. This was the same place (the City Firefly Bar) that we went to when we first came here but now I have a much better understanding of where it is -- just a block or so away from St. Paul's and about five minutes walk from jamikin's office. We had a great time. When we weren't actually dancing, we had fun watching the wonderful dancers that were there. It's really a fun evening and a nice crowd of people and if you like to dance you should give it a try.
And that's it...I'm danced out and am going to bed so I can re-energize to do a little Christmas shopping tomorrow.
We had a busy and fun day today. We went back to Greenwich because when we were there a couple of months ago, we went to the Naval Museum and the Observatory but didn't get much of a chance to see the town centre so that's what we did today. Plus we wanted to go to the market. Because we'd taken the boat there last time, we just took the quicker route -- Jubilee line to Canary Wharf and then the DLR to Greenwich. The market was great. There were many craft tables and the shops around the perimeter where nice too. I saw lots of stuff I could have happily bought but didn't buy anything at all. I was very tempted, though, by a print in the little gallery there. The food at the market looked fabulous but there's no place to sit and eat and I'm not inclined to have lunch standing up. So we end up having 'standing-up crepes' for breakfast and putting off lunch and mid-afternoon we had an eggy lunch in a little cafe on the high street.
On the way back, we took Jonathan's advice and made sure we saw Canary Wharf. We even took some time to browse the shopping centre there and it was jam-packed with shoppers and kids. At first I thought it was just the corridor leading to the Waitrose store but when we walked the other way I realized there's a whole multi-storey mall there! They seem to be doing well, if I can judge by the hordes of people that were there today.
Dinner at home tonight and then we went dancing. This was the same place (the City Firefly Bar) that we went to when we first came here but now I have a much better understanding of where it is -- just a block or so away from St. Paul's and about five minutes walk from jamikin's office. We had a great time. When we weren't actually dancing, we had fun watching the wonderful dancers that were there. It's really a fun evening and a nice crowd of people and if you like to dance you should give it a try.
And that's it...I'm danced out and am going to bed so I can re-energize to do a little Christmas shopping tomorrow.
Dec 4th, 2010, 11:52 PM
#688
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"<i>One of these buses goes to World's End. What's there?</i>"
But just before World's End the buses go down King's Road, one of the nicer shopping streets in London - and while there are a lot of chain stores, there still are quite a few independent ones. It could be worth getting off at Sloane Sq and heading West.
But just before World's End the buses go down King's Road, one of the nicer shopping streets in London - and while there are a lot of chain stores, there still are quite a few independent ones. It could be worth getting off at Sloane Sq and heading West.
Dec 5th, 2010, 12:12 AM
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As far as I know, the bus stop took the name of the pub. Why a pub took that name, I don't know. I'm guessing that it's because it's at the end of the King's Road as it was first created - a private road made for Charles II and limited to the favoured few until the early 19th century - and thus in its day the outer limit of London.
Dec 6th, 2010, 03:24 PM
#692
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Oh jamie, do that! You'll have such a good time. The City Firefly Club has dancing on three floors. The top floor has old rock and roll, the middle floor has dance lessons, and the downstairs has swing and that's where we usually are. You can stop in at any of the floors over the course of the evening.
Today I took SO out for lunch at Villandry on Great Portland Street. I'd gone there last month with my friend and her daughter and liked it and SO hadn't yet explored the Marlybone High Street area, so I thought we'd start there. We had lunch this time in the bar area instead of the more formal restaurant and both of us enjoyed our meals very much. I had a wonderful sweetcorn and watercress soup -- two of my favourite things!
After lunch we wandered down Marlybone High Street stopping in stores here and there, and walked farther down Marlybone than I did last time, to Wigmore and then found a very charming little laneway called St. Christopher Place/Gees Court. I'd passed by the almost-invisible entrance to that on Oxford Street about a million times without noticing it. At that point, SO had to go off to the gym and I window-shopped at Selfridges for a while, trying to find something to get my goddaughter for her birthday. People who have birthdays at Christmas time are a special pain in the butt -- I have a hard enough time thinking of one present for anyone and for her I have to think of two! Anyway, I saw lots of nice stuff but nothing struck me as perfect, so I'll let it go for now.
Tonight we had a really special evening. My friend's daughter (the one I went to Villandry with) works for an art gallery called Phillips de Pury and she invited us to a charity 'do' they were having tonight. It was called ArtStars and it was an auction in support of teenage cancer research. The gallery is huge and the 'star' paintings were fun. One of them sold for 5000 pounds and most of the others sold for several thousand. There were also smaller artstars for sale by silent auction. Most of the other pieces hanging in the gallery were fabulous photos of musicians -- the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Jim Morrison,Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and more -- all the great famous photographs and lots we'd never seen before. We wished our great rock 'n' roll pals from home were with us -- they would have loved it, but we're taking the catalogue home for them. Oh and there was also a great display of all the album jackets that Andy Warhol had done.
It was a really fun party with lots of good nibbles being walked around, lots of drinks, plain and fancy (I stuck with champagne), lots of very fashionable people, and a rock band but I don't know who they were. I didn't see any celebrities, of course I never recognize them anyway, but there were certainly lots of people there who looked like celebrities and who were getting there pictures taken by photographers. It's very funny to have a photographer look at you and in a split-second (you can actually see it happen in their face) decide that you're Not Anybody, and move along.
It was very nice to be invited, so thanks to a sweet girl for that.
Tomorrow I'll have to make up for all this glamour by going to the laundromat.
Today I took SO out for lunch at Villandry on Great Portland Street. I'd gone there last month with my friend and her daughter and liked it and SO hadn't yet explored the Marlybone High Street area, so I thought we'd start there. We had lunch this time in the bar area instead of the more formal restaurant and both of us enjoyed our meals very much. I had a wonderful sweetcorn and watercress soup -- two of my favourite things!
After lunch we wandered down Marlybone High Street stopping in stores here and there, and walked farther down Marlybone than I did last time, to Wigmore and then found a very charming little laneway called St. Christopher Place/Gees Court. I'd passed by the almost-invisible entrance to that on Oxford Street about a million times without noticing it. At that point, SO had to go off to the gym and I window-shopped at Selfridges for a while, trying to find something to get my goddaughter for her birthday. People who have birthdays at Christmas time are a special pain in the butt -- I have a hard enough time thinking of one present for anyone and for her I have to think of two! Anyway, I saw lots of nice stuff but nothing struck me as perfect, so I'll let it go for now.
Tonight we had a really special evening. My friend's daughter (the one I went to Villandry with) works for an art gallery called Phillips de Pury and she invited us to a charity 'do' they were having tonight. It was called ArtStars and it was an auction in support of teenage cancer research. The gallery is huge and the 'star' paintings were fun. One of them sold for 5000 pounds and most of the others sold for several thousand. There were also smaller artstars for sale by silent auction. Most of the other pieces hanging in the gallery were fabulous photos of musicians -- the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Jim Morrison,Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and more -- all the great famous photographs and lots we'd never seen before. We wished our great rock 'n' roll pals from home were with us -- they would have loved it, but we're taking the catalogue home for them. Oh and there was also a great display of all the album jackets that Andy Warhol had done.
It was a really fun party with lots of good nibbles being walked around, lots of drinks, plain and fancy (I stuck with champagne), lots of very fashionable people, and a rock band but I don't know who they were. I didn't see any celebrities, of course I never recognize them anyway, but there were certainly lots of people there who looked like celebrities and who were getting there pictures taken by photographers. It's very funny to have a photographer look at you and in a split-second (you can actually see it happen in their face) decide that you're Not Anybody, and move along.
It was very nice to be invited, so thanks to a sweet girl for that.
Tomorrow I'll have to make up for all this glamour by going to the laundromat.
Dec 6th, 2010, 04:41 PM
#693
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Stil living the glamourous life in West Hampstead then.
St Christopher's Place is a lovely little respite from the madness of Oxford Street with some fantastic restaurants.
I love the British Museum! I usually stay within walking distance to it and love to go in the evening when it's open late. And the first time in London, we stopped off for a pint at the Museum Tavern, because being a Sherlock fan, it's the tavern featured in the "Blue Carbuncle". Though Doyle changed the name to the Alpha House.
St Christopher's Place is a lovely little respite from the madness of Oxford Street with some fantastic restaurants.
I love the British Museum! I usually stay within walking distance to it and love to go in the evening when it's open late. And the first time in London, we stopped off for a pint at the Museum Tavern, because being a Sherlock fan, it's the tavern featured in the "Blue Carbuncle". Though Doyle changed the name to the Alpha House.
Dec 7th, 2010, 12:34 AM
#694
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The glamorous life in London is soon coming to an end. I'm already getting emails from work colleagues updating me about things happening there. I don't go back to work till the beginning of January but I'm already feeling stressed about it. 
One of the things I love about the British Museum -- all the museums here, in fact, is that you can just pop in to see a gallery every now and then without cost. The museums at home are expensive and that doesn't encourage casual visiting, especially if you want to pop in with your kids.
One of the things I love about the British Museum -- all the museums here, in fact, is that you can just pop in to see a gallery every now and then without cost. The museums at home are expensive and that doesn't encourage casual visiting, especially if you want to pop in with your kids.
Dec 8th, 2010, 10:23 AM
#697
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Well, not a very exciting couple of days to report, I'm afraid. Yesterday I met SO at the British Library and I got there a little before the appointed time so that I could take a few minutes and add my voice to the voice bank of the Evolving English exhibit. I like the idea that my accent will be analyzed and added to their body of data. You just sit in a little booth-ette and pick up a telephone receiver and then the recording walks you through it. You say where you're from and then read a children's story that's left in the booth for you. The whole thing takes about 10 minutes.
We were at the library to attend a Christmas event which was a science quiz which turned out not to be as much fun as we thought so we left before it was over. I did come home with a stuffed turtle but not as a result of knowing a science fact -- I got it for knowing that one of the Ninja Turtles was named Raphael. It will get taken home and given to the baby of the family. Afterwards we had dinner in the Novotel (the one next to the library) dining room and it was very good.
Today SO went off to Paris to visit a friend (he'll be back tomorrow) and I went off to Brent Cross shopping mall to do some Christmas shopping. What a boring day. I decided to go to a movie and the choice would be based on the scientific method of what was starting when I got there and that turned out to be Unstoppable. Don't waste your money. It's definitely not as much fun or as thrilling as Speed. Now I'm home and chatting with you. Tomorrow I'm going to do the Kensington London Walk.
We were at the library to attend a Christmas event which was a science quiz which turned out not to be as much fun as we thought so we left before it was over. I did come home with a stuffed turtle but not as a result of knowing a science fact -- I got it for knowing that one of the Ninja Turtles was named Raphael. It will get taken home and given to the baby of the family. Afterwards we had dinner in the Novotel (the one next to the library) dining room and it was very good.
Today SO went off to Paris to visit a friend (he'll be back tomorrow) and I went off to Brent Cross shopping mall to do some Christmas shopping. What a boring day. I decided to go to a movie and the choice would be based on the scientific method of what was starting when I got there and that turned out to be Unstoppable. Don't waste your money. It's definitely not as much fun or as thrilling as Speed. Now I'm home and chatting with you. Tomorrow I'm going to do the Kensington London Walk.
Dec 9th, 2010, 01:49 PM
#698
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Today I went on the Kensington London Walk and found it the least interesting of all so far. The leader was mostly interested in the architecture (e.g. how to tell the age of a building from the window sashes) but still and all, it was a nice walk. I'm always fascinated by the fact that once you step ten feet off the High Street, wherever you are, you're in a charming village of shops and houses. We stopped into an art gallery called Gallery 19 to get a bit of a chat from the owner/artist and I saw so many paintings there that I liked. They weren't very expensive either, so I'm thinking of going back and talking to him about sending framed art home. We stopped into St. Mary Abbots church for a look-around and then out the door on the other side towards Kensington Church Walk and Holland Street. The walk ended up at Kensington Palace. Does anyone know why there's a mirror on the palace gates? Our tour guide didn't know.
I stopped in at Whole Foods to get something for dinner tonight (a rare event, me cooking, but SO was coming home from Paris so it was a little celebratory). It's a huge store and didn't seem very busy but then it was the middle of a weekday. Still, the rent there must be killer. I also bought shoes at Clarke's across the street -- two pair of ballet flats exactly the same except for the colour, one red and one blue. I don't like shoe shopping so when I see something I like that fits, feels good and is a good price, I like to buy more than one pair and I'd been looking for navy flats and have always wanted red ones. So...a coup.
Tomorrow I'm taking SO out for the afternoon. I want to go to the Wolsely for a late-ish lunch. We couldn't get a reservation but I know that there are tables that remain unreserved and if you're willing to wait, you can get one. Then at the suggestion of hsv, I'm going to take him to Dukes Hotel on St. James Place for a martini. Then I think we'll see if we can get returned tickets for the Bill Bailey show.
I stopped in at Whole Foods to get something for dinner tonight (a rare event, me cooking, but SO was coming home from Paris so it was a little celebratory). It's a huge store and didn't seem very busy but then it was the middle of a weekday. Still, the rent there must be killer. I also bought shoes at Clarke's across the street -- two pair of ballet flats exactly the same except for the colour, one red and one blue. I don't like shoe shopping so when I see something I like that fits, feels good and is a good price, I like to buy more than one pair and I'd been looking for navy flats and have always wanted red ones. So...a coup.
Tomorrow I'm taking SO out for the afternoon. I want to go to the Wolsely for a late-ish lunch. We couldn't get a reservation but I know that there are tables that remain unreserved and if you're willing to wait, you can get one. Then at the suggestion of hsv, I'm going to take him to Dukes Hotel on St. James Place for a martini. Then I think we'll see if we can get returned tickets for the Bill Bailey show.
Dec 9th, 2010, 10:26 PM
#699
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>>Does anyone know why there's a mirror on the palace gates? Our tour guide didn't know. <<
Presumably we're not talking the kind of mirror for drivers to check there's nothing round the corner? In which case, might it be to give visitors a chance for a last check their hat's on straight before visiting royalty, or something of that sort?
Presumably we're not talking the kind of mirror for drivers to check there's nothing round the corner? In which case, might it be to give visitors a chance for a last check their hat's on straight before visiting royalty, or something of that sort?
Dec 10th, 2010, 01:14 AM
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No, Patrick, not one of those big curved traffic mirrors. I didn't get a good look at it since we were standing a bit away and it was already getting dark but it seemed to be a flat mirror set at 'human' height and it had a sort of pretend frame around it. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it was a mirror at all. Maybe it was a sign or something with a shiny plastic overlay. Maybe we'll get back there and I'll take a better look.
