London, classic or dud?

Having visited a number of times now, I do enjoy it the more I get familiar with it -- a mix of up, down and all around. Classic example of where I think it has LA beat (though apparently not NYC) is the transit system -- as I never tire of telling people, Jane complains about it but I think it's just frigging amazing just because you *have* the damn thing. Grass is greener or something. And thanks to her, her friends and the FT/ILx crew I've discovered all sorts of places to go, hang out, have a drink, do record or book shopping, etc., all useful things when visiting a city, I think. ;-) If only it had LA's weather. *sigh*

Just a shame it's the second most expensive city in the world to live in (to Tokyo)... and the public transport system's crap... and the pubs close five hours too early. And I get tired of always having to leave a club early to get the last train back to suburbia.

Apart from that, classic.

Things I'd suggst to improve London:

- Get over Punk, London, and contribute something other than sneery sexless amphetamine aggression to world culture.

- Design London public transport so that it works, please, UK Government. (Fat chance.)

- Demolish British pubs, London suburbs, any and all monuments connected with Royal Family.

- Take popular entertainment (tabloids, broadcasting) out of the hands of the Oxbridge and put it into the hands of - why not? - the people.

- Don't do things in half measures, London! All those Japanese exhibitions and matsuris you had this summer? Just import Tokyo building by building, bicycle by bicycle, and populate it with Japanese art students.

I think Disney has the rights to that franchise.

FWIW, Jane the Glorious (and Scottish) would love to live/work elsewhere, though the main reason simply is the cost of living rather than because of what London is.

I think London needs alternatives to both punks and stupid fucking hippies, neither of which are sexy. At least I am actually in a position to do something about this. Or if I'm feeling sinister, I have been known to launch fake trends to trap fashion vitims.

First things first, a city is defined by the things which are wrong with it. London Transport I think is fucking marvellous considering the number of people it has to cope with and even after twenty year of underfunding it is remarkable. What Dave said above is the key point of London - every Tube station is a new territory. You may sneer (and sneer you did Nick) at suburbia but London does not have one bland suburban belt. London's suburnia is an extraordinary rich thing which starts on the edge of zone 1 and stretches for a fifteen mile radius. Plump me in Sutton and I would notice the difference from Barnet without even opening my eyes.

We've been here before but suffice to say this city never fails to suprise, excite or disappoint me. I'm even slowly coming round to the licencing thing. Let NYC be the city that never sleeps. London soon will be the only city which does sleep. To sleep perchance....

If I dreamt - I would dream of London.

Even prim old Scotland is passing new legislation extending legal drinking hours past midnight. (And they've reverted to state grants for further education rather than the iniquitous English loans system).

Meanwhile, lucky London has just had another 450 CCTV cameras approved. Citizen surveillance, coming soon to a lamp-post near you!

The licence thing: it is not uniquely a London problem. Also bear in mind that I am a licencee who likes knowing when he can go to bed. As I said - I can always get a drink.

'The people'? I don't think this is that helpful. Who, in a capitalist society, are 'the people'? They're not, as far as I can see, a salt-of-the-earth bunch who'll make everything OK - they're everybody, good and bad, in all their complexity. They don't have a single point of view, and they don't really have a single pair of 'hands' into which something like 'popular entertainment' can be put. So how is the idea to be executed?

I may be be barking up the wrong tree here, somewhat. But any talk of giving things 'back to the people' sounds rather like populism of the manipulative (cos hard-to-argue-against) 'People's Princess' variety.

(IMO) nice to visit, but gimme Bilbao, Plzn, Edinburgh or Nijmegen instead.

rest of UK's cities = multicultural too, believe it or not.

Total concentration of brit arts/media/political power in london = probably the most stupid, fucked-up & DUD thing about this country right now, and, sad to say, for the forseeable future.

xoxo

London is to me Classic for all sorts of predictable reasons relating to its history and cultural vitality and depth of humanity, and Dud for the reasons Norman gave: excessive concentration of media there and attitudes of arrogant assumed superiority towards the rest of the UK.

For speed of trains I love Paris; they're so frequent I've never seen them crowded. Nor have I ever been hassled by late-night drunks.

Oh, and re subways - London's at least covers a lot of the city whereas the NYC one (no escalators or elevators making travel hell for families and old people) shirks SO much territory. London's licensing laws may be crap but you don't need to be 21 to drink and can do so openly in the streets unlike the ridiculous hypocrisy of waddling around with a brown paper bag. As for CCTV - has Momus been to areas such as Washington Square where the lamps all have cameras hidden in them?

The train services: needs improvement.

for gigs you do get a variety of things though you also get really shitty venues (does depend on the type of music) and someone needs to stamp this out.

I don't feel that strongly abt pubs (can't remmber ever walking into one throughout my degree) but its a place where FAPs take place so classic for that.

I like Pete's post. but also jel's. Momus comes across as bitter and twisted yet again.

there are too many TERRIBLE pubs in London, thats the problem. but then quantity will always surpass quality in such areas. i also resent having to pay £3 for a beer but still have to get out at 11.20pm - if you're going to charge that much why not let me stay there longer thus drink more/spend more

Classic!

Classic!

Classic!

Classic!

Classic!

Classic!

Classic!

Heh. (You thought you knew what was coming next, didn't you?)

London is my very favorite city. I adore it. I love how efficient the public transportation system is, because it enables me to explore the city without the headache of having to drive through it. (That in itself is a vacation.) I love how much of a walking city it is, affording me the ability to view all of those really cool shops and stores and other buildings. I love how amazingly vibrant the city gets after dark, from the street life to the theater scene to the clubs. I love how much the city seems to value books and reading, as well as other intellectual pursuits. I love the pubs, mostly because of the food (really!) but also because they actually have good beer on tap and know how to serve it. (If they could get me to like their beer, they must be doing something right.) I love the international feel. I love almost everything about it.

I think if I could afford it one day, I would love to have a second residence in London. It was such a perfect fit for me.

So, what can I do in London after a gig while waiting for a train that leaves at 5:47am from Euston?

I purposefully chose that train to avoid needing to get accommodation, so cheap is of the essense here.

Suggestions welcome.

The gig is at the Barbican by the way, so things that get me from there to Euston along the way in the intervening 6+ overnight hours are especially good.

P.S. living to tell the tale with my health and belongs intact is also very much part of the deal!

What day of the week?

Tuesday 6th -> Wednesday 7th

i.e. the gig is Tuesday night, my train leaves just before 6am on the wednesday morning.

Are there any all-night friendly-ish cafes that will harbour me in the Euston vicinity?

This was probably a bad call, especially if you're not up for going clubbing/drinking all night. London has still not got it's lazy arse into gear and become a proper 24hr city.

Gravitate towards Farringdon/Smithfields - it's the only convenient place that will have late night or early morning establishments (often running at the same time). There'll be a number of them serving either early morning workers or late night drinkers.

Also don't hang around Euston, it's a hole.

You could head to Camden, which is about a half hour walk from Euston, and probably find a pub or club which won't kick you out till 3 or so...

you could hang out in the stairwell of my council block, smoking weed and gobbing for Britain with the local hoodies. it's just round the corner from Euston. and cheap.

failing that, you might prefer the 24 hour Starbucks at St Pancras

I wouldn't reccomend Euston area at that time of night. You'd be better off heading towards Shoreditch which is really only 15 minute walk from the Barbican (so long as you don't get lost *in* the Barbican) - christ, it's been so long since I did all night London I can't really remember. But that's more clubbing kind of nightlife. My memory is that things there tend to be free on a Tuesday to get the punters in, but that's 5 years out of date and based on stumbling out of Mother at 4am.

Soho coffee bars? Do they still exist in a 24 hour capacity?

Oh! There is that early morning breadkfast pub around Smithfields for the market, isn't there?

(Sorry, I'll be going to the gig but taking off sharpish after it, as I have to work early the next morning. Unless you want some floor space for a few hours - but I live out in Zone 3.)

24 hour Starbucks at St Pancras

This sounds like a very strong contender. I'm not a clubbing guy, more looking to settle down and wait out the hours somehow.

Thanks Evren Kader, very kind of you, but I'll probably stick to the centre given that it's such an early train.

Ah, yes! There are still 24 hour coffee shops in Soho. This place is a landmark. (way better coffee than Starbucks as well)

http://www.qype.co.uk/place/144121-Bar-Italia-London

There is that early morning breadkfast pub around Smithfields for the market, isn't there?

That's The Hope. Unfortunately it doesn't open until 6am so not much use here.

This might provide a few suggestions though, although dismally few for one of the biggest cities in the world.

Aaah, Tinseltown is the place I was thinking of.

I did this once after a gig and ended up sleeping on a bench by the river. Kept getting hassled by some missionary guy who wanted me to come to his church for a cup of tea and a chat about the direction my life was taking.

there's always... THE SPANISH BAR ....

(words that strike terror into the heart of any dedicated weeknight London drinker)

Here's the St Pancreas Starbucks, which does claim 24 hour opening: http://www.stpancras.com/retailers/coffee-houses/starbucks/

I'd feel very little qualms about settling down there for 6 hours over a single cup of tea, but it seems to be an interesting and useful topic, so keep the suggestions coming for the good of late night London humanity.

i recently discovered this cheap 24hr turkish restaurant in dalston - http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/6612.html - terrific for whiling away some of the early hours. i think my favourite memory of it is when some friends decided they needed to shut down their house party at like 4.30am, but weren't ready to actually stop partying, so they kicked all the randoms out on the basis that everyone was leaving, and a bunch of us went here for a bit, then we went back and continued the party. a friend of mine swears by the lentil soup as a pre-emptive hangover cure.

lol tinseltown. when keri hilson was in london she tweeted asking for 24hr establishments after her show, and ended up there.

twenty four hour turkish food... om nom nom this is starting to sound like the beginning of some strange fantasy of mine.

For those horrible late nights after parties when you fear you're stranded because you haven't seen sight nor sound of a 149 in hours and strong turkish coffee and pretty turkish waiters would make your life so much more comfortabole...

I think there's ice cream place in Soho that's open til way late.

Here's a recent feature from Time Out about all-night London:
http://www.timeout.com/london/aroundtown/features/1682/Summer_nights_in_London_2009.html

oh shit, if only fulham was anywhere i'd want to be in the small hours, i'd be such a regular at this place in the time out guide - http://www.vingtquatre.co.uk/

24 HOUR CHAMPAGNE BREAKFASTS OMGGGGG

i recently discovered this cheap 24hr turkish restaurant in dalston - http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/6612.html - terrific for whiling away some of the early hours. i think my favourite memory of it is when some friends decided they needed to shut down their house party at like 4.30am, but weren't ready to actually stop partying, so they kicked all the randoms out on the basis that everyone was leaving, and a bunch of us went here for a bit, then we went back and continued the party. a friend of mine swears by the lentil soup as a pre-emptive hangover cure.

― lex pretend, Thursday, 10 September 2009

oh...so thats what happened is it?

i know the place lex means and the lentil soup is AMAZING

You could catch a series of nightbuses and kill time by striking up conversations with strangers. People on night buses appreciate this gesture.

yeah for the record don't do this. just in case.

Polite hijack: if you lived near New Barnet train station, you wouldn't say you lived in 'New Barnet' would you? Where would you say you were from? I'm writing a story just now and want my guy to come from an unfashionable but reasonable part of outer North London but can't think of any right now, other than tube stations.

You'd just say you lived in Barnet, probably.

Cockfosters might be a good alternative - it's a funnier name.

Plausible and logical answer that I ought to have predicted, thank you.

totteridge is nearby and has a catchy name

Finchley or Harrow maybe?

Finchley just *sounds* like an utterly boring North London suburb.

yeah Finchley has good cadence for that sort of thing.

It's a bit too posh I think. Plus weren't Wham! from there? Totteridge sounds like an old folks' home. Barnet seems nice and drab.

Is Frognal actually real?

Finchley and Frognal is an overground station. But it's nowhere near Finchley, it's on the Finchley Road in Swiss Cottage.

Plus weren't Wham! from there?

no, Bushey

totteridge is nearby and has a catchy name

And is namechecked by John Lydon in a PiL song to boot

Are there any late night cinemas that aren't porn? Maybe even a midnight showing would waste a few hours that would otherwise be spent getting very bored over a cup of tea...

I should buy a laptop before I go, then I could chronicle my 6 hour wait here on ILX and twitter and facebook posts. You guys would get me through the night, right?

Cup of tea would be cheaper than a laptop, even at London prices

Probably. I need a laptop eventually though, so we shall see.

iPhone's good enough for me, though immeasurably improved by finding wireless. The Leicester Sq cinemas must run late-night showings. Don't stay for the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy though, you'll miss your train

krakow - what are you going to see, btw?

You're going to love it - Magma!

A good time is the only possible result! :-)

dud today: http://content.met.police.uk/News/Central-London-Bomb-Threat/1260268942048/1257246745756

A bomb threat warning has been received relating to central London today. The threat is not specific in relation to location or time.

The threat level from Irish-related terrorism has not increased and remains at substantial meaning that an attack is a strong possibility. The threat level was raised in September 2010 from moderate to substantial.

This is lower than the overall threat to the UK from international terrorism which remains at severe.

what do they think this rubbish means to the public?

meanwhile the threat of being killed by your next door neighbour remains at "ah you know yourself" while the public are warned the chances of a nigerian man running you down in a bus have been increased to "probably could fucking happen all the same..."

So, football tonight then?

i can't tonight actually as i have an audition...last week i was away. next week maybe?

Yup, same time every week. Good luck with your audition.

I think this is just Jedward being sore losers tbh.

i also resent having to pay £3 for a beer

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 18 April 2003 10:32 (8 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

;_;