A Fine Day in London
Sarah wanted a weekend of downtime, and Margo was happy to oblige, so I took a day out in London today. But you won't see any pictures because I was lazy and wanted to travel lightly.
I was hoping for my usual Saturday morning cuppa at The Coffee Link, but I was up before they opened so instead I caught an 8:30 train, arriving at Liverpool Street around 9:30.
My first destination was a coffee house a few blocks away in Spitalfields, but they weren't open yet! It looked like they didn't open until 10. This boggled my uncaffeinated mind. So I made my way to Brick Lane on the way to my next destination, Rough Trade East; across the way was Cafe 1001 where I got my coffee and pastry.
Rough Trade East is the closest I've yet found to a Portland-style (Everyday Music, Music Millennium) music store in the UK. It's the largest independent store in London, as far as I know, and it serves coffee, has comfy chairs, has listening stations, and showcases local music via posters and flyers. Only it has a much lesser selection and no used music.
Walking back to Liverpool Street Station, without even looking, I was accosted by more examples of Portland's ubiquity. A shop sold Nikes restyled from the 1970s, prominently displaying their roots in Beaverton, Oregon. Inside on the walls I found the black-and-white Andre The Giant iconography found at Bishops Barbershops. A block further I came across the London office of Portland advertisers Weiden + Kennedy. Peering in the windows I saw the usual multiple wall clocks of a multinational corporation, but was chuffed to see Portland's time labeled on the far left.
Then I took the unusually-crowded Central line to Oxford Street to browse the HMV store. Next I walked through Soho to Charing Cross Road and Foyle's Books, catching up on the latest software development titles and browsing the guides to pubs in London and Suffolk.
I've been in the Covent Gardens area (especially the Seven Corners) but not to the Covent Gardens itself: a large building housing about three arcades covered in arched glass, joined by perpendicular entryways, and surrounded by cobblestones, the largest I've seen in London. It must be quite an old market. Most of the current tenants seem to be of recent fashion, however. Outside and within the market were found lots of street performers, including several frozen statue guys who would move when given coin; a very impressive human beatbox who seemed about 10 years old; and an opera singer. I also came across the London Transport Museum. The Musuem was temporarily closed, but the gift shop was open, and I was struck with childlike glee at seeing model buses for sale. Yes, die-cast metal buses, 1/76 scale, £30 each, but still, I want one and may come back for one some day. There are replicas of London buses, Colchester buses, and First services in Norfolk, but sadly I saw none for Ipswich.
When I walk in London I have a smile on my face because there's so much neat stuff to browse available within just a few blocks of each other. As an example, I will mention that minutes later I had walked to Trafalgar Square, watched some public performances related to the London Week of Peace, and was soon inside the National Gallery looking at paintings of the Suffolk countryside by John Constable.
After more wandering, I made my way to Charing Cross Station and crossed the footbridge to the south bank of the Thames to begin taking in the Thames Festival, a collection of performances and food and drink along the waterfront all weekend.
Making my way east, I met up with work mate Alessio and his partner Andrea at London Bridge. By this time there was much congestion along the south bank so we crossed to the north bank and made our way to the Southwark Bridge to get some food and drink.
The Southwark bridge was closed to all but pedestrian traffic. As the sun lowered in the early evening, we browsed the food and drink stalls, passing bridge sections alternately decorated with wooden casks for apple bobbing; artificial turf; and sand. Yes, sand, on a bridge, over the Thames. It was lovely. I ended up with a chicken tikka masala with a regional strong cider (not very tasty, unfortunately, but strong as promised) and we gazed at the Thames and all its sights in the waning sun, on a bridge with sand on it and no cars, and life was good.
We parted here as I wanted to return to Ipswich before dark. On the walk back across the bridge I passed a sharp-suited band playing (without amplification) joyous Klezmer music (I think; the kind that has oboes and clarinets and tubas and, on every eighth beat, a hearty shout of "Hey!"), and life remained quite good.
Racing across Essex in my train home, I spied nine hot air balloons in the setting sun. I dialled up Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks on my iPod. And life was still quite good.
I was hoping for my usual Saturday morning cuppa at The Coffee Link, but I was up before they opened so instead I caught an 8:30 train, arriving at Liverpool Street around 9:30.
My first destination was a coffee house a few blocks away in Spitalfields, but they weren't open yet! It looked like they didn't open until 10. This boggled my uncaffeinated mind. So I made my way to Brick Lane on the way to my next destination, Rough Trade East; across the way was Cafe 1001 where I got my coffee and pastry.
Rough Trade East is the closest I've yet found to a Portland-style (Everyday Music, Music Millennium) music store in the UK. It's the largest independent store in London, as far as I know, and it serves coffee, has comfy chairs, has listening stations, and showcases local music via posters and flyers. Only it has a much lesser selection and no used music.
Walking back to Liverpool Street Station, without even looking, I was accosted by more examples of Portland's ubiquity. A shop sold Nikes restyled from the 1970s, prominently displaying their roots in Beaverton, Oregon. Inside on the walls I found the black-and-white Andre The Giant iconography found at Bishops Barbershops. A block further I came across the London office of Portland advertisers Weiden + Kennedy. Peering in the windows I saw the usual multiple wall clocks of a multinational corporation, but was chuffed to see Portland's time labeled on the far left.
Then I took the unusually-crowded Central line to Oxford Street to browse the HMV store. Next I walked through Soho to Charing Cross Road and Foyle's Books, catching up on the latest software development titles and browsing the guides to pubs in London and Suffolk.
I've been in the Covent Gardens area (especially the Seven Corners) but not to the Covent Gardens itself: a large building housing about three arcades covered in arched glass, joined by perpendicular entryways, and surrounded by cobblestones, the largest I've seen in London. It must be quite an old market. Most of the current tenants seem to be of recent fashion, however. Outside and within the market were found lots of street performers, including several frozen statue guys who would move when given coin; a very impressive human beatbox who seemed about 10 years old; and an opera singer. I also came across the London Transport Museum. The Musuem was temporarily closed, but the gift shop was open, and I was struck with childlike glee at seeing model buses for sale. Yes, die-cast metal buses, 1/76 scale, £30 each, but still, I want one and may come back for one some day. There are replicas of London buses, Colchester buses, and First services in Norfolk, but sadly I saw none for Ipswich.
When I walk in London I have a smile on my face because there's so much neat stuff to browse available within just a few blocks of each other. As an example, I will mention that minutes later I had walked to Trafalgar Square, watched some public performances related to the London Week of Peace, and was soon inside the National Gallery looking at paintings of the Suffolk countryside by John Constable.
After more wandering, I made my way to Charing Cross Station and crossed the footbridge to the south bank of the Thames to begin taking in the Thames Festival, a collection of performances and food and drink along the waterfront all weekend.
Making my way east, I met up with work mate Alessio and his partner Andrea at London Bridge. By this time there was much congestion along the south bank so we crossed to the north bank and made our way to the Southwark Bridge to get some food and drink.
The Southwark bridge was closed to all but pedestrian traffic. As the sun lowered in the early evening, we browsed the food and drink stalls, passing bridge sections alternately decorated with wooden casks for apple bobbing; artificial turf; and sand. Yes, sand, on a bridge, over the Thames. It was lovely. I ended up with a chicken tikka masala with a regional strong cider (not very tasty, unfortunately, but strong as promised) and we gazed at the Thames and all its sights in the waning sun, on a bridge with sand on it and no cars, and life was good.
We parted here as I wanted to return to Ipswich before dark. On the walk back across the bridge I passed a sharp-suited band playing (without amplification) joyous Klezmer music (I think; the kind that has oboes and clarinets and tubas and, on every eighth beat, a hearty shout of "Hey!"), and life remained quite good.
Racing across Essex in my train home, I spied nine hot air balloons in the setting sun. I dialled up Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks on my iPod. And life was still quite good.
posted by Michael Nelson at 12:33 pm
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