View Full Version : Favourite road in london
ska invita
28-04-2007, 20:49
Could be anything - the old knet rd, to little back street you grew up in, to petticoat lane - whatever is your personal fav.
I think I'm going to go for Berwick Street in Soho - its just got everything:
http://www.armfield.freeserve.co.uk/images/london/ber_st_sign01.jpg
4 independent record shops
a fruit and veg market
sex shops and brothels
the best selection of fabric shops
a nubmer of weird little old shops doing back 50 years plus, like that one thats four stories tall selling lamps, but the door is always closed
a couple of good pubs
perhaps the best coffee spot in london
fish and chips + nice resteraunts too
definitely the bext mexican food in europe (beach burrito)
lost tourists trying to look natural
fetish gear wholesalers (not open tothe public!)
crack heads
media types
posey art/fashion students
no other street has quite the same atmosphere - i love it.
more on berwick street here:
http://www.armfield.freeserve.co.uk/travel/berwickst.htm
unfortunately its on an oasis cover, but you cant have evrything:
http://static.flickr.com/51/134489691_e605b378ba_m.jpg
Old Kent Road of course. It has the one thing I need, a way back to Kent. ;-)
Big dealing and using area, Berwick St.
Kid_Eternity
28-04-2007, 23:38
Kentish Town High Rd. Nice place.
Used to be Haverstock Hill...
ska invita
29-04-2007, 11:00
Kentish Town High Rd. Nice place.
The problem with Knetish town for me is Kentish Town High Rd - its jsut got too much traffic on it - the place is a road block really.
Owl bookshop is cool - and theres a good indian resteraun (bengal lancer? somthing like that...), but really when I think of Kentish Town High Rd I jsut think of traffic.
I love Kingsway, WC2 in Holborn.
It has a feeling like it was part of a grand project, the buildings are of a similar colonial era, grand and imposing especially Africa House up near Holborn tube with a wonderful carved African rooftop scene.
It is an avenue with planes on either side, Strand tunnel emerges into it. Bush House is the one spectacular focal point at the end, and the seemingly grotty southern end of Southampton Row at the other, just for balance.
You could see it as a moat between the gritty west end and the toffs of Lincolns Inn and City beyond. At night the area turns into hobo central as the feeding schemes dish out food and love to all.
And it has one of the finest left-handers entering Aldwych that one can find on a motorbike or bicycle, fast and challenging, bound to frighten you and the pedestrians.
Yep, it has to be Kingsway.
The problem with Knetish town for me is Kentish Town High Rd - its jsut got too much traffic on it - the place is a road block really.
Owl bookshop is cool - and theres a good indian resteraun (bengal lancer? somthing like that...), but really when I think of Kentish Town High Rd I jsut think of traffic.
You forgot it's fuck all like Kent ;)
maximilian ping
29-04-2007, 18:53
i'm a big street zone 2/3 kinda guy. soho is too irritating to have a good street
1. walthamstow high street
2. stroud green rd
3. kilburn high rd
4. bethnal green high rd
5. chiswick high rd
maximilian ping
29-04-2007, 18:54
Could be anything - the old knet rd, to little back street you grew up in, to petticoat lane - whatever is your personal fav.
I think I'm going to go for Berwick Street in Soho - its just got everything:
http://www.armfield.freeserve.co.uk/images/london/ber_st_sign01.jpg
4 independent record shops
a fruit and veg market
sex shops and brothels
the best selection of fabric shops
a nubmer of weird little old shops doing back 50 years plus, like that one thats four stories tall selling lamps, but the door is always closed
a couple of good pubs
perhaps the best coffee spot in london
fish and chips + nice resteraunts too
definitely the bext mexican food in europe (beach burrito)
lost tourists trying to look natural
fetish gear wholesalers (not open tothe public!)
crack heads
media types
posey art/fashion students
no other street has quite the same atmosphere - i love it.
more on berwick street here:
http://www.armfield.freeserve.co.uk/travel/berwickst.htm
unfortunately its on an oasis cover, but you cant have evrything:
http://static.flickr.com/51/134489691_e605b378ba_m.jpg
the blue posts is my fave pub in soho (not much competition tho)
DJWrongspeed
29-04-2007, 19:26
berwick st, yes , here's our ode to it we did a while back, kinda nods to the record shops/market & the nearby blackmarket. berwick street by Loaded Knife (http://www.londonsoundscape.net/loadedknife/berwick_street.mp3)
Whitechapel High Street - Elephant Man bones, meeting place once of old Bolsheviks (now a McDonalds!), the Krays - now all life good and bad (mostly bad) mingle and dream their way out of this crazy existence.
Geoff Collier
29-04-2007, 20:06
Old Kent Road of course. It has the one thing I need, a way back to Kent. ;-)
Nice idea but the M1 and the A1 go to Yorkshire. That's a far better place to be.
ska invita
29-04-2007, 22:33
berwick st, yes , here's our ode to it we did a while back, kinda nods to the record shops/market & the nearby blackmarket. berwick street by Loaded Knife (http://www.londonsoundscape.net/loadedknife/berwick_street.mp3)
:)
dash_two
30-04-2007, 10:33
Cleveland Street, runs between Great Portland Street and Goodge Street. A lingering outpost of old Fitzrovia. Also Lambs Conduit Street is pleasant enough.
Always had a soft spot for Cally road and City road. Both are so quintessentially London.
I like this thread. Can't contribute directly, but I'm always wandering central Manchester looking for interesting or obscure streets, doorways, passages and entries. There's always something I didn't spot the last time I went, it's like digging deeper into the city. :)
Good idea for a thread, but Berwick St is such a good opener it's hard to think of another of it's calibre!
To counter the fact it features on an Oasis cover, it features on a panorama by the fab graphic artists/illustrators Kozyndan.
I'm not sure if trying to link to a panoramic image is a good idea but lets give it a try!
http://www.kozyndan.com/assets/london_panoramic.jpg
dolly's gal
30-04-2007, 15:06
i quite like green lanes and also kingsland road. i love the charcoal smell of the turkish restaurants in the summer heat :cool:
Monkeynuts
30-04-2007, 15:28
Always had a soft spot for Cally road and City road. Both are so quintessentially London.
You'll have to expand... the Cally is a sh1thole of a road (although a bit more interesting at the Kings Cross end) and there's nothing really to City Rd, just traffic...:confused:
Green Lanes etc I can understand but your choices just seem sort of... charmless
dash_two
30-04-2007, 15:36
Green Lanes etc I can understand but your choices just seem sort of... charmless
He did say they were quintessentially London. ;)
Cally Road has some good pubs on it, such as The Den, and a couple near the prison, which are like places out of The Sweeney. Eritreans and Ethiopians have opened several restaurants along it, one I went into was pretty good.
The Flying Scotsman is of ahem anthropological interest. A vivid memory of seeing one of the drinkers there rise up out of his wheelchair through the miracle of alcohol and stagger a few paces towards the bogs before falling over.
You'll have to expand... the Cally is a sh1thole of a road (although a bit more interesting at the Kings Cross end) and there's nothing really to City Rd, just traffic...:confused:
Green Lanes etc I can understand but your choices just seem sort of... charmless
There isn't much charm in London. It's not a place I would associate with the term at all.
I like those two roads because of their variety and their history. City Road used to be a very important thoroughfare but has become something else. A kind of vaccuum. It feels like you are on the outskirts of Croydon rather than the heart of the city.
Cally Road I like because of it's variety and life. I enjoyed living just off the Cally.
maximilian ping
30-04-2007, 16:10
Always had a soft spot for Cally road and City road. Both are so quintessentially London.
Cally Rd off my list cos i got a knife pulled on me while my mates (including a woman) got battered by a bunch of blokes there outside that posh bar
ChrisFilter
30-04-2007, 17:08
God knows why, but I've always quite liked Norwood Road... and Dulwich Road in Brixton. Leafy and tunnely.
Cally Rd off my list cos i got a knife pulled on me while my mates (including a woman) got battered by a bunch of blokes there outside that posh bar
Down near Copenhagen Street? That estate down there is rough. I used to live next to the market estate and there was never any bother, but I would get the fear down there.
London_Calling
30-04-2007, 20:43
I've always quite liked Queensway, W2 - Hyde Park one end, Westbourne Grove 'tother and a lot in between. Gone a bit 'bureau de change' but where hasn't in central London.
Also used to like the Roman Road, E2 - gor blimey, apples and pears, my ole man's a dustman. Might have lost something in recent years but haven't been there so can't comment.
ska invita
30-04-2007, 20:53
To counter the fact it features on an Oasis cover, it features on a panorama by the fab graphic artists/illustrators Kozyndan.
appreciated that no end.:)
f for fake
01-05-2007, 00:00
M25
keeps you lot in :D
Down near Copenhagen Street? That estate down there is rough. I used to live next to the market estate and there was never any bother, but I would get the fear down there.
I lived in that estate for a couple of years and bar one egg being thrown at me (missed :p ) didn't have any trouble. There was a lot of shit though and looking back I saw some pretty shocking things. I guess you just don't notice it while you live there.
Regardless Cally does have a place in my heart. I don't love it but I have a respect for it. The shop keepers especially, on the whole they managed to keep on good terms with the trouble makers in a way that the chains couldn't. It also seemed to have just about everything from a hardware shop to a medicinal marijuana shop to strip bars and brothels, loads of good cafes, fish shops etc etc.
A few years ago Stoke Newington Church Street was nice. However I think it's a bit too aware of it's charms these days to really appeal.
Highbury fields deserves a mention too.
maximilian ping
01-05-2007, 09:06
Down near Copenhagen Street? That estate down there is rough. I used to live next to the market estate and there was never any bother, but I would get the fear down there.
yes there. posh bar was called something russian (different name now). it was the first time someone drew knife on me so i decided to retreat back in the taxi
maximilian ping
01-05-2007, 09:08
A few years ago Stoke Newington Church Street was nice. However I think it's a bit too aware of it's charms these days to really appeal.
Highbury fields deserves a mention too.
yes the Fresh and Wild in SNCS is a den of wank. i lasted 1min in there before rushing out like i had seen a banshee
Dubversion
01-05-2007, 09:09
To counter the fact it features on an Oasis cover, it features on a panorama by the fab graphic artists/illustrators Kozyndan.
we've got a big print of a similar pic he did for the Tyne. it's ace
yes there. posh bar was called something russian (different name now). it was the first time someone drew knife on me so i decided to retreat back in the taxi
That's right down on the canal. Was it called Babushkas? Never went in there, but considering it was surrounded by wild territory, it did seem a bit out of place.
Dubversion
01-05-2007, 09:22
That's right down on the canal. Was it called Babushkas? Never went in there, but considering it was surrounded by wild territory, it did seem a bit out of place.
my mate used to run that. Went to the opening night when they had Julie Goodyear behind the bar :D
Living on mine own planet I was pretty sure I knew who Julie Goodyear was - but had to Google to check :D
Roadkill
01-05-2007, 09:47
Nice idea but the M1 and the A1 go to Yorkshire. That's a far better place to be.
I was going to nominate Gray's Inn Road. Firstly because it's quiet and comparatively peacefu. Secondly, it has one or two rather nice pubs. Thirdly, it goes to King's Cross, from which you can get out of London and to Yorkshire and the north east faster than you can by road!
Bahnhof Strasse
01-05-2007, 10:02
Lower Robert Street, WC2.
Cos it's a tunnel through/under a building.
Minnie_the_Minx
01-05-2007, 10:25
Always liked Chancery Lane and Fleet Street, but that's probably more to do with having worked there for ages
ska invita
01-05-2007, 10:43
Lower Robert Street, WC2.
Cos it's a tunnel through/under a building.
more info please! - is this the one off totenham court road, past Channel 5? only thing i can think off that fits the description...
ska invita
01-05-2007, 10:51
Regardless Cally does have a place in my heart. I don't love it but I have a respect for it. The shop keepers especially, on the whole they managed to keep on good terms with the trouble makers in a way that the chains couldn't. It also seemed to have just about everything from a hardware shop to a medicinal marijuana shop to strip bars and brothels, loads of good cafes, fish shops etc etc.
You're talking about Caledonian ROad right?
Im working on Cally road now, so am obliged to add Housmans Bookshop (Biggest selection of radical book and periodicals in London) and the offices of Peace News (Britains longest running anti-war newspape est.1936) to the honourable landmarks of the area. THey've both been based at 5 Cali Road for nearly 60 years now. Also in that building is Camaping Against Climate Change and Iraq protest group Voices in the Widlerness.
Support Housmans- they need your business!
Good etheopian resteraunt down there too - but not as good as Brixtons Asmara!
On which note, no one in love with Coldharbour? Atlantic is a cool road too...
rutabowa
01-05-2007, 11:14
more info please! - is this the one off totenham court road, past Channel 5? only thing i can think off that fits the description...
think it goes from the end of Savoy Place... that's defnitely under a building anyway. it's not particualrly interesting, it does provide shelter though.
Dr. Furface
01-05-2007, 11:47
I've always quite liked Queensway, W2 - Hyde Park one end, Westbourne Grove 'tother and a lot in between. Gone a bit 'bureau de change' but where hasn't in central London.
Agreed. It isn't upmarket but it isn't seedy either. It's always busy, but not manic, and the traffic is minimal. Plenty of bars either on the road itself or just off it, and lots of places to eat. I like the indoor market, which sells a lot of tat but it's the nearest thing I know to the old Kensington Market (where some of the evicted stallholders ended up going). There's a good variety of shops, and of course there's Whiteleys, which is the only shopping mall I can bear to enter - beautiful building and a nice size, and a cinema too (even if it is an Odeon). And there's even an ice rink there. And 2 tube stations. And the acupuncturist who helped me quit smoking, god bless her!
My favourite is New Park Road....off Brixton Hill.
It's for the community, rather than the architecture :D
Honestly, it's like Trumpton. Or Pigeon St. Everyone knows everyone else, it's v friendly, people chat in the shops, the pub lets you take pizza in from the takeaway next door. It's all independent little shops that have been there for many many years. And the Clapham Park Neighbourhood centre, on New Park Rd, runs all kinds of free community classes, like healthy eating, and yoga for grannies.
The greasy spoon, called The Doorstep, is absolute class. It's miniscule - only room for 3 tables. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in atmosphere :D (the food is fantastic too!).
It's got everything a street should have - pubs, healthfood shop, organic grocer, school, neighbourhood centre, hardware shop, electrical shop, nice view of the gherkin....but most of all, a good sense of community. :)
I've never liked west London streets. Paddington, Chelsea, Kensington. None of it appeals for some reason. They are expensive without being impressive. Urban without being vibrant and someother witty word couplet that I can't think of now.
The south has never done much for me either. It's sprawling, characterless suburban gloom. Lots of indentical sounding and looking areas.
For me London is the city and the north east - Islington, Hackney and Camden.
we've got a big print of a similar pic he did for the Tyne. it's ace
with the robots fighting? :cool:
We've got the Berwick St panaroma and one based in a Japanese train station (plus another couple of smaller prints). I totally love their stuff.
The south has never done much for me either. It's sprawling, characterless suburban gloom. Lots of indentical sounding and looking areas.
*splutters* !! !
You're entitled to your opinion of course, but......have you seen some of the backstreets in SE1, around Waterloo? They are beautiful :)
I've never liked west London streets. Paddington, Chelsea, Kensington. None of it appeals for some reason. They are expensive without being impressive. Urban without being vibrant and someother witty word couplet that I can't think of now.
I'm with you on this one though....expensive and characterless, that's what W London is like.....Ravenscourt Park is nice, though....and King St in Hammersmith is quite quirky, in parts.
Minnie_the_Minx
01-05-2007, 12:56
My favourite is New Park Road....off Brixton Hill.
It's for the community, rather than the architecture :D
Honestly, it's like Trumpton. Or Pigeon St. Everyone knows everyone else, it's v friendly, people chat in the shops, the pub lets you take pizza in from the takeaway next door. It's all independent little shops that have been there for many many years. And the Clapham Park Neighbourhood centre, on New Park Rd, runs all kinds of free community classes, like healthy eating, and yoga for grannies.
The greasy spoon, called The Doorstep, is absolute class. It's miniscule - only room for 3 tables. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in atmosphere :D (the food is fantastic too!).
It's got everything a street should have - pubs, healthfood shop, organic grocer, school, neighbourhood centre, hardware shop, electrical shop, nice view of the gherkin....but most of all, a good sense of community. :)
But it ain't got a butcher's :p
*splutters* !! !
You're entitled to your opinion of course, but......have you seen some of the backstreets in SE1, around Waterloo? They are beautiful :)
If I could have a house anywhere in London, it would be one of those streets round SE1/Borough with the beautiful old terraced housing. Wandering round you do feel that there is a sense of community round there as well - I guess some of the property is owned by wealthy newcomers (property prices must have skyrocketed round there) but there still seems to be longstanding residents as well. Either way, you definitely see a lot of people out on the street talking to each other. :)
ChrisFilter
01-05-2007, 13:17
The south has never done much for me either. It's sprawling, characterless suburban gloom. Lots of indentical sounding and looking areas.
I suppose places like Penge are pretty meh, but loads of South London is gorgeous, cut above their Northern counterparts.
I love having a wander round Dulwich Village, or Crystal Palace, or Brixton, or Herne Hill... so many wide, green streets. Incomparable with much of the North.
Highgate by the woods and Hampstead directly on the heath are ok.
ska invita
01-05-2007, 13:37
I suppose places like Penge are pretty meh, but loads of South London is gorgeous, cut above their Northern counterparts.
I love having a wander round Dulwich Village, or Crystal Palace, or Brixton, or Herne Hill... so many wide, green streets. Incomparable with much of the North.
Peckham Rye is definitely up there on my favourites list - the road round the park is magical at anytime of day - at dawn especially as you tend to get little patches of mist hanging around. If money weren't a thing I would buy one of those huge town houses looking over the park.
Whenevr ive been away hitting peckham rye makes me feel glad to be home.
Bahnhof Strasse
01-05-2007, 13:43
more info please! - is this the one off totenham court road, past Channel 5? only thing i can think off that fits the description...
Lower Robert St.
Turn off Strand in to Adam Street, first right, second left is Robert Street. Immediate left is Lower Robert Street. It looks like an entrance to a garage, but it's a single lane tunnel going down a hill and round a bend in to Savoy Place. Great fun on a bike.
I suppose places like Penge are pretty meh, but loads of South London is gorgeous, cut above their Northern counterparts.
I love having a wander round Dulwich Village, or Crystal Palace, or Brixton, or Herne Hill... so many wide, green streets. Incomparable with much of the North.
Highgate by the woods and Hampstead directly on the heath are ok.
They just hold no character for me. One area seems to morph into the next. In the north east you have Green Lanes, Holloway Road, Upper Street, Essex Road, Seven Sisters Road, Camden High Street, Cally Road. All these places seem to have quite a different aspect and are buzzing with activity. For me south London seems to be very samey and have a general low level of hubbub.
Danger of derailing.... warning.... arooga.
ChrisFilter
01-05-2007, 13:54
They just hold no character for me. One area seems to morph into the next. In the north east you have Green Lanes, Holloway Road, Upper Street, Essex Road, Seven Sisters Road, Camden High Street, Cally Road. All these places seem to have quite a different aspect and are buzzing with activity. For me south London seems to be very samey and have a general low level of hubbub.
Danger of derailing.... warning.... arooga.
Ah, gotya.. different tastes. For me, the roads you mentioned are nasty.. live round Cally Road, Holloway Road, and Camden High St and really, really disliked them. Found them aggressive, dirty and with nothing of note.
I like big, leafy, chilled streets. The kind where, when it's sunny, it seems hazy. Little cafes and pubs, lots of parks etc.
Not traffic and shouting. Although Brixton High Road is wicked for traffic and shouting.
Found them aggressive, dirty and with nothing of note.
Definately dirty and aggressive, and often unnoteworthy, but with a character behind them.
I like big, leafy, chilled streets. The kind where, when it's sunny, it seems hazy. Little cafes and pubs, lots of parks etc.
Me too - that's why I left London :D
ChrisFilter
01-05-2007, 15:16
Me too - that's why I left London :D
Fair play.. though I reckon Dulwich does the countryside feel pretty well.. Belair Park is wicked for that. And I like the proximity to town.
PacificOcean
01-05-2007, 17:55
Ah, gotya.. different tastes. For me, the roads you mentioned are nasty.. live round Cally Road, Holloway Road, and Camden High St and really, really disliked them. Found them aggressive, dirty and with nothing of note.
I like big, leafy, chilled streets. The kind where, when it's sunny, it seems hazy. Little cafes and pubs, lots of parks etc.
Not traffic and shouting. Although Brixton High Road is wicked for traffic and shouting.
As someone born and bred round Clapham and Brixton, I must say living round the Nags Head (Holloway Road) was the best place I have ever lived. I loved it.
And that is nothing to do with the chippy that was open till 4am.
ChrisFilter
01-05-2007, 19:32
As someone born and bred round Clapham and Brixton, I must say living round the Nags Head (Holloway Road) was the best place I have ever lived. I loved it.
I just felt so far from any green space, or any chilled atmosphere.. felt grubby and polluted.
Finsbury park up the road, a few stops on the tube and you are out in Middlesex, Clissold park not too far either. Hampstead Heath not too far too.
Personally I find all London parks only serve to remind you how hemmed in you are. They offer a scraggly, wilted, manky pigeon version of nature :D
As someone born and bred round Clapham and Brixton, I must say living round the Nags Head (Holloway Road) was the best place I have ever lived. I loved it.
And that is nothing to do with the chippy that was open till 4am.
What chippy is that?
I grew up round brixton/camberwell/oval and now live round nags head. Ugh. I'm getting used to it (like, 5 years in).
Minnie_the_Minx
02-05-2007, 09:26
If I could have a house anywhere in London, it would be one of those streets round SE1/Borough with the beautiful old terraced housing. Wandering round you do feel that there is a sense of community round there as well - I guess some of the property is owned by wealthy newcomers (property prices must have skyrocketed round there) but there still seems to be longstanding residents as well. Either way, you definitely see a lot of people out on the street talking to each other. :)
I'd like one of those big houses on Birdcage Walk :D
ChrisFilter
02-05-2007, 10:33
Finsbury park up the road, a few stops on the tube and you are out in Middlesex, Clissold park not too far either. Hampstead Heath not too far too.
Personally I find all London parks only serve to remind you how hemmed in you are. They offer a scraggly, wilted, manky pigeon version of nature :D
Depends on the park.. Brockwell, Belair and Crystal Palace park are my favourites.. nicer than the actual countryside ;)
ohmyliver
02-05-2007, 10:55
Kingsland road
ska invita
02-05-2007, 11:49
Kingsland road
Theres a fair amount on Kingsland Road its true.
That funny little Russian bar and Turkish cinema (not strictly turkish, but has a lot of turkish films) are probably the highlights.
Is the geffrye museum of childhood on there too? Thats a quirky museum - i like it.
blossie33
02-05-2007, 12:40
Yes, the Geffrye is still there, went last year. It's more about interiors and decor from different periods of history though.
The Museum of Childhood is in a different place, Bethnal Green I think?
ohmyliver
03-05-2007, 09:47
Theres a fair amount on Kingsland Road its true.
That funny little Russian bar and Turkish cinema (not strictly turkish, but has a lot of turkish films) are probably the highlights.
Is the geffrye museum of childhood on there too? Thats a quirky museum - i like it.
yes, I think it is, closed on a monday though
and herbal, viet hoa, flowers east at the 'ditch end... and some amazing turkish kebab places, and cheap gola shops, and ridley road market at the dalston end... and (according to an old school jewish east ender cab driver) the best begel place in london (allthough it might be at the beginning of stoke newington high street, rather than the end of kingsland road
eta oh and a very pretty light blue mosque, next door to a synagog one side, and a christian church on the other...
Portobello Road for me. I worked there for ten years from the age of 11 and it was great being able to explore as a kid. It helped mould my music tastes and I love the way there are clearly different areas the further down (towards Ladbroke Grove) you go.
It's also great during Carnival.
ohmyliver
03-05-2007, 11:01
Portobello Road for me. I worked there for ten years from the age of 11 and it was great being able to explore as a kid. It helped mould my music tastes and I love the way there are clearly different areas the further down (towards Ladbroke Grove) you go.
It's also great during Carnival.
Rough trade just off Portobello will allways remind me of being 17 and saving up each week doing chores, and the like to be able to cycle up there clutching enough money for a new single/couple of singles
Yeah. I used to love Rough Trade. That's where I discovered Fela Kuti. Mind you, the punk outside used to sell Skrewdriver and other such stuff.
I also used to go to Vinyl Solution and Honest Johns.
There was a guy with a stall who I struck a deal with...for every rave mixtape I could get him, he'd let me take my pick of a tape from his stall. I used to give him about 5 new ones a week and I ended up with the most eclectic music collection of any 13 year old in my town.
ohmyliver
03-05-2007, 11:25
does the other rough trade in soho still have the signatures of every band to play a gig in there on the celing, from nirrrrvana, to, erm, cud
God knows. I can't stand that shop. Last time I was there, Keane were playing a secret gig and were set up right in the way of the vinyl!
maximilian ping
03-05-2007, 11:42
Portobello Road for me. I worked there for ten years from the age of 11 and it was great being able to explore as a kid. It helped mould my music tastes and I love the way there are clearly different areas the further down (towards Ladbroke Grove) you go.
It's also great during Carnival.
that new 'saw you coming' Harry Enfield sketch (the only good one in the show) sums up Portobello Road for me - full of annoying posh people
that new 'saw you coming' Harry Enfield sketch (the only good one in the show) sums up Portobello Road for me - full of annoying posh people
Not seen that. Don't think I'd pigeon hole Portobello to posh people either...I thought it was very diverse.
Still, if that's how you see it, who am I to argue.
ska invita
06-05-2007, 10:53
Rough trade just off Portobello will allways remind me of being 17 and saving up each week doing chores, and the like to be able to cycle up there clutching enough money for a new single/couple of singles
...which reminds me Neals Yard in Covent Garden (home to the other Rough Trade shop) is still pretty special and even though Covent Garden is over run with fashion victims and tourists it still has some nice little lanes to walk around
corporate whore
07-05-2007, 10:58
Columbia Road, on market day. Went yesterday for the first time in years and it reaffirmed my faith in, well, just about everything.
Cheap flowers - 50 tulips for eight quid, loads of 'come on ladeezangennulmen I'm givin it away' - great coffee, interesting shops selling interesting things, many of them at pleasing prices and the Royal Oak, which hasn't changed as much as I thought it might.
Otherwise I do like cycling down Camberwell Grove. Not too keen on cycling up it, though..
I've never liked west London streets. Paddington, Chelsea, Kensington. None of it appeals for some reason. They are expensive without being impressive. Urban without being vibrant and someother witty word couplet that I can't think of now.
I don't think you are being entirely fair on the Royal Borough. It has it's moments of urban vibrancy, for example:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/uk_enl_1156345620/img/1.jpg
Cleveland Street, runs between Great Portland Street and Goodge Street. A lingering outpost of old Fitzrovia. Also Lambs Conduit Street is pleasant enough. I really like Lambs Conduit St too, I used to live round the corner, but haven't been for ages.
New Park Road which Han mentioned is a lovely little road.
Also North Cross Rd/Upland Rd in Dulwich, mainly cos it has the Thai Corner Cafe, and the best sweetshop (Hall and Oates or something), along with a number of other great shops and a good cafe.
Monkeynuts
07-05-2007, 15:06
I really like Lambs Conduit St too, I used to live round the corner, but haven't been for ages.
New Park Road which Han mentioned is a lovely little road.
Also North Cross Rd/Upland Rd in Dulwich, mainly cos it has the Thai Corner Cafe, and the best sweetshop (Hall and Oates or something), along with a number of other great shops and a good cafe.
http://www.irocknroll.com/images/Hall_Oates_Program.jpg
The sweetshop is scarcely any better than their music used to be IMHO
I agree Lambs Conduit St is great, though
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