Or racing one on a CEP between Orpington and Charing Cross.
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What makes London London?
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Or racing one on a CEP between Orpington and Charing Cross.
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dcsprior
Member
I've been spending a good proportion of my life in London (whilst still living in Scotland) for the last 6 years. I like some of the things you can do in London, and I really like the mix of people, but I can't say I feel a huge love for the place itself - perhaps the exception to this is it's reaction to adversity, the "You ain't no muslim bruv" kind of attitude.
roversfan2001
Established Member
'roadmen' are everywhere.
DelayRepay
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I love my home in Yorkshire but I love London too. I spent several happy years working near St Pauls - what better start to the day than to walk over London Bridge in the sunshine? I love the sense of history around that area. I loved living in London - never ever a lack of things to do, 24 hour transport, no need to use a car. But I think that's a young man's game... I now love living just outside St Albans - easy journey into the capital (despite all Thameslink's faults!) but also peace and quiet and countryside walks. I really love the diversity. As a result of living and working in London, I have friends on every continent on earth except Antarctica.
I have friends who tell me they hate London. The odd thing is, none of them have ever been.
I have friends who tell me they hate London. The odd thing is, none of them have ever been.
Not many Death Metal bands end up in London. My mate is the vocalist in Carcass and still lives in Liverpool. Many other bands in the scene still live in their home towns. That said Death Metal is never going to make you rich, They still play gigs and festivals globally but you aren't going to see them on telly often. Carcass did get mentioned in Friends though and my mate was in an episode of Red Dwarf, ha ha.
Sorry Liverpool didn't strike a chord for you, I do think that there is more to it than a couple of shopping centres though. The cathedrals, William Brown Street, Bold Street, the Baltic Triangle, the waterfront Castle Street, Dale Street etc. Manchester is a great city also (Don't tell anyone I said that, ha ha) but I feel it lacks a focus like the Mersey.
Anyway, back to London, I forgot to mention Camden which I visited for the first time 2 years back. I absolutely loved the place. As a whole the city is such a vibrant and exciting place to visit. Brilliant for public transport interest as well. I really miss travelling up and down behind class 50's out of Paddington and Waterloo.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle summed up London very nicely in "A Study in Scarlet":
"...London, that great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained"
I'm sure something still drains into London today.
I see you Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and raise you a Samuel Johnson:
"... "Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford..."
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
NO! This is far too highbrow!
I think Nigel Blackwell is more appropriate:
"She stayed with me until
She moved to Notting Hill,
She said it was the place she needs to be...
Where the cocaine is fair-trade...
And frequently displayed
Is the Buena-Vista Social Club CD."
RichmondCommu
Established Member
In all fairness, take a wander on Hampstead Heath or better still Richmond Park and it's easy to forget that you are in one of the world's largest conurbations. In fact the only thing that reminds you that you're in London is the sound of the aircraft heading for Heathrow.
43021HST
Established Member
Liverpool didn't strike a chord, individually I've met some lovely scousers, but the culture itself I find to be pretty irritating, humour-wise it's not dry enough. Harry Enfield was spot on with his scouser sketches.
What I liked about Manchester, was that I found culturally the people are very open and some excellent music has come out of there, The Fall, Joy Division, John Cooper Clarke, etc and it reminded me of London before much of it was gentrified.
Strange you focus on death metal as it's pretty niche as music goes. I was using a historical example as I don't listen to too much British music at the moment, as the situation is pretty dire, it seems to be death metal (not my thing) the most boring kind of Indie/alternative, (I like alternative but the British stuff is just boring) Grime or club crud. At the moment I'm interested in the pyschedelia, the good stuff seems to mostly be coming from the US or Australia.
Brendan Burns from Australia does an amazing mickey take out of us Scousers, far better than Harry Enfield although it probably wouldn't get shown on prime time telly because of all the swearing, ha ha, check it out on Youtube.
I focused on Death Metal because that is my thing, well, that and other forms of extreme music. Not sure about Manchester being culturally more open, especially if its just because some bands you like come from there. Liverpool hosts a Psych Fest as well as Manchester, I think the lineups are similar, I know the venues for the Liverpool one in the Baltic Triangle are really good, can't comment on Manchester.
At the end of the day London pretty much has it all. Like I said my mate lives in Weybridge which clearly isn't London. He can however see pretty much anything he wants down there when it comes to entertainment. I think that also puts London apart, no matter what your personal taste, you can find what you want.
Nym
Established Member
The exit when I can leave...
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
Funny you should mention psychedelia in a Liverpool context, as the Liverpool Psych Fest is/was one of the highlights of the British musical calendar. I went a while back when it was curated by Clinic who are one of the most underrated British bands of the last 10-15 years, along with Swansea-based Future Of The Left. Come to think of it that's one of the irritating things about the domestic scene at the moment (and possibly for the last 30+ years): the cream doesn't necessarily rise to the top!
DarloRich
Veteran Member
Any time you’re Lambeth way Any evening, any day, You’ll find us all Doin’ the Lambeth walk.
"Oi"
London is an amazing city, I lived there for a couple of years and did lots of partying, even did a few market stalls in Camden too (that was an experience).
When it was time to have kids we headed back down to Devon as it's home and a good place to bring kids up.
I really enjoyed my time in London, I reckon everyone should give it a go for a bit if they get the opportunity.
I wouldn't live there again now though, although I do try and go up every year. I'm just more suited to countryside and beaches really.
When it was time to have kids we headed back down to Devon as it's home and a good place to bring kids up.
I really enjoyed my time in London, I reckon everyone should give it a go for a bit if they get the opportunity.
I wouldn't live there again now though, although I do try and go up every year. I'm just more suited to countryside and beaches really.
DJD200
Member
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Carcass are great!
VauxhallandI
Established Member
I like the fact that whatever day and time it is there is always something going on and an atmosphere.
I wee to Mansfield on a Tuesday night once and the place was shut.
I wee to Mansfield on a Tuesday night once and the place was shut.
43021HST
Established Member
That was something I looked at going to when I lived up there, did look good, might be an excuse to have a holiday in that part of the country. Does it tend to have a dominance of the rather tame, floaty stuff, or is it the more driven stoner metal stuff? The Roundhouse, or Electric Ballroom often has something good on as well, if you're ever down this way
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A number of the advantages that London had 20 years ago no longer apply. For example, you had access to London radio stations, 24 hour 7-Elevens and you had an unrivaled selection of shops.
Now we have the internet, you can pick up London radio stations nationwide and indeed worldwide (barring those which are geoblocked). A lot of former London stations are now nationwide brands anyway.
7-Elevens became Budgens but are now irrelevant because of 24 hour Tescos. In actual fact, central London has few big supermarkets like Tesco Extras compared to a typical provincial town.
Internet shopping means that you can buy practically anything, no matter where you live.
Now we have the internet, you can pick up London radio stations nationwide and indeed worldwide (barring those which are geoblocked). A lot of former London stations are now nationwide brands anyway.
7-Elevens became Budgens but are now irrelevant because of 24 hour Tescos. In actual fact, central London has few big supermarkets like Tesco Extras compared to a typical provincial town.
Internet shopping means that you can buy practically anything, no matter where you live.
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
*** Insert joke about choosing a career in the emergency services here ***
43021HST
Established Member
Just a thought, why is it the consensus that if a northerner doesn't want to live outside of their native county, they're considered proud of their culture. However if someone from London wouldn't go elsewhere, they're somehow insular.
I'm not sure that is the consensus.
anti-pacer
Established Member
I love London, although these rise in acid attacks is becoming worrying.
That said, I love the place. I love how different it is in different areas. I also love travelling around the suburbs on their amazing transport network. I will often find myself in somewhere like Romford, and think "Right, Kingston next", and never failing to be impressed as to how quickly you can from one side of Greater London to the other.
One of my favourite pastimes is to sit with friends in summer on the 'Tattershall Castle' boat pub, on the Thames close to Embankment, in the evening looking across to the London Eye and down river to Big Ben and beyond. The constant trundling of trains leaving Charing Cross across the bridge just adds to it.
Right, that's it. I'm booking some train tickets down there. It's been too long!
That said, I love the place. I love how different it is in different areas. I also love travelling around the suburbs on their amazing transport network. I will often find myself in somewhere like Romford, and think "Right, Kingston next", and never failing to be impressed as to how quickly you can from one side of Greater London to the other.
One of my favourite pastimes is to sit with friends in summer on the 'Tattershall Castle' boat pub, on the Thames close to Embankment, in the evening looking across to the London Eye and down river to Big Ben and beyond. The constant trundling of trains leaving Charing Cross across the bridge just adds to it.
Right, that's it. I'm booking some train tickets down there. It's been too long!
TT-ONR-NRN
Established Member
I'm finding these replies very interesting!
For me, it is the Tube, New Routemasters and the Landmarks.
For me, it is the Tube, New Routemasters and the Landmarks.
Busaholic
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Not sure I can agree on how quickly you can get from one side to the other, other than on some very specific routes and, even then, you have to have connections/luck on your side. Despite my name, I'm not including bus travel in this, except for some relatively short journeys. When I'm in London I do often travel to Romford and have to return to my sister's place in Streatham in time for an evening meal. Leaving Romford at 6 p.m. might get me to her place at 8 p.m. (just!) but it's always pushing it. It does include either one bus ride at the end and a ten minute walk, or possibly two buses and a two minute walk, but even so... that's NR (Crossrail now, I suppose), Underground, Overground and bus. I've tried different routes, and 100 minutes is the best I've ever managed.
Bromley boy
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Sadly the “new routemasters” aren’t very “routemasterish” anymore, with the demise of their conductors and their rear doors now permanently closed.
Thankfully there still seem to be quite a few “heritage route” original RMs plying the city’s streets.
TT-ONR-NRN
Established Member
Oh I don’t care about Old Routemasters, I’m all for modernisation and the lovely New Routemasters are a work of art. If only they could replace all other double decker buses in London. Best bus there is!
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
What makes London London?
I've been back about an hour, and I think the answer is "loud @/$#holes talking corporate strategy in boastful tones"...
I've been back about an hour, and I think the answer is "loud @/$#holes talking corporate strategy in boastful tones"...
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