I am visiting from the Alternachicks thread and I have to admit to lurking here once in a while.... you chicks are great and very funny too!
I will be visiting London for a week during Easter and I was wondering if any of you have any suggestions for good and relatively inexpensive places to eat in that area? The only thing I am not wanting to eat is McDonald's, Burger King etc. I am pretty much game for anything. We will be staying in the Kensington area. Any good clubs too?
Also are then any good shops for punk/goth/rock stuff that you can recommend? And where is Marks and Spencers? We used to have them in Canada and I miss Battenburg cake!
Okay, you don't even know me and I am asking for too much now
Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!
Mauvaisroux
Last edited by mauvaisroux; 04-07-2003 at 11:03 PM.
Marks and Spencers is everywhere! There is definately one in Kensington High Street which incidentally had an inside market called Hyper Hyper which had a number of stalls including one run by Dave Vanian of the Damned's Missus called Symphony of Shadows. Only went once so cannot say if still there.
I will write more tomorrow as bit busy now.
However, you will find no trouble finding a Marks and Spencers! You will probably be tripping over them!
OMG! where in Canada are you? Mauvaisroux and where on earth did you find that name? had to look twice to type it its got to be french and you must be on the East Coast.
Anyway, it does'nt matter..its great to have you here! You will have a blast in England..its expensive for Canadians but well worth it if you know what you are doing
Camden Market is said to be good for clothes etc. Also try Petticoat Lane (cheapie East End Market), Portobello and Covent Garden. For clubs and stuff - Most clubs are swamped by hip hop and the like but you could get a copy of Time Out it has a weekly listing of clubs and what sort of stuff they play and what groups are playing. The electric Ballroom in Camden (if still there) used to have a club called full tilt which had about two three levels and one played punk and Goth
http://www.allalternative.co.uk/dire...ifestyle/Goth/ http://www.camdenlock.net/fashion/alternative.html
(for details of Goth clothing at Camden Market) http://www.eroding.org.uk/diyguide.htm various punk sites
Do let us know how you got on in London. We are nosey like that....
By the way if you are interested in makeup you can get most international brands. You probably won't want to bother with Boots No7 (UK only) which would be too mumsy for you. At one time Boots 17 used to do some great lip colours (I used to wear the black lipstick myself!) but it has gone a bit pretty pretty now. Also don't bother with Miss Selfridge which used to be THE make up for punks when everyone else apart from Mary Quant was doing make up your mum wore, Miss Selfridge used to do lovely dark eye shadows and gorgeous black eye pencils but they only do make up for "little princesses" now - fairy dust et al. Anyway now that we have Mac and Urban Decay it doesn't matter. I am still upset about Miss Selfridge changing so much though!
If you just so happen to be looking for cheap basic skin care while you are here then Boots and Superdrug do some good stuff.
Thanks for the info Peacock! I will check those sites out!
I love Boots! We used to have one of those here too...*sigh*
I can't wait to check out the Indian restaurants and the pubs
Cat90- I am actually in Ottawa and you are right about my name-it is French for Evil Redhead since I am both evil and a redhead
Last edited by mauvaisroux; 04-09-2003 at 09:50 AM.
I hope this isn't too jumbled up for you. A list of Indians in Kensington. Obviously W14 is going to be cheaper than SW7 and SW3. But the best thing to do is walk along the high street so you can tell which one would appeal.
Peacock you are a walking streetmap that is hilarious! it must have taken you ages to compile all of that..or do you know all those places like the back of your hand?
Er...just one more question...sorry to pester you but at the risk of sounding ignorant...what is a "trouser press". It is listed in the room amenities, is it the same thing as an iron? I would rather not pack my travel iron if I don't have to.
I checked out some of those sites that you listed for me Peacock and they were very helpful - can't wait to hit Camden!
A trouser press is a gadget usually on the wall in the hotel room for ironing trousers. It's two boards, hinged at one end, you open them up and put the trousers in neatly them close the boards up, there is usually some kind of locking mechanism and turn up the heat. 15 minutes later Bingo !!! neatly pressed trousers. Can be used for skirts and jumpers too have never successfully managed to iron a shirt in one.
Think Peacocks Indian list is amazing, have you tried them all ?? I'm off for one tonight, but in Larbert not Kensington, too far in the taxi home - ha ha ha ha
Actually no, I haven't tried them all. I try to pick one that is not too expensive and has quite a varied menu. Being vegetarian I want one that offers more than just veggie starters. Not all Indians do a selection of veggie mains. You may want to know that the most popular Indian meal here in UK is Chicken Tikka Masala (they also do a lamb version). I expect you already know what you like but if you don't then Biryani and Korma are the mild ones. Madras, Rogan Josh, Do piaza etc are mediumish. Vindaloo is the Goan speciality and is hot. Hotter still and quite rare is Phall. My brother can vouch for its hotness (we are talking scorched seats here!!! His own backside and the chair he was sitting on!!!). Don't go for the duck. Bombay duck is actually a dried fish. The other duck dishes are not as nicely cooked as in Chinese cooking and tend to be very dry. Most of the restaurants have a similar menu so it pays to walk along and have a peek in and see if you like the look of a place.
Anyway I will sign off now before I exhaust you all.
Do have a great time in the UK and don't forget to tell us how you got on (especially with the trouser press!!!).
I am a big fan of Indian and love Chicken Methi and Butter Chicken too. Chiken Tikka is pretty good too. I have had curried goat a couple of times but will take you advice and stay away from the duck!
Forgot to mention if you are going up to town there is a shop called The Great Frog which is a jewellry shop. I think near Carnaby Street and I think in Ganton Street they do some awesome stuff.
Hello everyone! I am back from my whirlwind tour of London! I had a great time. I gained about 3 lbs while I was there but DH thinks it is muscle from walking all over the place.
In between working at the convention, DH and I made it to Hyde Park, saw the Royal Albert Hall (gorgeous), made it to Picadilly Circus, Soho, Carnaby Street and Camden. Both DH and I felt completely at ease there and we both said to each other "yeah, I could live here" It is a very cosmopolitan and international city-we met some great people there- we both totally love London!
We even managed to snag tickets to see the Sisters of Mercy live in concert at a club called the forum and got into the Slimelight Club without being members and did not have to pay full price!
There are too many stories to tell-we had a blast!
I only bought a few things while I was there- a cool purse, some shoes, some fun tees and a furry zebra stripe jacket in Camden market.
Thanks so much for the advice and websites Peacock -we managed to get to quite a lot of the places you mentioned!
Hello from Canada!
had to look twice to type it 
