london adventure day 6 (sun. 07.04.2002)
Originally written 07.04.2002. This might show up in ‘zine form in the near future if I have a chance to put it together when I get back to Edinburgh.
went searching for the slam city skates skate shop/rough trade record store (note: they sponsor the rota event mentioned yesterday) and found a bunch of other cool stuff in neal’s yard, the cool little alley where the skate shop is located. there’s the salon, tatoo, and piercing place that specializes in bizarre hair styles and neal’s yard salad bar (www.nealsyardsaladbar.co.uk), a pleasant veg*n vafe that has a number of salads, entres, and pastries to eat in or take away. the chocolate muffin was mighty tasty at #1 – chewy, moist, and overly rich. rockin. the skate shop was inexplicably closed, but the number of kids waiting outside suggests that the place is worth a visit for your skate needs.
in general, the covent gardens area seems bougie and overpriced, but the commerce is at least eclectic and the pedestrianized brick streets, street performers, and tabling activists provide for a pleasant afternoon and excellent people watching. case in point, i just saw an elderly lady collapse on the street. she was ok, thankfully, but i had to resist the urge to photograph the scene.
one note: lots of tourists = lots of tramps. so, prepare to be accosted. i got stopped by a guy who introduced himself as patrick o’connor and proclaimed that he was “homeless by choice”. i tried to get some info on low-cost, or rahter no-cost, living in london, but he was pretty uninformative save for saying that most eating establishments like starbucks will hook you up after closing time. the tramps in london are pretty charming and agressive and the “i don’t want $, just buy me a meal” line seems pretty common. i think they expect people to just give them cash to be rid of them, but if you’ve got the chash, i’d take them up on the offer and buy them a meal. you’ll know your cash is going towards a good cause and you’ll get an interesting story out of the affair.
i’ve decided that i really don’t have a problem with panhandlers. decent work is often genuinely hard to come by and spending all day asking strangers for change isn’t exactly a cushy lifestyle. as patrick noted, most government programs are less about offering opportunities for the homeless, and more about whitewashing the streets for the tourists. it seems like many homeless people prefer the freedom of the streets over dealing with the inhumanity of social programs that treat them like a cancer. unfortunately for patrick, being nearly broke myself and already indebted to the parental units, i didn’t have even a coin to spare. he asked, “just one for luck”. I replied, “sometimes you have to make your own luck”.
went back to the skate shop and it was quite good. a large selection of decks and clothing (particularly uk brands), and staffed by a mob of locals. the record store downstairs was pretty good and had a large selection of (mainly electronic) vinyl and cds with an emphasis on uk artists. it also sold ‘zines and the walls provided info on a number of local musical events.
ate lunch at country life which got rave reviews from the vegan website that served as the guide to most of my eating this trip. though the tables are stocked with ridiculous christian propaghanda, and the place isn’t as exciting as the thai place, the 10p per 10g (or #6 for all you can fit on a plate) buffet of fresh veg., salads, and hot dishes gave me a chance to fuel up on an eclectic and healthy meal. definitely a good spot for cheap eats, and a since it’s only a short walk from picadilly circus at 3-4 warwick st., it’s also convenient. be warned, the hours suck as its only open until 4 pm on sunday through friday and closed saturdays. it is open a bit later on thursday evenings.
to kill some time, went to the national gallery, another free art museum which overlooks trafalger square. it was a very nice collection of european paintings from 1240-1900. i especially enjoyed the impressive impressionist collection. i ran into a tour given by a lady who was so exhuberant about the art that it was almost comical. when discussing cezanne’s bathers, she exclaimed, “have you ever been to a nudist colony? i’m sure you haven’t, but i have,” and then continued on about cezanne’s interpretation of the female form.
went to the imperial war museum, a short walk from the lambeth north tube stop on the bakerloo line. this is one of the neatest museums i’ve ever been to, and despite its grim subject matter, as a kid, i would have gone crazy over the collection of planes, jeeps, tanks, arms, and other military artifacts. i came kind of late in the day, os i only had time to scope the “secret war” exhibit, which featured real-life spy gear from brittain’s m15, m16, and special ops forces. after reading stephenson’s cryptonomicon, i had wondered what a german enigma machine looked like. now i know, the museum has one.
by the time i made it back to bayswater, i realized i was exhausted. i trudged to sainsburry’s for some cheap food, and put off any plans for a night skate in favor of browsing time out and a little light revision. the revision proved to be futile, and i soon turned off the lights.