Nostalgia Squee

[neadods]

I did Junior Year Abroad in London, did y'all know that? Nine months up in Hampstead Heath, and every time my allowance permitted, I'd go scooting down to a road whose name has been lost in the mists since my very distant college days. There was a Foyles there, and a Waterstones right across the alley, and if I went a block over there-ish and turned, there was this funky little store where I could buy fanzines.

So here I am, making dots on my craptastic map of London, and I've got a Waterstones here, and a Waterstones there (and everywhere a waterstones) and oh, look, the Foyles is right next to one of the Waterstoneses... and now where's Forbidden Pla-

Oh, my. A block away and around the corner, just like I remember it!

I now have this bizarre urge to dig out a very old fanzine printed on odd-sized paper, the one with the parody story where Spock calls Kirk a "wally." Alas, I never did find a copy of the Blake's 7/Doctor Who crossover where the Fifth Doctor was thrilled to be given Avon's lines. "NO, I won't give them back! I get to kiss the girl! I never get to kiss the girl." "If you kill her at the bottom of the page, it's my script." "Uh... here you go."


("So, Nea, if you lived in London, why are you going to the tourist sights again?" "Because, dude, I *LOVED* Westminster Abbey and the Vic&Albert. And, uh, lemme put it this way, the Globe wasn't there the last time I was.")

Comments

[nycdeb.livejournal.com]

I know exactly where you are talking about. Murder One is right there as well.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I totally didn't need to know that!

*googles Murder One*

[dune-drd.livejournal.com]

You should know there's only one way to drag me out of Waterstones and Forbidden Planets. It includes screaming 'fire!fire!' very loudly

[neadods.livejournal.com]

So maybe that's where you'd rather go with me instead of, say, Westminster Abbey? This could be arranged...

Although perhaps I'll say "If we don't leave now, we'll miss the damn train!"

Or we could go into our respective book reveries as soon as we hit town and then we can be all "and what did YOU buy?"

[dune-drd.livejournal.com]

I missed Westminster Abbey the last time I was in London, so I'll just buy piles of books and come, a tear silently running down my cheek. A shop full with english books, it's such a thing of beauty...

[neadods.livejournal.com]

We'll have to go there right away, then; Westminster closes at 3:45, but if we get there by 1:30 we should have time enough to catch one of the tours.

[dune-drd.livejournal.com]

Fine by me, as I said, you're the one from overseas, so we'll do what you want. All I want is a picture of Newton's grave, my mother (a serious Da Vinci Code fan) would kill me if I wouldn't take one ;)

New Sights to See

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Both Forbidden Planet and Murder One have moved locations a couple of times in the past 5 years - so they're not quite where you left them ;-)

While you're in Charing Cross Road don't forget to detour into Cecil Court (antiquarian book shops, and the model for Rowling's Diagon Alley).

Something else that wasn't there before is the London Eye - worth booking a flight if you can fit the time in.

Re: New Sights to See

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Since my memories are 22 years old, I'm using a verify-with-Google system to mark up my trip map. Certainly the small wierd bookstore that I remember and the Forbidden Planet that I read about couldn't be in the same building, they wouldn't fit! But that the stores are even in the same vague neighborhood after all these years is shocking me; things aren't so stable in the US, not even for major landmark stores.

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to see while I'm there. I mean, I've done most of the major tourist attractions and am knee-jerk returning to the ones I love, but after a couple of decades I don't so much remember *what* I saw but only *that* I saw it. So I'm thinking of things like the Tower and going "erm."

Can't make up my mind about the London Eye. Judging from the website, you have to book in advance and then be there at a certain time - things I don't do very well when I'm wandering around a city following my nose into adventure, doctor-like.

Re: New Sights to See

[inamac.livejournal.com]

The Tower has also changed a lot. I remember being taken by my parents in the 60s when the Crown Jewels were still in the old Jewel Tower; then they moved to a 'drive through' display in the courtyard, and are now (as I know from a visit last year courtesy of the office booking the Tower as a place to hold a staff bonding session) in a purpose-built display area. There's also been a lot of rennovation and restoration. If it's 20 years since your last visit then it's worth going again.

You can book the London Eye on site - it means a queue of half an hour - but almost everything in London does these days. And if you get there and the queue is too long you can always walk along the Embankment to the New Tate gallery - the view from the top of that is good too - and much less tiring then climbing all those dreadful iron staircases up the dome of St Pauls. Plus the Tate cafe does an excellent selection of teas.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Oh, 22 years? The the 'funky litle SF store where you could buy fanzines' was probably 'Dark They Were And Golden Eyed' in Berwick Street (Soho), of fond memory.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I don't remember the name at all, only that if you went up a street and turned, there it was. After stopping off at the second-floor shop that sold comics along the way, of course!

Will bear in mind about the Tower renovations mentioned above. Dagnabbit, why do I only have two and a half days in London? It's not going to be enough!! Unless I shop myself senseless on Thursday and leave myself only able to go to museums for the rest of the trip, or something....