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Bolton and Drazic FTW
ha ha! totally. i always thought that was a great series.
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i really feel like i have a lot to say about London but i don't know where to start. I'll try and give it some time soon. it's a really good challenge.
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When I first came to London I was only sixteen
With a fiver in my pocket and my ole dancing bag
I went down to the dilly to check out the scene
But I soon ended up upon the old main dragThere the he-males and the she-males paraded in style
And the old man with the money would flash you a smile
In the dark of an alley you'd work for a fiver
For a swift one off the wrist down on the old main dragIn the cold winter nights the old town it was chill
But there were boys in the cafes who'd give you cheap pills
If you didn't have the money you'd cajole and you'd beg
There was always lots of tuinol on the old main dragOne evening as I was lying down by Leicester Square
I was picked up by the coppers and kicked in the balls
Between the metal doors at Vine Street I was beaten and mauled
And they ruined my good looks for the old main dragIn the tube station the old ones who were on the way out
Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout
And the coppers would come along and push them about
And I wished I could escape from the old main dragAnd now I'm lying here I've had too much booze
I've been shat on and spat on and raped and abused
I know that I am dying and I wish I could beg
For some money to take me from the old main drag -
I was born and grew up in the wank-hole that is Romford, Essex. I savoured any excuse to get out of that place.
When I was younger, London meant going to the January sales with my parents, if I was lucky I got to spend a while in Hamleys looking at toys my parents would never buy me like 10 foot tall teddy bears and £300 remote control cars.
London meant going to Madame Tussauds, the Science Museum, and shit museums I got bored really quick in.
London meant getting up early and just riding public transport with my granddad, get the bus to Hainault, jump on the central line to Bethnal Green to go to the Toy Museum for a bit, then back on the tube to Oxford Circus, get on a Routemaster bus to wherever we felt like, then get to a Central Line and go all the way back to Hainault and a bus back to my house.
London meant going to Streatham to see my cousin where we'd watch crazy shit happen right outside his front door. That place was fucking strange 15 years ago, I try and stay away now.
Once I turned into a teenager, London meant going to the station, deciding I didn't feel like going to school that day and getting a train to London instead of Chelmsford and wandering around Camden stealing shitty grunger tack and then getting £3 noodles that made you hungrier. If I was feeling a bit flush that week I'd nip into Haagen Daaz cafe at Leicster Square on the way home.
London meant going to gigs like Smashing Pumpkins and Green Day then getting the Night Bus home, getting chucked off at Ilford, then walking home for 3 hours because we kept getting lost.
London meant making out with my girlfriend on the overground back from Liverpool St. to Romford.
London meant standing under Tower Bridge on Millenium Eve with about another 1,000,000 people being showered in champagne and watching that really shit line of barges which were supposed to be on fire.
Once I started riding BMX, London meant taking the train to Liverpool St. and then riding to S. Bank and just sitting watching kids session because I thought I was too shit to dare trying anything. I remember the 1st time I did a 180 down the tiny stair-set when there was hardly anyone about and thinking, hmm... maybe I might try riding when there's more people around now.
Once I got older I started going out in London, regular FabricLive sessions, smoking weed on the dancefloor, leaving when everyone else was turning up so we could get the last train home.
More recently I have been on Tunnel Runs in London, early in the morning, hardly anyone about, cars sneaking in when there's least traffic and causing our own brand of mischief and I've enjoyed seeing my favourite locations from a different perspective.
I haven't really headed into town so much in the past 5 years because I've been at uni in Liverpool, but the last few weeks where I've been at home in Romford I've ridden in, once to East beers and other times just to go for a ride and I've remembered how much I loved going in and I love it so much more I can ride in and I don't need to take trains or tubes and everywhere I thought was a bit of a mission is less than an hour away.
That's what London means to me.
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Not a big fan of Paul Weller in general but this captures the essence of London for me:
And obviously:
I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.In every cry of every man,
In every Infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every black'ning Church appals;
And the hapless Soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.But I still love it and could not live anywhere else. Anywhere that could give the world Soul II Soul is good by me:
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Where did you go to school in Chelmsford, NurseHolliday?
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KEGS on Broomfield Road.
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Ha! Snap.
Fucking hated it :(
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Tell me about it... I made some amazing friends but I hated the fucking place. How long ago were you there?
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84-91 - but not really 'there' from about 88 onwards. But yeah, some nice (and very talented) people lurking around the place. I used to bunk off to London all the time too :)
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So I wasn't the only one, that's good to know. The teacher's were a bit too trusting I think, they didn't expect "clever people" to take such liberties.
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When were you there (apart from the 1950s, obviously)?
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96-03
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Glad to hear they maintained the fantastic atmosphere, and highly motivational modus operandum.
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Don't compare Will's life to a lightweight piece of French farce.
hippy
wvm
fitzy369
StandardPractice
Sharkstar
NurseHolliday
goodhead
BringMeMyFix
pajamas-
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About
London
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So far I have had 8 postive months living within our capital. I love that there is such variety in the things you take part in. Since living here I have taken up : Salsa Dancing, Yoga, Climbing, Kayaking and pottery. I loved that the transport system breaks down at the slightest hint of snow, forcing everyone to take a snow day. It was a truly magical experience walking through London Fields in the snow, having snowball fights and building snowmen with strangers.
However I can see how this city can get you down, traffic, crime and the somewhat silly cost of living...I think Pajamas was right in that you need to get out, gain some perspective.