London

I'm really only here for the cheap drugs..
YouTube - Lochi - London Acid City (Original Remix)

Bollocks. There's no Waterloo Station there for Terry to meet Julie.

'was'

Dirty old river, must you keep rolling
Flowing into the night
People so busy, makes me feel dizzy
Taxi light shines so bright
But I dont need no friends
As long as I gaze on waterloo sunset
I am in paradise

Every day I look at the world from my window
But chilly, chilly is the evening time
Waterloo sunsets fine

Terry meets julie, waterloo station
Every friday night
But I am so lazy, dont want to wander
I stay at home at night
But I dont feel afraid
As long as I gaze on waterloo sunset
I am in paradise

Every day I look at the world from my window
But chilly, chilly is the evening time
Waterloo sunsets fine

Millions of people swarming like flies round waterloo underground
But terry and julie cross over the river
Where they feel safe and sound
And the dont need no friends
As long as they gaze on waterloo sunset
They are in paradise

Waterloo sunsets fine

It's true I tell ya, Terry was a Kopite and Julie was a Blue, they had to keep their love a secret

i love london.
i have been here for 12 years and i don't want to go anywhere else. i lived in buenos aires, rio and lisbon but here is the best by far, even with the crap weather and the lack of money. at least there are not military goverments like in argentina, no as much violence as in brazil and is not as boring as lisbon. these are the places i can talk about. i do feel like prisoner too but is not the city i am in, it is society and this will happen wherever i am.

YouTube - The Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen (Lyrics)

i admire the fact that they were able to do this and get away with it

Millions of people swarming like flies round waterloo underground
But terry and julie cross over the river
Where they feel safe and sound

Well, moving cross the river from Waterloo and feeling safer seals it for me. Got to be London - everyone knows the South is lawless.

Another planet? I'll take that as the compliment it wasn't intended to be. And no, I don't call myself a Londoner; or a Northerner. I don't have the sense of belonging you seem to have and I don't think I want it either.
May as well stick this in before anyone else does. "did you see the jealousy in the eyes of the ones who had to stay behind?"; I know that feeling,.

YouTube - The Smiths - London (Rank album live footage)

This is the London I know - this my identity - my belonging - this is where I come from

YouTube - THE MIGHTY JAH SHAKA - AT THE ROCKET LONDON(1990s)

I love london!

I love london!

but why?

I like bits of London, just like I liked bits of Melbourne and bits of Mildura.
I hate bits of London, just like I hated bits of Melbourne and bits of Mildura.

....

Buddha; this is as close as I get to any sense of 'belonging' and it's got nothing to do with which city or town I was born in or live in now.
YouTube - Billy Bragg - Between The Wars

....

Controversial

Things you can get and do in London (a diversity study);

Get whipped by a dom and driven around in the trunk of a car and get whipped again and again.
sit behind a keyboad and type on a bicycle forum
See the best exhibitions in the world
Get educated in some of the best uni's in the universe (maybe not, just the south-east)
have a custom-made male corset made without anyone batting an eyelid
Go to any number of the best inner city parks in the intergalactic universe (urban beach)
experience the London underground tube network (it's shit, but an experience non the less)
.....Did I mention the gimp thing in the car.....yes, I did.

In all seriousness, if you want to do something, no matter what time of the day or night, you can go out and have fun.

LDN FTW.

For me it's the diversity. The fact you can live in London all your life and still discover new and interesting places that you never knew existed.
I love getting away for quiet breaks but could never be a small town boy.

YouTube - Jam - In the City

Another planet? I'll take that as the compliment it wasn't intended to be. And no, I don't call myself a Londoner; or a Northerner. I don't have the sense of belonging you seem to have and I don't think I want it either.
May as well stick this in before anyone else does. "did you see the jealousy in the eyes of the ones who had to stay behind?"; I know that feeling,.

YouTube - The Smiths - London (Rank album live footage)

Just meaning I ain't ever been up north much, everytime I ever went up there people just wanted to beat me up. Must get boring up there if all you ever do is get pissed and have a fight. Saying that though, thats like everywhere OUTSIDE of London innit? If you ever met me Will I daresay we would be firm friends.

This is the London I know - this my identity - my belonging - this is where I come from

YouTube - THE MIGHTY JAH SHAKA - AT THE ROCKET LONDON(1990s)

The Rocket on Holloway Rd, thought you were from Portsmouth?

For me it's the diversity. The fact you can live in London all your life and still discover new and interesting places that you never knew existed.

Surely you can do this anywhere?

Being born and bred in London, i knew nothing else till recently, moving to Brighton; a place that is very different but still a great place to live. London has it all and I think that is what makes it so great, it has its drawbacks, tourists, for example, but i love the fact i can say i live in a place where people want to visit, and i get to be here every day.

It's a great place to live, ad i'm sure i'll keep living here for a long time, but will not e able to pass final judgement till i have seen more of the world.

There are too many Australians here. It's like living in a fucking episode of 'Neighbours' or 'Sons & Daughters' or some other antipodean shit.

Home & Away?

Another planet? I'll take that as the compliment it wasn't intended to be. And no, I don't call myself a Londoner; or a Northerner. I don't have the sense of belonging you seem to have and I don't think I want it either.
May as well stick this in before anyone else does. "did you see the jealousy in the eyes of the ones who had to stay behind?"; I know that feeling,.

YouTube - The Smiths - London (Rank album live footage)

This was my first choice before I went with the Moz solo effort, I like the Billy Liar video on you tube of it.

Just meaning I ain't ever been up north much, everytime I ever went up there people just wanted to beat me up. Must get boring up there if all you ever do is get pissed and have a fight. Saying that though, thats like everywhere OUTSIDE of London innit? If you ever met me Will I daresay we would be firm friends.

I think so too (the last bit). I'm not sticking up for, or putting down, the North. Don't want to be like Sean Connery, a proud Scot who lives in the US. And I really hated those 'Born In The North, Die In The North' t-shirts with the implication of fearful defensiveness and the self-defeating lack of ambition and curiosity that defined an aspect of the working class culture in which I grew up. I think you always need something to compare, you need two objects to establish perspective. Which is why I wonder what other people make of London.

Buddha; this is as close as I get to any sense of 'belonging' and it's got nothing to do with which city or town I was born in or live in now.
YouTube - Billy Bragg - Between The Wars

Wigan is famous for two things, the Wigan Casino and The Road to Wigan Pier. Class struggle is as much in your roots, as racial integration is in mine, no matter how many times we reinvent ourselves we are all creatures of where we come from.

Surely you can do this anywhere?

I spent a fortnight in Lanzarotte once and felt like I knew the place inside out. Living on an island would send me stir crazy.

Controversial

Hi there misery chops.

I thought I might sling my own thoughts into the mix, but on reflection the premise "what do we think of London" seemed too diaphanous to try and get hold of, a little like asking someone "how do you find life ?" - it seems too broad a question.