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Post by ravey123 on Sept 10, 2020 18:35:15 GMT
One of the great Capitals of the world. Do you love it or hate it? I love going there for the occasional day for work on the train - about 1 day per fortnight seems to be my limit though. Always catch the cheapie from Stafford and have a couple of hours to kill before the 7pm return train. Anymore frequent than that and it starts to grind a little.
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Post by lordb on Sept 10, 2020 19:39:02 GMT
Our lovely foreign friends have turned it into a dirty, crime riddled squalor! Which ones, the Romans?
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Post by dutchstokie on Sept 10, 2020 19:44:08 GMT
Lived all over London..... love the place
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Post by richie22 on Sept 10, 2020 19:53:45 GMT
Down the tomorrow for work, hate the place as a rule. The thought of Friday afternoon, schools are back and all that shit and getting my truck out of there In one piece keeps me awake, that and was Diana rigg the fittest Bond girl.
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London
Sept 10, 2020 20:13:33 GMT
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Post by David Brent on Sept 10, 2020 20:13:33 GMT
Brother lives there. Love visiting always something going on/things to do. Could quite easily live there
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London
Sept 10, 2020 20:58:01 GMT
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Post by woodstein on Sept 10, 2020 20:58:01 GMT
Unsafe, unstable and unsociable best avoided at all costs.[/q uote] I love it. You want to try Bradford! 😂
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Post by DunnetHeadMoonraker on Sept 10, 2020 21:01:24 GMT
The last time I was in London was for our night game at Charlton in January of our 07/08 promotion season. There was a meeting of the professional society that I was a member of the day after the game and I managed to persuade my employers that it was important that I attended the meeting. I wasn't too bothered about the meeting but the thought of an all expenses paid trip from the north coast of Scotland to London to watch Stoke appealed to me. It was hectic day travelling down after an early morning breakfast overlooking the Pentland Firth and then a dash to Inverness to catch the flight to Luton. After checking in to my hotel I arrived at London Bridge station just before 7 p.m. I was completely surprised how busy the tube and station were as I mistakenly thought that something called the 'rush hour' would be over by then. Living in a remote and distant part of the Highlands I am not familiar with rush hours.
After the meeting the I chose to travel back home on the overnight train to Inverness rather than spend a night in a London hotel and get a flight the next day. I found London to be hellishly busy , noisy and dirty. What a joy it was to wake up on the train at Aviemore and see the snow capped hills of the Grampians before eventually arriving home and going for a bracing walk on a deserted beach.
I vowed never to visit London again unless it was absolutely necessary and thankfully I've still managed not to return.
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London
Sept 10, 2020 21:45:18 GMT
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lordb likes this
Post by ColonelMustard on Sept 10, 2020 21:45:18 GMT
Our lovely foreign friends have turned it into a dirty, crime riddled squalor! Oh for a return to those crime and squalor free days of the Krays. I dont know what city people visit but I've lived here for nearly 30 years and love the place and all it lets everyone be. As integrated and tolerant and as any place I've been of its size and stature. You get umpteen million people in an urban sprawl and theres going to be the odd problem but I'll take my chances here compared to most town centres. If going to be anti foreign something then its gone downhill from all the foreign money inflating prices and buying up housing. Priced out a lot of young and creatives, of all nations. They are going elsewhere, Berlin amongst other places. But people dont like to get angry at foreign money, far too nuanced. Must admit around Millwall way is as grim as it gets for me. Which is why I dont really go there for any other reason than a Stoke away. In a usual season.
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London
Sept 10, 2020 21:49:06 GMT
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Post by Orbs on Sept 10, 2020 21:49:06 GMT
The last time I was in London was for our night game at Charlton in January of our 07/08 promotion season. There was a meeting of the professional society that I was a member of the day after the game and I managed to persuade my employers that it was important that I attended the meeting. I wasn't too bothered about the meeting but the thought of an all expenses paid trip from the north coast of Scotland to London to watch Stoke appealed to me. It was hectic day travelling down after an early morning breakfast overlooking the Pentland Firth and then a dash to Inverness to catch the flight to Luton. After checking in to my hotel I arrived at London Bridge station just before 7 p.m. I was completely surprised how busy the tube and station were as I mistakenly thought that something called the 'rush hour' would be over by then. Living in a remote and distant part of the Highlands I am not familiar with rush hours. After the meeting the I chose to travel back home on the overnight train to Inverness rather than spend a night in a London hotel and get a flight the next day. I found London to be hellishly busy , noisy and dirty. What a joy it was to wake up on the train at Aviemore and see the snow capped hills of the Grampians before eventually arriving home and going for a bracing walk on a deserted beach. I vowed never to visit London again unless it was absolutely necessary and thankfully I've still managed not to return. 3 1/2 stars.
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London
Sept 10, 2020 22:04:20 GMT
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Post by GrahamHyde on Sept 10, 2020 22:04:20 GMT
Lived there for 8 years. Loved it but prefer it up in Manchester now.
Unless you're earning a very hefty wage it's not conducive to a decent lifestyle.
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Post by NassauDave on Sept 11, 2020 2:26:28 GMT
Our lovely foreign friends have turned it into a dirty, crime riddled squalor! Which ones, the Romans? More like the Romanians.
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Post by richie22 on Sept 11, 2020 4:08:54 GMT
The last time I was in London was for our night game at Charlton in January of our 07/08 promotion season. There was a meeting of the professional society that I was a member of the day after the game and I managed to persuade my employers that it was important that I attended the meeting. I wasn't too bothered about the meeting but the thought of an all expenses paid trip from the north coast of Scotland to London to watch Stoke appealed to me. It was hectic day travelling down after an early morning breakfast overlooking the Pentland Firth and then a dash to Inverness to catch the flight to Luton. After checking in to my hotel I arrived at London Bridge station just before 7 p.m. I was completely surprised how busy the tube and station were as I mistakenly thought that something called the 'rush hour' would be over by then. Living in a remote and distant part of the Highlands I am not familiar with rush hours. After the meeting the I chose to travel back home on the overnight train to Inverness rather than spend a night in a London hotel and get a flight the next day. I found London to be hellishly busy , noisy and dirty. What a joy it was to wake up on the train at Aviemore and see the snow capped hills of the Grampians before eventually arriving home and going for a bracing walk on a deserted beach. I vowed never to visit London again unless it was absolutely necessary and thankfully I've still managed not to return. Doing the Caledonian sleeper is on my bucket list, the last truly great British rail journey
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London
Sept 11, 2020 5:03:48 GMT
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Post by salopstick on Sept 11, 2020 5:03:48 GMT
I lived there from 96-00 when I was 21. what a great time.
I wouldn’t want to live there now but love an occasional visit just to take in the enormity of the place
For a night out now I prefer Cardiff
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London
Sept 11, 2020 10:21:34 GMT
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Post by followyoudown on Sept 11, 2020 10:21:34 GMT
The last time I was in London was for our night game at Charlton in January of our 07/08 promotion season. There was a meeting of the professional society that I was a member of the day after the game and I managed to persuade my employers that it was important that I attended the meeting. I wasn't too bothered about the meeting but the thought of an all expenses paid trip from the north coast of Scotland to London to watch Stoke appealed to me. It was hectic day travelling down after an early morning breakfast overlooking the Pentland Firth and then a dash to Inverness to catch the flight to Luton. After checking in to my hotel I arrived at London Bridge station just before 7 p.m. I was completely surprised how busy the tube and station were as I mistakenly thought that something called the 'rush hour' would be over by then. Living in a remote and distant part of the Highlands I am not familiar with rush hours. After the meeting the I chose to travel back home on the overnight train to Inverness rather than spend a night in a London hotel and get a flight the next day. I found London to be hellishly busy , noisy and dirty. What a joy it was to wake up on the train at Aviemore and see the snow capped hills of the Grampians before eventually arriving home and going for a bracing walk on a deserted beach. I vowed never to visit London again unless it was absolutely necessary and thankfully I've still managed not to return. 7pm is pretty much the arse end of the rush hour, most places have trains every 15 or 20 mins and they would normally be pretty full, only takes one to be cancelled to have 2 trains of people getting onto 1 train. Whatever you think of the drawbacks I wouldnt swap living in london, its crazy I can back to central london and onward from there to croydon after a concert in birmingham, leicester, derby or nottingham yet when I was living in Stone I either have to drive or stay over and thats without all the concerts in london itself.
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Post by thevoid on Sept 11, 2020 12:16:32 GMT
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London
Sept 11, 2020 12:34:04 GMT
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Post by chuffedstokie on Sept 11, 2020 12:34:04 GMT
Throughout training I lived variously in Colindale, Upper Norwood then Marble Arch/Oxford Street. After a while you tend to become a bit blasė about the place (I did) but overall it was alright living there and having everything on your doorstep. Having said that where I am now is the polar opposite and wouldn't change it at all. Looking at the hills and sea in equal measure writing this before going to work. (and the suns just come out).
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London
Sept 11, 2020 12:49:48 GMT
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Post by Dresden_scfc on Sept 11, 2020 12:49:48 GMT
NYC has also gone ridiculously expensive
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London
Sept 11, 2020 12:55:59 GMT
Post by marylandstoke on Sept 11, 2020 12:55:59 GMT
Lived all over London..... love the place Same.
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Post by marylandstoke on Sept 11, 2020 13:00:31 GMT
I lived there from 96-00 when I was 21. what a great time. I wouldn’t want to live there now but love an occasional visit just to take in the enormity of the place For a night out now I prefer Cardiff I don’t know about now but Cardiff, in my day, had the most amazing music and arts attitude of almost any city I knew.
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Post by thevoid on Sept 11, 2020 13:05:57 GMT
NYC has also gone ridiculously expensive I would have loved to have visited under normal circumstances but a friend who went put me off. He said there were queues everywhere, even just to get in a burger place in the middle of the afternoon.
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Post by marylandstoke on Sept 11, 2020 13:09:37 GMT
The last time I was in London was for our night game at Charlton in January of our 07/08 promotion season. There was a meeting of the professional society that I was a member of the day after the game and I managed to persuade my employers that it was important that I attended the meeting. I wasn't too bothered about the meeting but the thought of an all expenses paid trip from the north coast of Scotland to London to watch Stoke appealed to me. It was hectic day travelling down after an early morning breakfast overlooking the Pentland Firth and then a dash to Inverness to catch the flight to Luton. After checking in to my hotel I arrived at London Bridge station just before 7 p.m. I was completely surprised how busy the tube and station were as I mistakenly thought that something called the 'rush hour' would be over by then. Living in a remote and distant part of the Highlands I am not familiar with rush hours. After the meeting the I chose to travel back home on the overnight train to Inverness rather than spend a night in a London hotel and get a flight the next day. I found London to be hellishly busy , noisy and dirty. What a joy it was to wake up on the train at Aviemore and see the snow capped hills of the Grampians before eventually arriving home and going for a bracing walk on a deserted beach. I vowed never to visit London again unless it was absolutely necessary and thankfully I've still managed not to return. Doing the Caledonian sleeper is on my bucket list, the last truly great British rail journey Finished a wonderful job in Edinburger many moons ago and towards the end the production company told me I could choose to return to London,any way I wanted, on their dime. As a result I chose the sleeper train and it was one of the most magical journeys. I love to travel by train anyway but this was really like something you would see in a film. Leather chairs in the bar car. Porters to tuck you in and wake you in the morning. Highly recommended.
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London
Sept 11, 2020 13:11:58 GMT
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Post by salopstick on Sept 11, 2020 13:11:58 GMT
I lived there from 96-00 when I was 21. what a great time. I wouldn’t want to live there now but love an occasional visit just to take in the enormity of the place For a night out now I prefer Cardiff I don’t know about now but Cardiff, in my day, had the most amazing music and arts attitude of almost any city I knew. Absolutely brilliant for a group of older lads weekend away. And v good on a rugby weekend when wales play away
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London
Sept 11, 2020 13:15:46 GMT
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Post by Dresden_scfc on Sept 11, 2020 13:15:46 GMT
NYC has also gone ridiculously expensive I would have loved to have visited under normal circumstances but a friend who visited put me off. He said there were queues everywhere, even just to get in a burger place in the middle of the afternoon. Yeah it's not a good experience like that
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Post by ColonelMustard on Sept 11, 2020 15:21:52 GMT
I lived there from 96-00 when I was 21. what a great time. I wouldn’t want to live there now but love an occasional visit just to take in the enormity of the place For a night out now I prefer Cardiff They were great years. End of the millennium, end of 17 years of Tory rule ;). It was still just about affordable for young people. Great, optimistic time to live in London. I lived right in the middle of Camden Town.
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London
Sept 11, 2020 16:58:54 GMT
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Post by dutchstokie on Sept 11, 2020 16:58:54 GMT
I lived there from 96-00 when I was 21. what a great time. I wouldn’t want to live there now but love an occasional visit just to take in the enormity of the place For a night out now I prefer Cardiff They were great years. End of the millennium, end of 17 years of Tory rule . It was still just about affordable for young people. Great, optimistic time to live in London. I lived right in the middle of Camden Town. Did you ever go to The Steam Passage ?
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London
Sept 11, 2020 17:03:11 GMT
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Post by ColonelMustard on Sept 11, 2020 17:03:11 GMT
They were great years. End of the millennium, end of 17 years of Tory rule ;). It was still just about affordable for young people. Great, optimistic time to live in London. I lived right in the middle of Camden Town. Did you ever go to The Steam Passage ? I know the steam passage in Angel, I'm trying to think of the steam passage back then in Camden.
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Post by dutchstokie on Sept 11, 2020 17:10:30 GMT
Did you ever go to The Steam Passage ? I know the steam passage in Angel, I'm trying to think of the steam passage back then in Camden. Aye that’s the one..... just up the road..... fell over in there many a time😂👍..... the most memorable being the 0-0 against Italy in 98 World Cup qualifier..... split lip after falling against the bat but hey that’s the wounds of glory heh
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Post by ColonelMustard on Sept 11, 2020 17:23:47 GMT
I know the steam passage in Angel, I'm trying to think of the steam passage back then in Camden. Aye that’s the one..... just up the road..... fell over in there many a time😂👍..... the most memorable being the 0-0 against Italy in 98 World Cup qualifier..... split lip after falling against the bat but hey that’s the wounds of glory heh :) It's still there, not that far from where I live now. One of the ones that has resisted the gastro pub epidemic. Still shows football. And maybe the same slippy floors
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London
Sept 11, 2020 18:42:33 GMT
Post by elystokie on Sept 11, 2020 18:42:33 GMT
Doing the Caledonian sleeper is on my bucket list, the last truly great British rail journey Finished a wonderful job in Edinburger many moons ago and towards the end the production company told me I could choose to return to London,any way I wanted, on their dime. As a result I chose the sleeper train and it was one of the most magical journeys. I love to travel by train anyway but this was really like something you would see in a film. Leather chairs in the bar car. Porters to tuck you in and wake you in the morning. Highly recommended. When I was stationed at Rosyth British Rail had this weird but much appreciated deal going on where if we paid for our ticket with a rail warrant we could get a sleeper berth for just 50p! Get in bed at King's Cross and wake up in Edinburgh with a cup of tea and a biscuit, lovely, never saw a bar with leather chairs tho so maybe I wasn't as posh as I thought
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London
Sept 11, 2020 18:58:37 GMT
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Post by iancransonsknees on Sept 11, 2020 18:58:37 GMT
Not a fan at all. Got to stay in central London around Charlotte Street and that was nice enough but I wouldn't voluntarily return.
Love my North American big cities.
Chicago and Vancouver are on a par for me, bit of everything going on, right next to the water, top class food,sports and music. Very easy to get about. Felt safer in both places (Chicago surprisingly) than any big UK city.
I wanted to try Denver and maybe Asheville this year but all that's on hold.
Cape Town is probably the most outstanding world city for scenery, Table Mountain, Camps Bay, Clifton etc. I thought my wedding photos were going to be a proper con until we got taken all over the city to these locations to have them taken, quality.
That President Xi of China was stopping in the same hotel on some trade conference at the time, he was vice president then. I shat myself when we got to the driveway of the hotel, about 250 yards of driveway lined with police cars and big black blokes in SWAT gear and sub machine guns. Wondered where on earth we'd gone too. Best food I've had anywhere, great people who go out of their way to look after you too.
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