check out:
my new blog complaining about everything, sometime praising things. but mostly hating
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Wednesday, 30 September 2009
NEW ADDRESS
I had too many blogs going
check out:
my new blog complaining about everything, sometime praising things. but mostly hating
also please visit
Monday, 18 May 2009
Highgate by Gumjoy
In Georgian times, winter snows could cut Highgate off from London. Although the coming of the railway made travel more reliable, the area retains the air of a country village, with its village green and pond still intact.
The Flask
Dating back to the 15th century, this pub’s floor is said to be level with the cross of St Paul's Cathedral. Good food, Sunday roasts and real ales are served in an atmospheric set of rooms with leaded windows, crowded with regulars.
77 Highgate West Hill N6 6BU
Tel: +44 (0)20 8340 7260
Fisher & Sperr
A classic second-hand bookshop, with a good section specialising in books about London. You will find books on every subject, from philosophy to literature, and turn up rarities - and many bargains, as you browse its shelves.
46 Highgate High Street N6 5JB
Tel: +44 (0)20 8340 7244
Highgate Wood
Pronounced ‘an open space forever’ by the Mayor in 1886, this is a last remnant of the Middlesex Forest that once covered London. A night-time bat walk will introduce you to some of its denizens, which includes foxes, squirrels and birds. The Pavilion Cafe offers snacks in a lovely garden setting.
Muswell Hill Road N10
Highgate Cemetery
This Grade II Listed site holds the graves of Faraday, Karl Marx and George Eliot among many other famous names. Because of its popularity with the living, visitors are strictly regulated. See the website below for full details.
Swain's Lane N6
Tel: +44 (0)20 8340 1834
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Sunday, 17 May 2009
Zizzi, Highgate
1 Hampstead LaneHighgate
London
N6 4RS
(see map at the bottom)
We went to Zizzi the other day and I regretted it. We decided to give Zizzi another chance after last time having a rather poor experience I wont be a making that mistake again.
First time I went to Zizzi I had a pizza, however the pizza is clearly a victim of severe corporate cost-cutting. I ordered a margarita with parma ham however what I actually got was pizza base, tomato paste, and thats about it! There was one tiny blob of ham, yes a blob of ham. This pizza was embarrassingly bad. I was going to send it back however I really did not want to wait another 45minutes.
So on my second visit I decided to avoid the pizza and order the spaghetti carbonnara. The restaurant was completely empty as it was 5pm, yet it still took 40minutes before my meal arrived. When it did arrive I was disappointed yet again by the bland meal. There is nothing special about the food. There is nothing special about the restaurant as a whole.
To top all things off, on both visits we had the most perverted waiter ever. Gumjoy girl is rather attractive there is no denying this however. Is really necessary to gawp on her. When I went to the toilet he pounced. Not acceptable Mr. Waiter man.
But anyways. I wouldn't recommend you eat here UNLESS you click the link below and download the discount coupon. The coupon makes your evening a whole lot cheaper and to be honest that makes it just about bearable
First time I went to Zizzi I had a pizza, however the pizza is clearly a victim of severe corporate cost-cutting. I ordered a margarita with parma ham however what I actually got was pizza base, tomato paste, and thats about it! There was one tiny blob of ham, yes a blob of ham. This pizza was embarrassingly bad. I was going to send it back however I really did not want to wait another 45minutes.
So on my second visit I decided to avoid the pizza and order the spaghetti carbonnara. The restaurant was completely empty as it was 5pm, yet it still took 40minutes before my meal arrived. When it did arrive I was disappointed yet again by the bland meal. There is nothing special about the food. There is nothing special about the restaurant as a whole.
To top all things off, on both visits we had the most perverted waiter ever. Gumjoy girl is rather attractive there is no denying this however. Is really necessary to gawp on her. When I went to the toilet he pounced. Not acceptable Mr. Waiter man.
But anyways. I wouldn't recommend you eat here UNLESS you click the link below and download the discount coupon. The coupon makes your evening a whole lot cheaper and to be honest that makes it just about bearable
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Gumjoy Piccadilly Circus Walk
Piccadilly Circus.
Three sides of Piccadilly Circus are leased from the Crown, which bans advertising signs. The fourth had looser control and adverts made their first appearance here in the early 1900s. Gordon’s Gin was one of the first illuminated signs, in 1923. Sanyo, here since 1980, is currently the longest-running advertisement.
Eros
‘Eros’ is actually his twin brother Anteros, ‘The God of Selfless Love’, sculpted by Sir Alfred Gilbert RA in 1893 to commemorate philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury. The world’s first public aluminium statue - its light weight allowing the pose on one leg, the model was 16-year-old Italian Angelo Colarossi. The archer was originally aimed to bury his shaft in Shaftesbury Avenue.
Criterion Theatre
The whole of the Criterion Theatre, other than the box office, is underground. The art nouveau Criterion Brasserie - now run by Marco Pierre White - is where Dr Watson first heard of Sherlock Holmes:
'I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when someone tapped me on the shoulder...'
While many tourists have their photos taken with the Horses of Helios rearing out of the fountain at the corner of Haymarket, most miss the Daughters of Helios - or The Three Graces - diving from the roof of 1 Jermyn Street above. By the same artist, sculptor and bar owner Rudy Weller, they are made of gold-leaf-covered aluminium.
Trocodero
This was London’s’ most fashionable dining when
J Lyons and Co. opened it in 1896 - the first public restaurant with a wine cellar and the first to let women dine alone. This freize of King Arthur - now in a cinema foyer on the first floor - once graced the restaurant.
Lillywhite's
Lillywhite’s has been selling sports goods since 1863. William Lillywhite introduced overarm bowling to cricket and his son James was the first-ever captain of an England XI, paying for the first test match in Australia in 1877. Look for the bronze plaques of James, playing in top hat, beside the doors.
View Gumjoy Walks in a larger map
View Gumjoy Walks in a larger map
Eros‘Eros’ is actually his twin brother Anteros, ‘The God of Selfless Love’, sculpted by Sir Alfred Gilbert RA in 1893 to commemorate philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury. The world’s first public aluminium statue - its light weight allowing the pose on one leg, the model was 16-year-old Italian Angelo Colarossi. The archer was originally aimed to bury his shaft in Shaftesbury Avenue.
Criterion TheatreThe whole of the Criterion Theatre, other than the box office, is underground. The art nouveau Criterion Brasserie - now run by Marco Pierre White - is where Dr Watson first heard of Sherlock Holmes:
'I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when someone tapped me on the shoulder...'
While many tourists have their photos taken with the Horses of Helios rearing out of the fountain at the corner of Haymarket, most miss the Daughters of Helios - or The Three Graces - diving from the roof of 1 Jermyn Street above. By the same artist, sculptor and bar owner Rudy Weller, they are made of gold-leaf-covered aluminium.
TrocoderoThis was London’s’ most fashionable dining when
J Lyons and Co. opened it in 1896 - the first public restaurant with a wine cellar and the first to let women dine alone. This freize of King Arthur - now in a cinema foyer on the first floor - once graced the restaurant.
Lillywhite'sLillywhite’s has been selling sports goods since 1863. William Lillywhite introduced overarm bowling to cricket and his son James was the first-ever captain of an England XI, paying for the first test match in Australia in 1877. Look for the bronze plaques of James, playing in top hat, beside the doors.
View Gumjoy Walks in a larger map
View Gumjoy Walks in a larger map
Friday, 8 May 2009
Gumjoy Trafalgar Square Walk
King George IVLook again at this flattering statue by Francis Chantrey of King George IV and you’ll notice he has no stirrups. The king was obese - he was called the Prince of Whales - and he started the fashion of wearing trousers, rather than tight breeches, to hide his weight.
Imperial MeasuresSitting on the steps below the National Gallery to eat their sandwiches, many tourists unknowingly rest their feet on the standard Imperial measures of length, set into the granite paving in brass. Here’s where you can check the length of a perch, a pole, a chain or a yard.
Smallest Police StationThe fountains in the square were installed to stop unruly political demonstrations. Before then, near the foot of Nelson’s Column, the world’s smallest police station (now a cleaner’s store) kept an eye on any crowds. The light on top is not from Nelson’s HMS Victory, as some guide books might tell you.
Sir Henry HavelockBy Behnes (1861), this is the first statue to have been based on a photograph. Major-General Havelock served in Afghanistan, Burma and India where he died of dysentry in 1857.
A ‘Havelock’ is the cloth that hangs from the back of a kepi to protect the neck from sunburn.
Nelson's Column
Centre of LondonOn a busy traffic island below Trafalgar Square is a statue of King Charles I (looking towards the place he was beheaded). It’s on a site once occupied by Queen Eleanor's Cross (a replica of which is now in front of Charing Cross station) and is the place from which all distances to London are measured.
Sir Charles James NapierBy George Adams (1855). Napier was a veteran of the Peninsular War against Napoleon and of the War of 1812 against the United States. In 1840, fighting in India, he captured Sind - against orders - supposedly sending the news with the double pun: ‘Peccavi’ - Latin for ‘I have sinned’.
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View Gumjoy Walks in a larger map
Leicester Square
The Odeon CinemaBuilt in 1937 on the site of the Alhambra music hall, this is the largest single screen cinema in Britain and still has an operating Compton organ. The magnificent art-deco auditorium, featuring two naked nymphs, was almost destroyed by ‘modernisation’ in the 1960s but has now been partially restored.
Joshua ReynoldsReynolds was born near Plymouth in 1723 and came to London to study art in 1740. A disciple of William Hogarth, he also studied in Rome before setting up as a fashionable portrait painter. The first president of the Royal Academy in 1768, he was knighted in 1769 and died in 1792.
John HunterA founder of ‘scientific surgery’, Scots-born John Hunter came to London in 1748. As an army surgeon, he developed new treatments for gunshot wounds. Moving to 28 Leicester Square in 1783, his teaching museum - with a kangaroo specimen donated by Captain Cook - became world-famous.
Charlie Chaplin
Unveiled by Sir Ralph Richardson in 1981, this statue is by British sculptor John Doubleday, who made the Sherlock Holmes sculpture at Baker Street tube. Chaplin was born in South London and first went on stage aged eight, touring America at the age of 17 when his talent was spotted.
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