London Calling

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come out of liverpool street, turn left and head up hoxton high street towards dalston. if you want you can channel your inner richard ashcroft and knock people out of your way as thats where the iconic “bittersweet symphony” video was filmed. when you get to dalston, head into the 3 compasses and you should have ale and racing, there was a bookies next door but havent been there is a good while so not sure sure

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This sounds very promising

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Try the toucan if you’re in Soho area. Used be 12 Guinness Taps and one lager. Now it’s about 10 Guinness Taps and six others, but is basically a Guinness pub.

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Also, this is going to maybe sound old, but a walk around spitalfields and across towards the gherkin and the jewellery quarter is nice just to do of itself.

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I once spent ages looking for The Wee Chief in Tooting Bec…before smartphones etc. I was late for a date but my explanation amused her sufficiently

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Gave a lot of time in Dalston’s Rio in the summer of 1988. I recall a particularly memorable Josef von Sternberg double bill.

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148

We spent a week down in London in 2017 for the World Atheltics. We did a day mooching in and out of Soho pubs. Great few hours.

Then during the 2018 World Cup, I went down and stayed with the Bro in law one weekend. Was the day of the last 16 when Pavard got that cracker. We started in Shoreditch in a hipster football bar ran by Classic Football Shirts then moved on to a pub that was owned by the Krays before watching the Uruguay game in a soulless pub up by Camberwell. We then took in a few pubs rounds Camberwell. The Brother in law was working with Slaughters at the time so I was surrounded by his colleagues. One an ardent Brexiteer who was ex Army. Not the worst of the bunch though. Finished up in the Bedford in Balham

London is great for those random meandering days where you just jump in and out of places with no plan.
Bit like this post.

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Im staying at the Barbican centre in early January but i dislike shoreditch. I’d rather head down around borough market and wander around there or even over to holborn

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We said we’d go for a look but it wasn’t the Bro in laws cup of tea. I thought it was okay but very Overpriced and trying too hard

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You spread enough of it round here.

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I spent a few years in Wood Green in the late 90s.Holloway Rd would have been where I’d have drank mostly,The Archway The Half Moon,I’d usually only drink in the city after work on a Friday evening.

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The Camden Palace was a great spot on a Saturday night for a rave and the odd time to the elephant and castle.The Schwan in Stockwell the odd time if we were down south.

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how rough? I live in Bermondsey

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Breakfast here

There’s always a queue at the weekend

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The original hipster place, but like all the hipster places taken over by pretenders

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Head down to Borough, some savage pubs around in Southwark, Barbican is only good for the cinema

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Exactly. They’ve moved onto Hackney Wick at this point and beginning to takeover Stoke Newington

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I was here briefly last week. It was packed on a Saturday afternoon. Beautiful tiling as you point out. Good mix of locals, tourists, mildly hipstery types. Stairs down to the toilet are slightly dodgy if you have a few pints in you but I wouldn’t fault the place.

Spitalfields does have an atmosphere of its own. Very broad generalisation, but I find a lot of what is viewed as character in the east end is just grubbiness and poor maintenance. Much prefer west London.

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Prince of Wales SE1 is your man.

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Very well put, I think. Like so many over the years, I like best Fitzrovia/Holborn/Soho way – even if it is not what it was etc…

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