AT St. Columba's they used to have highland reel dancing classes and parties at night: you could hear the music and bagpipes all over the neighborhood. We lived nearby in cadogan Sq. Lovely and so English -- well, Scottish really.
LOVE these emails, whether travel journals, or any other topic, really. So, simple, unprepossessing — written by a person who writes to you like you’re an old friend, and not as some “member of an audience”. Thank you for treating me this way.
My wife and I were in Copenhagen and Oslo as well and met some friends near the Central Train station in Stockholm. Their choice of meeting place? The Seven Eleven near the station. There were a lot of them there as well as Burger Kings
My wife and I visited London when the foreign exchange student who lived with our family for our senior year in high school, long ago, was married. We had a wonderful time there and the wedding was magnificent. Most of the British ladies wore delightful hats. Your travel notes and pictures are reminding me of our visit several years ago. We also went to their local pub, what a hoot! Great memories. Thanks Jay.
You might hear more French spoken if you were to walk the streets of my Brooklyn neighborhood, which was mostly Italian when we first moved here 45 years ago.
Your comments about the bankers reminds me of a scene in one of Patrick O'Brian's delightful stories. Captain Aubrey told someone "My bankers are Hoares," much to the giggling delight of the midshipmen who overheard him.
Thanks Jay – I’m enjoying your observations of my adopted hometown. You’re reminding me of when I moved here 14 years ago. (I’m a west coast American now living in the Borough of Richmond.)
A few thoughts:
- If you’re hearing lots of French voices, chances you’re in a neighbourhood that has a French school. When they put a Lycee Francais ecole primaire in my former neighborhood near Northcote Road in Battersea, the French spoken there went up exponentially. If you see a Aux Merveilleux de Fred, you can bet you’re close to a French school. (By the way, the pastries are amazing.)
- One of the reasons there are fewer people in the neighborhoods might be because school’s out and everyone is on holiday. Compound that with the fact you’re in upmarket neighborhoods. Everyone is out of Dodge right now. (My high street is super-quiet right now.) Come September and the hustle and bustle will be back.
- If you’re in Belgravia, I would recommend The Grenadier or The Thomas Cubitt.
- Toilets? Yes, they’re called that but well-mannered people will call them ‘The Gents/Ladies’ or the ‘Lavatory’.
- Re: recorded announcement at tube stations. Go to Embankment station. Listen to the voice that says “Mind the Gap”. It’s distinctly different and a very heartwarming story behind that.
I had a very similar experience on the sidewalks in London when I first visited over 20 years ago. I was on a business trip and was walking to lunch with 3 colleagues, a fellow American and 2 Brits. When I made the same observation, confirmed by my fellow Yank, about Americans mimicking our driving habit of staying on the ride side and passing on the left, they were gobsmacked.
AT St. Columba's they used to have highland reel dancing classes and parties at night: you could hear the music and bagpipes all over the neighborhood. We lived nearby in cadogan Sq. Lovely and so English -- well, Scottish really.
LOVE these emails, whether travel journals, or any other topic, really. So, simple, unprepossessing — written by a person who writes to you like you’re an old friend, and not as some “member of an audience”. Thank you for treating me this way.
Jay,
My wife and I were in Copenhagen and Oslo as well and met some friends near the Central Train station in Stockholm. Their choice of meeting place? The Seven Eleven near the station. There were a lot of them there as well as Burger Kings
Yes! Thx.
My wife and I visited London when the foreign exchange student who lived with our family for our senior year in high school, long ago, was married. We had a wonderful time there and the wedding was magnificent. Most of the British ladies wore delightful hats. Your travel notes and pictures are reminding me of our visit several years ago. We also went to their local pub, what a hoot! Great memories. Thanks Jay.
My pleasure! Thx much.
You might hear more French spoken if you were to walk the streets of my Brooklyn neighborhood, which was mostly Italian when we first moved here 45 years ago.
Your comments about the bankers reminds me of a scene in one of Patrick O'Brian's delightful stories. Captain Aubrey told someone "My bankers are Hoares," much to the giggling delight of the midshipmen who overheard him.
That's great, Mark! Thx.
Thanks Jay – I’m enjoying your observations of my adopted hometown. You’re reminding me of when I moved here 14 years ago. (I’m a west coast American now living in the Borough of Richmond.)
A few thoughts:
- If you’re hearing lots of French voices, chances you’re in a neighbourhood that has a French school. When they put a Lycee Francais ecole primaire in my former neighborhood near Northcote Road in Battersea, the French spoken there went up exponentially. If you see a Aux Merveilleux de Fred, you can bet you’re close to a French school. (By the way, the pastries are amazing.)
- One of the reasons there are fewer people in the neighborhoods might be because school’s out and everyone is on holiday. Compound that with the fact you’re in upmarket neighborhoods. Everyone is out of Dodge right now. (My high street is super-quiet right now.) Come September and the hustle and bustle will be back.
- If you’re in Belgravia, I would recommend The Grenadier or The Thomas Cubitt.
- Toilets? Yes, they’re called that but well-mannered people will call them ‘The Gents/Ladies’ or the ‘Lavatory’.
- Re: recorded announcement at tube stations. Go to Embankment station. Listen to the voice that says “Mind the Gap”. It’s distinctly different and a very heartwarming story behind that.
I loved all that, Derek -- thank you.
I had a very similar experience on the sidewalks in London when I first visited over 20 years ago. I was on a business trip and was walking to lunch with 3 colleagues, a fellow American and 2 Brits. When I made the same observation, confirmed by my fellow Yank, about Americans mimicking our driving habit of staying on the ride side and passing on the left, they were gobsmacked.
!
I love London but haven't been there in over 20 years. Thanks, Jay, for letting us travel vicariously through you.
Thx, Ed.
"At home, I tend to hear Spanish and Russian."
Same, although I can't tell Russian from Ukrainian, so it could be either one.