I'll be in London from 23-29 January. Sartorial-artistic and historic pursuits will define my stay-as usual. However, I'd love your suggestions regarding what I should do during my six day stay in the U.K.
Onward-to England.
ADG
Friday, January 15, 2010
Goodbye W.G. Grace - Hello London
I've loved collecting 19th century British caricature. It appeals to my aesthetic interests but also involves erudition-sleuthing-entrepreneurship...to whatever degree you decide to engage it. I can make any interest an erudite undertaking-it's fun for me. Part of the fun of art collecting for me has been my ability to finance my addiction through buying and selling prints and watercolours.
To that end-I say goodbye to my W.G. Grace caricature as well as a few others. I happily divest these possessions in order to finance my London visit.
I'll be in London from 23-29 January. Sartorial-artistic and historic pursuits will define my stay-as usual. However, I'd love your suggestions regarding what I should do during my six day stay in the U.K.
Onward-to England.
ADG
I'll be in London from 23-29 January. Sartorial-artistic and historic pursuits will define my stay-as usual. However, I'd love your suggestions regarding what I should do during my six day stay in the U.K.
Onward-to England.
ADG
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36 comments:
Tea at F&M post-Hatchards?
I'm sure you've done some research about which spots to visit.
I can't wait to read your posts and see photos of your finds.
Bon voyage, and God Save the Queen!
I know you'll be sharing lots of photos. Maybe you can see if any English woman compare to the lady who made your scarf. All in the furtherance of anthropology and international relationships of course! Have a great trip and watch out for fellow passengers with big underwear!
Anderson and Sheppard, although you might have to depart w/ a few more pieces of art.
Make sure you visit David Saxby (http://www.davidsaxby.co.uk). He makes brilliant tweed hunting jackets and other sporting wear, cords and the like. If you visit his shop you can pick up the silk scarves and cravats he makes for half the price for which they're re-sold for on Jermyn Street.
Also, his Old Hat shop in Fulham has an excellent selection of vintage stuff.
For tea I recommend Brown's hotel on Albemarle Street. Cocktails at the Claridge's smoking room are pricey but well worth it.
Enjoy your stay in the metrop!
ELS....yes.
James....bad visual...the big underwear thing.
Anon...Anderson and Shep. ... no can do.
Caligula...Thanks! Saxby website is great. I'll be there. Already had Claridges on the list.
My Blogland buddies and I are betting that you're off to meet the anon. English female. And, if not, we commend the thought to you.
Anonymous....thanks for the rec. on meeting AnonEngFem. Unfortunately she is anonymous. And I don't meet ANYONE without a visual confirmation first.
- DONT go to Anderson and Sheppard
- DO go to the Wolseley on Piccadilly for afternoon tea!
- DO go to David Saxby and his other shop Old Hat next door.
-Visit Turnbull & Asser / Cordings
-Get a traditional shave at Taylor of Old Bond st or F. Trumper on Jermyn St
-Walk through Kensington Gardens.
-Visit the Victoria & Albert museum.
sorry i forgot to mention have a lovely trip. All the best - Fred
Sorry my bad, just meant to make a tasteless terrorist joke!
buy more caricatures!
DO go to A&S - you don't have to commission anything there but it's worth it for some inspiration. Obviously, the same applies to all the other famous names in the vicinity.
HAVE dinner at The Ledbury - best value in town for a reasonably well established Frecnh-ish restaurant.
BUY tea and coffee at H.R. Higgins (Coffee-Man) in Duke Street.
HAVE an early drink at The Windsor Castle on Campden Hill Road, one of the original Sloane Ranger pubs (W8 still, I believe).
HAVE several more later drinks at The Dukes Hotel's bar.
TAKE a morning stroll through Regents Park.
ENJOY art and quiet at Kenwood House, on Hampstead Heath.
VIEW the Renaissance section at the National Gallery.
ENJOY London.
dE
I'll be on la playa Mexicana the same week. Environmental and leisurely pursuits will define my stay...XXOO
We all know you're going for pootie tang. Boys from Dixie don't cross the pond for nuthin' else.
I need some navy socks, calf length from Marks and Sparks. Do this for me and I'll get you a private tour of Lloyd's of London. No shit.
Never leave home without:
http://www.timeout.com/london/
Awaiting your safe return
If you haven't already been - Sir John Soane's Museum.
Anonymous - just been flicking rough my diary and can't fit in a single appointment for at least the next 4 weeks - and remember I read this blog and I've had the visual confirmation..
ADG - cakes at Maison Bertaux, dinner at St John, Whistlejacket at the National Gallery and (of course) The Rakes's Progress at the Royal Opera.
Lambs Conduit Street - slightly off the beaten path (but near Holborn and the British Museum). A charming street with two off-Row tailors, a couple of great pubs and an assortment of other interesting shops.
Columbia Road flower market - excellent atmosphere on a Sunday morning
The Wolseley - I recommend a late breakfast there as a preliminary to hitting Jermyn Street
Mount Street in Mayfair (behind the Connaught) - best window shopping in town
Enjoy your trip!
Fred….I’ll go to Anderson and Sheppard just to see the new location…the pictures in The Rake magazine are nice. Worry not though-I won’t be buying anything there.
While I’ve been to many of the places recommended-and it’s nice to get affirmation regarding many of the places I love-I have never been to David Saxby but am anxious to check it out.
Longwing...Hey buddy. Good to hear from you. I doubt I’ll be buying caricatures-I’m in the midst of divesting. You want some?
Des Esseintes...Thanks for the great suggestions. Most of yours are new to me-great!
SummersVerb...better get your swine flu ass better before you go down there!
Ten-Ton...You are dead wrong my brother. If that was the motivation for every time I’ve crossed the pond in the last twenty years I’d be dead by now. I’ll get you your blue socks.
Toad...Thanks!
The architecturalist...Thanks.
Anonymous English Female...You’d find me off putting anyway. I’m not worth a train trip into London. Trust me.
Sir Fopling...Yes! I know that little street. I used to rent a down trodden temporary flat on Southampton Row. Thanks for all the other suggestions too.
ADG...I have a lot of links to thinks to do in the UK and agree with many suggestions here.
I'd suggest dinner with Sir Fopling... he's brilliant and funny and knows where to eat. I had dinner with him & his fiancee at Modern Pantry in Clerkenwall and it was one of the most amazing meals!
Totally agree on Sir John Soane Museum. Just incredible and fascinating.
I'll have my shopping list over to you later today. Also, maybe order the inflatable hair and have them ship it to your hotel, in case you can't find it otherwise.
I second The Architecturalist - must go to Sir John Soane's Museum. And William Morris' house in Walthamstow is off the beaten track but worth it. And try the Naval Maritime Museum in Greenwich too. I once bought a book on the British Navy there for my father and was THOROUGHLY mortified to later discover that it was completely raunchy (after my father had finished reading it, of course.)
Just two words: Cuban Cigars
While shopping for shirts on Jermyn Street you could stop in at Geo. F. Trumper for a shave and a haircut.
Geo. F. Trumper
20 Jermyn Street
London SW1Y 6HP
+44 (0)20 7734 1370
-Aaron
Uhhh, okay then . . . my Blogland buddies and I will come up with some other outlet for our enduring need for virtual-to-corporeal romanticish fantasies . . .
St. Gils without Cripplegate, where Milton is buried, is a lovely, still island of a Medieval church in the heart of the city.
I can't wait to see the blogs to emerge from all this! - A-N-S-G-S
You're going to need a personal secretary and more than a week to fit all of these wonderful suggestions in. Perhaps tea with the Queen to discuss caricature collecting? You just might have something in your collection that the royal collection is missing...Have a lovely time.
Completely selfish on my part, but I hope you'll post from London and give us a yarn, and let live vicariously through Our Man in London - ADG!
Be sure to go to Carnaby Street--you'll love it!
Interested in divesting of one of your Doctor's watches? I'm in the market for a reasonably priced timepiece?
-Ham
metalsouth@gmail.com
MegTown...I look forward to your suggestions!
LimeGreenGal....thanks!
Mal...yes...I'll be smokin' 'em.
Anon-Not-So...stay tuned!
AaronSluice...thanks-I've been there!
HeavyTweed...funny you mention it. I wrote the curator of the Royal Collection at Windsor fifteen years ago and gained access to the Queen's Collection. I spent half a day there at Windsor.
Hamilton....email my buddy Barrie Law at waterman's watches
ELS' Colonel here...I suggest a visit to a traditional gentleman's tailor shop in Savile Row (just off Piccadilly), such as Gieves & Hawkes - if you haven't been there already. I went out on a limb financially and got a dark blue silk two-piece lounge suit there some years ago - a thing of immense beauty.
Also, if your funds run to such an extravagance, you could go to Meyer & Mortimer in Sackville Street (v close to G & H). They make the MOST SUPERB tweed suits to measure. I have long wished to get such a suit from there. You might ask them to show you the tweed for Clan Gordon (the best clans have not only a tartan but a tweed!) - it is gorgeous. They made all my uniforms when I was a young Army officer, leaving me simultaneously both gorgeously dressed and absolutely broke (but done with SUCH style!).
Most of the other fine shirt makers in nearby Jermyn Street are running special offers (four city shirts for £100 etc). An absolute bargain, especially for the dollar-bearing US visitor.
I have, of course, also to recommend the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. This is the one last thing that the Brits still do better than anyone else.
Have fun!
Colonel-ELS’ Aide de Camp
Thanks for the suggestions. I shall have fun. Regarding Changing of the Guard…I coincidentally ended up in London many years ago for Trooping the Colour…an amazing immersion into all things Martial-Anglo-Royal etc. I loved it.
The blue jacket that ELS showed you in while the two of you were in Venice became the genesis of my post about velvet jackets. I assume that is the one to which you refer.
My funds are committed already-due to a fitting that I will have on the Row while in London but the Meyer and Mortimer suggestion is intriguing. And yes, the Jermyn Street offers will see me pouncing on them for certain.
ADG
Have a safe and wonderful journey!
Please bring back lots of photos and stories.
Go to The Wolseley in Picadilly for breakfast, but DO book...you might have trouble otherwise (then pop in to F&M to stock up on tea & coffee, etc.). Have wine and cheese at Gordon's Wine Bar in Villier's St., the Strand...it's fantastic for the atmosphere alone (this is the one underground and cave-like), but the selection of wines is fantastic...have supper at The Cheshire Cheese in Fleet St., known for the famous literary figures who frequented the place (Samuel Johnson, Dickens, etc.), and for being one of the oldest pubs in London, it also serves REALLY GOOD English food - yes, there is such a thing! I'm partial to the Steak & Kidney pudding. I LOVE London!
Go to The Wolseley in Picadilly for breakfast, but DO book...you might have trouble otherwise (then pop in to F&M to stock up on tea & coffee, etc.). Have wine and cheese at Gordon's Wine Bar in Villier's St., the Strand...it's fantastic for the atmosphere alone (this is the one underground and cave-like), but the selection of wines is fantastic...have supper at The Cheshire Cheese in Fleet St., known for the famous literary figures who frequented the place (Samuel Johnson, Dickens, etc.), and for being one of the oldest pubs in London, it also serves REALLY GOOD English food - yes, there is such a thing! I'm partial to the Steak & Kidney pudding. I LOVE London!
DO NOT go to Walthamstow, its absolutely ugly
DO NOT use Timeout....
DO NOT GO TO Carnaby Street unless you want to be swallowed by Tourists. However fragrance god Frederic Malle now has a concession on the ground floor of my favourite department store Liberty. Go make yourself smell nice.
Avoid the Greek looking guy in Gieves and Hawkes. Very rude. I think he has the short man complex...
I would recommend you have the tasting menu at Les Trois Garcons on Bethnal Green Road. The decor is eccentric and fantastic.
Definitely take a walk on Hampstead Heath, particularly in the morning when the air is crisp and clear. Thats where I take my gorgeous Alaskan Malamute, Sascha, for her walk.
Go to Luella Bartley on Conduit street and get something cute for LFG before it shuts down. The interior design is cool and traditional. She is currently writing a book on English Style while her fashion label is shut down for a while...
Have fun in London and send an SOS post if you get bored. (but then again, if a man is bored of London...)
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