Crhistmas weekend (I): About St Mortiz, a door and a long party night

Last weekend was one of those you really hard a difficult time to recover about afterwards, and to remember as well. I’ll try my best to explain how things were, but I cannot guarantee any accuracy on it.

Part A. Ben Crouchs Tavern
77a Wells St, London, W1P 3RE

First of all, we met on the Ben Crouchs Tavern, a pub in Fizrovia very close to Oxford Street. For those not too familiar with London, Oxford Street is the main shopping street, dividing the shopping area composed by Carnabby Street and Regent Market in the south and the Soho in the north. Whatever. The fact is this pub is a really cool one, and it really deserves to be paid another visit at least. With a goth deco unanderstandably messed with Chistmas motives and fairly good music, the place is superb for several early drinks on a Friday night, and there we were to prove it. I had had a couple before with my jobmates, and as more and more people joint and the Guinness pints and tequila shots were downed, it was clear enough right from the beginning that wasn’t going to be a happy ending night. But that’s anticipating, isn’t it?

We where quite a lot of people over there, mostly the usual suspects: Teo, Pablo, Diana, Aux, Justin, Cara, Cesar, Vlad, Juan, Cesar&Cesar and myself if my memory is not failing, and I reckon it isn’t. The music type turned around quite a lot of times, as we stayed in the pub for easily three of four hours. Beers, as I said before, were mainly Guinnes (always your best mate in a nite out), Staropramen and the classic Fosters/Carling combo. Just if Diana wouldn’t have asked the Mexican stuff so far everything would have been alright…


Once they closed the pub, we had one of those Spanish discussions for 20’ about where going later. Yeah, we were something as 50% Spanish people in the group, so we had to somehow share our national tradition about being stupidly cold on the street trying to find out where ‘the perfect night’ it. This is obviously bullshit, but we don’t care and we love it, don’t we? At the end, and losing Justin on the way, we decided that a club called St Moritz, in front of Waxy O’connnors, was the best option. I had never been there, so why not trying?

Part B: St Moritz
159 Wardour Street, London, W1V 3TA

The club itself was nice enough. Located in a basement (as there is a fine swiss restaurant in the fist floor, hence the name), it was quite empty at our arrival but soon enough people came in a fairly friendly mood. The music was nice, 90’s classics as Blur, Pulp, Smashing Pumpkins and so on, and beer was alright, even when they served it in plastic glasses as almost everywhere after 1 am in London. Before I had time to settle down everybody was sort of dancing with someone, known or unknown, friend or pretty bird willing to be hunted for good. And on the top of all that, they had some tables to have a relaxed chat if you weren’t up for the global madness, which was suitable as well. All in all, a good option for a weekend in a place quieter and smaller than Metro, but mainly for that reason also more intimistic. The entrance cover was just £5, again better than average in London, and paying for the drinks wasn’t really a pain.

Just a problem about the place. The toilets door is opened towards the wrong way, if you know what I mean: from the inside to the outside. That is really clever in a place where people are supposed to go to drink booze, isn’t it?

From then on, everything is an speculation. I remember being waiting in the toilets, outside as it was one of those with a single loo you have to queue for. The next I remember is being in the floor, waking up and bleeding. These are my guesses:

1. (The annoying one).Some drunk thug punched me from my backside.

2. (The most likely one). Someone left from the toilet opening the door quite suddenly, hitting me on my temple on the way. I fell to the floor afterwards, and lost conscience for just 5-10 seconds.

3. (The pathetic one). I was so drunk I just fell off incosncious.

However it was, the result was the same one: stitches, a consistent wound very close to my eyebrow (besides the one I got in Munich, but that’s a different story) and another one below my chin. Fortunately Cara was really the nicest person ever at that time and, helped by Juan, they got me some plasters in the pub (amazing the medical aid kit they had, just as it was something common to have that sort of problems over there). My brother, by the way, was looking for someone with any blood in his garnment just in case it was the option one the one that took place (my brother is shorter than I am, so this was quite hilarious). The most hilarious thing, though, involved Cara. Just after sticking the second plaster in my face, she looked at me and, after all her help, I expected something like ‘do u want a cab?’, or ‘do you wanna go to Hospital to have a look at that?’, or something of the like. No way. ‘What do you want to drink?’ she said!!! (You have to say it in Irish accent to get the whole picture J). Of course, I asked for a Carling and I carried on partying, until I fell down from the stairs something as an hour later and my brother decided that at that point I was seriously risking my life and it was time to go home and get some rest.

The final bit involved Teo, as when we leaved the place he was in the door of the club with her sister and one of his eyes in even a worse state than mine. He went for the option 1, it seems, as he found a drunk thug indeed, with amazing punching skills to make the problem bigger. St Moritz was really trying to kill us one by one…

Just Camden Town

Let’s forget about pubs, just for one post, even knowing I might risk the respect of some of my groopies ;). Let’s talk about something equally good, if not even better: Camden Town.

Has somebody been in London and not in Camden? Well, maybe. Indeed, the first time I came to London I went to Portobello Market instead. Bloody mistake I’ve tried to solve taking to the former, Saturday or Sunday, sunshine or rain, to everybody who comes for a visit, no matters if it’s a long or an sporadic one. Because Camden is London itself, in its most pure essence. And even being plenty conscious my poetry in English is quite poorer than in Spanish (not saying it is good in Spanish, though), I’ll try to explain as clear as possible in this post what Camden really is.

First of all, Camden is the shops and everything but the shops at the same time. Let me explain myself. You can go shopping to Camden, that is for sure. Indeed, it is my favourite place in the whole city to get garnets, snickers or, mainly, t-shirts. Punkyfish, Goth shops as Fairygothmother, AfterDark or Elizium, Cyberdog, Hexagon, EGL (Elegant Goth Lolita) or Spank, between many others. Most of them are unique shops you can just find up there, so forget about the Zara/HM/GAP way of life. You can always go to Oxford Street if that is your way of life… and you can stop reading my blog as well. I won´t really bother, mate.

But you can enjoy a supreme day in Camden even not going into any shop, even without money in your pocket, or just several spare coins to have some food and a drink. Because Camden is alive… people, colours, weird attires, music –aloud and chilling, up to you-, Blade Runner… ok, let´s go one by one.

Shops are the best asset of Camden Town, this is something completely out of question. There are several street markets (Sat&Sun only) and loads and loads of shops everyday, all grouped in the following:

1. Camden Market, in Buck Street. The first one you find on the left side of Camden Road, pretty near to Camden Town tube station. Similar to Madrid´s Rastro, it has a lot of stalls packed in really very few physic space. Some of the t-shirt shops in the first rows sell some of the finest products in the whole market. Apart of that, it is not worth spending too much time there.

2. Inverness Market. The same than (and in front of) the previous one, but worse. Completely avoidable. Restaurants and pubs in Inverness Road are really good, though. I recommend Vinyl for having a relaxing pint if it is pissing down.

3. Camden Main Street. As you go towards Camden Locks, you pass through one of the most incredible spectacles imaginable. Loads of shops with great outside decoration and, some of them, great products inside. The electrical ballroom is a have-to, with as the Dc Martens shops (the classic boots), the tattoo studios, those classic punks, dealers hushing ‘skunk’ as you pass by, or those great pubs around. Absolutely enjoyable.

It is coooooooooooooooooool!!!

4. Camden Canal. This used to be a great place as well. And I use properly used, as this is the area that burnt a couple of years ago. A real loss, but most of the shops have relocated into Camden Lock or Camden Stables. Nevertheless, hopefully it will be back soon.

5. Camden Lock. The real thing. The hurt of Camden town, with so many classics. I´ll go on it later.

6. Camden Stables. The newest part, and the northern one too. Some of the furniture shops are avoidable, but most of the rest is also incredible. The best of it, though, are the catacombs where it is located. A lovely piece of industrial architecture in London and a lovely place to enjoy the end of the Camden visit.

Well, briefed like that it doesn’t sound such a big deal. Let’s go for my top places in more detail:

a) Cyberdog

Yeah, it is a place for tourists. I know. But it is the best shop I have ever been as well. And, even while I’m not on the posh groove, that is saying quite a lot. There used to be a dancing floor/pub right on the entrance, where some go-go dancers showed up their most intimate issues. Incredible chicks, incredible music (always mixed alive), and incredible bar. Not anymore, as they have used the same space to sell freak products. But the music and the dancers are still there… after that, you just go inside and, in a remarkable industrial environment, you can find the most not-for-human (as they say) cloths. And the spaceship model. And the changing rooms. And the tattooed psycho crew. And everything.

Cyber rave!!

b) The Lockside Lounge.

An incredible pub with a great terrace and a great interior too. Fine music, fine live bands, affordable prices and an incredible vista of Camden Locks. It will have its own post in pintofcarlingplease, sooner than later.

c) Proud Camden Gallery and Bars.

One of the new spaces gained with the Stables Market, this is another place that will have its own entry. I’ve heard some great bands there, the compartment bar is great (although they don’t serve pints, you can always go for the bottled thing), absolutely fantastic photography exhibitions, lastly related with bands as Sex Pistols or Rolling Stones, and a great local and tourists mixed mood. A must.

Goose, the band I had the chance to enjoy

d) The Blade Runner food shops.

I call them like that because you really fell as Deckard there. Asian food served in a foggy atmosphere, with Chinese bartenders, neon, spicy odours and a crazy non stopping crowd. If this is not Blade Runner, let me know what it is then. The food is cheap and fairly good, but on Sundays is quite difficult to find a quiet corner to eat it.

e) The Goth shops.

All of them. I have always been turned on by Goth birds, and I have always have some empathy for that decadent mood those guys have. There was one time I loved that clothing and music as well. And here you can find some of the best pieces of Goth cloths anywhere in the world.

f) The orange juice shop LOL


But those are just some of my favourite places. Just select yours: open your eyes, have a look at the crowd, don’t take a picture of Amy Whinehouse if you see her (she lives around the corner) neither of some Goth Lolitas: you might think it is a costume, but, for them, a costume is your boring Levis t-shirt. An uniform, speaking precisely.

And enjoy Camden, please.

Alternative tourism (I)

One of the coolest things about London is you never stop discovering new interesting places... and, much more important than that, you never stop doing that for free. Yesterday I focused on the City, hence it was a difficult task as it is very likely the area I know better. I succeeded, though, as I found out as much as four new different things you might be interested to visit the next time you're coming to this great city.

1. Old Bailey
Old Bailey EC4M 7EH, London


The Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court) is one of the few places in the world you are allowed to attend a trial. You have even brochures on the door, so you can choose the petty criminal you prefer to be jailed today... quite weird stuff, by the way. It is one of the oldest Criminal Courts in the world, and, very likely, the most famous one. Moreover, you can check on the Internet what trials are going on every single day, and decide if you feel like murdering or rape as today's dessert ;D.
Or, at least, it is supposed to be like that, because the real thing is I wasn't let through. The reason? No electronic devices are permitted inside, and that includes an ipod (fair enough) and a mobile phone (¿?¿?)... so, if you want to visit it, leave all that at your place, and forget to dress one of those cyberdog t-shirts :D



Even not going in, the building from the outside is impressing, so the visit was worthy enough. And I'll go back when Adrian (a lazy lawyer friend of mine) is coming in a couple of weeks, so he'll kindly explain all the technical stuff. And, if you are really pissed off about not surpassing the door check, you can always go back to this blog most referred movie, V for Vendetta:



2. The Guildhall
London Guildhall

The Guildhall was really a discovery. The center of the city's government since the middle age, this amazing building highlights an great square, where the Guildhall Art Gallery (a nice museum I didn't visit as it's not for free) and a couple of churches make up a relaxing hidden den in the middle of the city's din. The Great Hall is the third biggest civil Hall in Great Britain, and it is possible to visit it when no meeting or honorific event is taking place on it (I did so). If something's going on, you can always take sit and attend the event, which sure creates an incredible old fashioned atmosphere.
The Great Hall is cool. The coffered ceiling is amazing, and all the paintings, engraved statues, stained glass and embellished furniture add up to an awesome place to visit. There are some monuments to Britain Heroes as Churchill or Wellington. Moreover, as it is quite unknown, you'll be able to visit by your own, which contributes to the place's charm. And the reception workers are really sympathetic, and treated me in a really warm and friendly way (in cotrast with the bloody Old Bailey bastards).


3. The clockmakers museum
London Guildhall

This cosy museum, adjacent to the Great Hall and the Great Library in Guildhall, describes the history of clock making craft, focusing in its London history. I am not really crazy about clocks or swatches, but I have to say that it was a piece of instructive museum, this one. Founded by the Clock Makers Company (former clockmakers guild, 1631), it's not big enough to get boring, and not as small as to be completely irrelevant, I really enjoyed the visit, as the explaining panels are concise, clear and quite entertaining. You discover there that the clockmakers guild was once a powerful mafia, as chemists or taxi lobbies or associations are today in Spain ;). Again, the reception personnel were really nice.

4. College of arms
Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4BT


Well, this last one really didn't worth the visit. The College of Arms is a pompous institution devoted to armorial bearings and heraldry in the UK. Great for them. The only thing you can actually visit is the Earl Marshall Court (the one in the picture), which is nice but not nice enough for the walk. No reason to come back, really, unless you are really interested in heraldry, family trees and all those posh things.


5. Street Art (Tate Modern)
Bankside, London SE1 9TG

Tate Modern is one of the best modern art museums in the world, and one of my favourites. It worth an own post in the blog, so I won't write a lot about it now. What I visited yesterday was a new and original graffiti exposition (Street Art, as they call it) in the front walls of the museum... just have a look at the pictures I took with my mobile phone, they are cool (they are something as 15 m tall each!)