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 enjoyd) 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.
I tried this one straightforward as I arrive from London to Madrid on Christmas, with Albert and Pedro. Talisker is the only distillery on Skye Island, which by the way is my favourite region in Scotland and one of the most wonderful places I´ve ever been in. This particular edition is characterized by a stronger flavour than the normal Talisker, which indeed is quite a lot to say as Talisker is very likely one of the most flavoured Malts in the range in the fairly well known and affordable ones. A bit smoky, and with a lovely dark colour given by the cherry oak barrels it is partially matured in, I strongly recommend it. As it is quite strong I recommend to taste it mixed 50-50 with water. Indeed, every single Malt should be mixed 50-50, or at least that is what I´ve been told in every distillery I´ve visited in Scotland. Ice cubes is not a good option, as the cold dilutes the flavour and makes impossible to distinguish any special touch on it. Coca Cola… well, yeah. Whatever the fuck, Pedro!!! :).
This one I bought it on Asda (the equivalent to Carrefour in Spain), and it is very likely my favourite one, maybe not just because of the flavour, but also for all the remembers it gives to me. I tried it first time when I went to Scotland during my Erasmus year, and it has been since then my first option whenever I want to experience a good Malt in a pub. Not as smoky or tasty as the previous special edition, it is anyway a very strong whisky with a particular and quite specific smell that somehow might remember the sea, at least compared with an insipid one as the Glenfidich/Cardhu options. In Spain, apart of in whisky shops, I´ve seen it in some superstores as Makro.
In Gilberto´s birthday, three weeks ago, Aitor, the host of the party, had an incredible Malts collection and at the end of the party we had both my brother, him and myself a really nice tasting experience – many thanks, Aitor, if you read this. I reckon at that point is when I thought about writing this post, indeed… this Bushmills single Malt, as opposite to both Talisker commented before, is a very light whiskey -whiskey, as Irish whiskey, and not whisky, as Scotch. Not as light as the blended Bushmills we also tried there -and another post would be worth about great blended Scotchs or whiskeys, as this one is-, this is still one of those you may try even without water on it, as it is distillated three times as most of the Irish stuff. A bit more light than what I do really like, in my opinion this is a good option if you want to have quite a lot of them, as it is not particularly strong either in alcoholic percent or in taste. I particularly appreciate Irish Whiskeys, like Jameson, with ice cubes after a proper lunch, as they don´t add up an already upset stomach.
The second one we tried in Aitor´s. A great exponent of what an Speyside Malt is supposed to be: not too strong, not too light, just balanced both in flavour and alcoholic content and a bit sweet. I´m not a great fan of this type of quite smooth Malts, as I prefer the more strong stuff, but I have to recognize that it is a very good option for the ´less brave´ ones :). A good compromise option for most of the people.
A very expensive and demanded Malt, this is the one we tried the last and the one Aitor was more proud about, not the least because as it is that demanded it is quite difficult to find it in a shop. It is an Islay (the same apply for this sort of Malts that I said for Talisker applies, but even more superlative: stronger, smokier, sea-resembling), but not a particularly defining Islay, as it is a bit smoother than most of them. My opinion about this one is that it is the best option to make a transition from light-smooth Malts to stronger and flavory ones, but it just lands in the very middle without convincing the real fans of any of both sides. And of course, that opinion must be wrong, as most people who understand about this rank this particular one on the very very top.
I bought this one as a present to Dave when I went to Berlin last weekend, and it was a fantastic finding, to be honest. When I said for the Lagavulin that was not what I understand as a full-bodied Islay… quite similar on the taste to the Frankenstein I tasted with Aitor, this one was even more smoky, but in a finer way, not so shocking. Not as persistent as any Talisker, I have to say. And, well, true enough we already were slightly drunk when we tried it, but I reckon we enjoyed it quite particularly, and the one to praise for it is the guy in the Malts shop in Stansted. By the way, really helpful those guys in that very specific shop: if you want to buy a present, just tell them the sort of drink you want to buy and the budget you have, and they are really fair and honest in their recommendations.
Well, I´m actually trying this one right now. This evening, when I went to the local supermarket, they had this one in offer, reduced from 25 quid to 15… if you think that is what you pay nowadays for Bells or JB blended Scotch in any shop, I couldn´t just let it go. Even when I did not really need any more whisky, as I have my Dyc 10 años for the weekends, and during the week… well, during the week I don´t drink, and definitely I don´t drink whisky at home. I´m not in such a bad shape yet, luckily. So just as an exception, I´m having a sip of it at the moment, just as a tasting experience for the blog post. And… well, it is just OK. Again, maybe a bit too smooth and light, if you want my opinion. But anyway… for 15 quid… well, amazing value for money.
Call me cruel if you want, but yesterday me and a friend, before the Metallica concert (see previous post) went to Canary Wharf, to Lehman Brothers building, in order to see if any broker was living with all his stuff in a cardboard box. I know it is not a funny thing (mainly for the one who losses its job), but watching wasted yuppies queuing, some of them crying, some of them in shock, that was quite a picture.
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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
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.
Yesterday was indeed one of those crazy days. After having some booze in the office, we went Leicester Square, were the company had a promotional stand. Some guys played Texas Hold'em poker (it was the Poker in The Park event, one of the most important poker promotional events in Europe), some others, more cautious, we just enjoyed the music and the well-looking hostesses.
1.The karaoke room, whith an awesome sound quality,
The worse things, however, are related with the actual stuff this blog is devoted to: the beer. They didn't have a wide range of them, and the only lager was Pitburger, a German one I don't quite appreciate. Even worse, they run out of it in one hour, so I had to go for the bottled types. I enjoyed Asahi, but a pint glass in your hands is one of those things that make the difference...
Reinard the First of Germany
Such a good wather...
...but the thing fun is inside!!!
Why the makeup? Why they had a pineaple? Bro, Adam, Reinard, George, Luke and someone... we couldn't answer that one
Carling an a real Stout player: Reinard
Luke and... can't remember, sorry
Pink means sold out... yeah, it's Saturday evening
Brazilian and Australian power, altogether
AfterDark
The chemical brothers
At least, that time I got something the following morning... hungover apart
¿Por qué conformarse con cuatro grifos, si puedes tener cuatrocientos? Bajo esa máxima, anualmente se celebran a lo largo del Reino Unido unos cuantos festivales de cerveza de lo más apetecibles... yo tuve la suerte de estar en uno de ellos, hace ya casi cuatro años, y ciertamente son una de esas cosas que todo fan de la cerveza debe hacer al menos una vez en la vida. Y, si es posible, en el de Reading.
Lo primero que llama la atención es la disposición. No hay una barra única, en la que se pida, sino que toda la carpa está rodeada por un montón de stands en lo que lo único que hay es seis o siete barriles y una persona que atiende. Esa persona es el delegado de la brewery en cuestión, llámese Fullers, Youngs, o tantas otras. Tú vas para allá, pides media pinta (este es el único lugar del UK donde está bien visto pedir medias, ya que es la única forma de degustar una cantidad respetable), pagas (chicos, vuestro gozo en un pozo: no es barra libre, aunque los precios están bastante ajustados, entre 1.90 y 2.50 por pinta, la mitad por media), pruebas, le dices al de la brewery que está de puta madre (aunque sepa a ratas) y te vas a tu banquito con los amigotes a degustar y a comparar con la que ellos han pedido.
NO MOLA!! SI MOLA!!
