London calling to the faraway towns

[freckles_and_doubt]

Good lord, the end of the month approaches at speed. This is a cry to all you London and associated types, many of whom I see far too seldom. I arrive in London, at ungodly-o'clock in the morning, on Monday 9th August. Staggering in drunken sleep-dep off the plane, I shall be conducted by a kind, if not saintly, starmadeshadow to the House of Scroob, which is by all accounts nigh unto Heathrow. I shall be inhabiting the Elfbaby-rich Scroobious environs for the nights of the 9th and 10th August, going to meet my academic doom in Glasgow on the morning of the 11th. I would very much like to see as many as possible of you London friends, exiles and random blog-readers on the evening of either the 9th or the 10th, or, in fact, both, and would like suggestions as to area, venue (friendly pub?) and timing for the pursuance of such a gathering. London is a strange world whose transportation ways are alien, and I wot it not. Please defend your choices nicely in the comments? Thxbai.

Comments

[bumpycat.livejournal.com]

Get yerself an Oyster card, and either put on about £15 or a day travelcard for each day. That should see you around London successfully, provided you stay central.

Monday night is rumint's game, which has a high concentration of friendlies. And remember my offer of a guided tour of UCL!

[strawberryfrog.livejournal.com]

NB: the London underground is not a subversive organisation. In fact it is a series of tubes.

I also return to London late on Monday, from the mosh-pits of Germany. Tuesday it is then. At some sort of public house in Central London? e.g. Princess Louise, Penderel's Oak or Knights Templar

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Central London makes sense, but Scroob couldn't be included - would the trip to her place be horrible for you?

[strawberryfrog.livejournal.com]

I can get there. I have been to the wilds of West London before.

Go over, not under

[librsa]

Use the bus. It's cheaper, you see more of the city, and it's not that complicated. Honest.

Re: Go over, not under

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Actually, the navigational part of it - finding the right station/train/bus/whatever - I rather enjoy, it's very well documented. It's just the logic of the huge sprawling mass, and how it connects together, that eludes me.

[(Anonymous)]

I have a spare Oystercard you can borrow. And librsa speaks sooth, the bus is way, way better, at least in centre of town. You'll still need to take train or tube from my place though, it's possible to bus but would take *forever*.

Fwiw I'm happy to play hostess to a Gathering of Friendly Souls, but am guessing people will find a central pub more, um, central. And Elfbaby-light, which may or may not be a plus point. Still, if anyone can't make a pub meet or otherwise wishes to darken my doors, they're there for the darkening. (This isn't at all an altruistic offer; I don't get to socialise nearly enough myself and may not be able to join in Gatherings otherwise. But that's my problem. Anyway the offer stands.)

scroob

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

You are a Kind Lady, thank you. Am canvassing the hordes to see how much of an issue your place would be to everyone, I'd be much happier if we could include you. Which suburb are you in? (Insert giant ignorance of London here, all I know is that you're convenient for Heathrow...)

[egadfly.livejournal.com]

While my preference is for Scroob's place, you should ignore this entirely, make arrangements that suit real people, and I will join if at all possible. I will have recently returned from Hungary with epic sleep deprivation and will at best be unreal, at worst several shades of dead. But gosh it would be good to see you and t'others!

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry for late reply - have been at Dread Knitting Show. I'm in Isleworth. Nobody knows where that is unless they've been here, which many have, luckily. It's near Twickenham and accessible by tube (Osterley station, Piccadilly line) or, better, by train (Isleworth, 35min from Waterloo).

I may have been misleading - it's not impossible for me to go out to pub these days. But home is still good, especially as then Armin gets to socialise too.

[bend-gules.livejournal.com]

Hi ho,
Oyster is the way to travel, definitely.
Depending on how long you want to trek on London routes, I recommend meeting up on the 10th at a pub of your choice. Your lovely hostesses should be able to suggest spots that are close to transport that you'll be using.

Robert and I will be back from Raglan fair and I have the day to recuperate.

Failing their suggestions, meet your friends somewhere near Kensington Gardens, so you can take in the Peter Pan statue - suitably mythic!
http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington_gardens/

Avoid, at all costs, the perils and temptations of Charing Cross road, home of the finest bookstores of London...Foyles is an especial risk to one as vulnerable as yourself. Ditto Forbidden Planet and Orc's Nest.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=bookshops+near+charing+cross+road+london+uk&sll=51.512922,-0.12897&sspn=0.013701,0.027122&ie=UTF8&hq=bookshops&hnear=Charing+Cross+Rd,+London,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.513363,-0.128767&spn=0.006517,0.013561&z=16

I'm fond of the buses myself, but from S. London or W. London it's either Tube or overground trains.

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear. I was planning to hit Foyles :>. Naturally.

[pinkthulhu.livejournal.com]

There are plenty of good pubs in central London, or near the river; the sunsets are fairly good at the moment. Failing that, what about a pub near your accommodation? That would be convenient for you, I imagine, and involve less tube-juggling.

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Convenient for me isn't an issue, I'm perfectly capable of juggling tubes without undue panic :>. At this stage the using-Scroob's-place thing is appealing to me because we could include her, since she can't go pubbing with a sproglet in tow.