An American EoFFer in London

[Strider]

Some of you guys know this already, but for those of you who don't you'd better get ready... I'm headin' over the puddle for 10 days in London, baby!

I figured that I owed myself something like this, considering I missed two family trips to Mexico earlier this year. Mostly, I felt like doing something spontaneous, and how much more spontaneous can you get than a random trip to the UK? The unofficial official goal, though, is to meet as many EoFFers as possible.

I'll be landing at Heathrow kinda late on Monday, November 27, and head back to the States on December 6, which is a Wednesday. Hey, how better to immerse yourself in the experience than to hang out with you folks that live there, am I right? I've got no problem with a little travel, either, to... well, wherever you guys usually meet up or something, I haven't quite figured that out yet. :p Although it'd be nice if it were a central location, kinda like the last meetup you guys had in Manchester or whatever.

At the suggestion of my good friend DarkCloud, I'll probably be staying in Chelsea while I'm in the city, although I'm open to suggestion. I figured I'd make this thread now, since this kind of adventure takes quite a bit of planning. :D You guys would know better than I would 'bout getting together, so let's put something in motion.

[~SapphireStar~]

If everyone was willing to go to Manchester, then I would be more then happy to meet you all :D

[Quindiana Jones]

Go to <s>Bridgwater</s> Bristol.....

[Strider]

I suppose the one thing I'd need to know about that is how much a train ticket to Manchester would cost. I've got a pretty fair amount to spend, but I haven't been able to find any figures myself. I'm probably not looking in the right places... >_>

[Twisted Tinkerbell]

Well Iceglow and me are both living in London, I'm sure I can get him to leave the computer to meet up.

[Flying Mullet]

Why not just plan it as another official UK EoFF meetup in the London area?

[Strider]

Well, mostly 'cause I want to go to other places, too. :p We should make it like... two meetups! One for the people in the south, one for the people in the north. :D

[Flying Mullet]

It'll be the "2006 Strider UK Whistlestop Tour". :cool:

[Quindiana Jones]

You should stop at <s>Bridgwater</s> Bristol.

[Strider]

And I guess I should ask if people live in the north or the south. Might give me an idea of where to go!

[Captain Maxx Power]

I live in Londinium and would absolutely love to see all you EoFFers allow you to bask in my glory.

[Iceglow]

well since the uk is diddly and we all live a stones throw away from each other *dodges incomming rocks from baloki and psy* it's pretty easy to get around and well I don't quite know about the tickets from london to manchester I do know the ones to Birmingham (the last uk meet up location) was about £10 - £20 which isn't too bad however in 10 days travelling around the uk will mean that you'll see nothing, far better to spend a couple of days in london then move on up to birmingham (which is pretty much the most central location you can get for a meet up) for a few days.

[Quindiana Jones]

Seriously, if I have to write "Bristol" in big flashing letters, I swear to God I will.

[Jimsour]

Boo! Manchester is better...

:D I'm joking. Hope you enjoy london.

[Anaisa]

If you're going to meet up in the North west of England, you could do better than Manchester. Liverpool an Chester, are both better than Manchester.

[Jimsour]

I wouldnt know to be honest. I only moved to Manchester 3 weeks ago but so far its a great city.

[DK]

I'm gonna be in Southampton that weekend 'cause of the Dragonforce Concert. :(

[Dreddz]

Sounds cool, Chelsea is a great place to go seeing as your near the city centre yet away from all the hustle and bustle. I dont have a clue whether Ill be available on that date, If your around the London Bridge area then I might just have to say hello.

[Strider]

Dan sux. :(

I'm still a bit hazy on the geography, but we can work out whatever would be best. London for sure, but in the nawth... we'll work on that. xD

[Flying Mullet]

If BoB doesn't migrate his chocobo butt south for this then he shall be punished most harshly...

[Rainecloud]

I wouldn't recommend Manchester. Then again, I wouldn't recommend London or Chelsea either. Find a nice seaside resort, enjoy some stereotypical English fish and chips and take a swim in the polluted waters. ;)

Failing that, you could go one better and visit Wales.

[Boosk]

You know that if you don't come visit me I'll cry! Or I'll have a day trip to London baby! I can't wait!! Stridy in the UK!! *dances!*

Kagga :love:

[Quindiana Jones]

I agree with the majority of the people who posted here: Bristol would be a good place to meet up.

[Misfit]

I'm gonna ride in your suitcase, 'kay? :}

[DK]

Dan sux. :(

Come to Southampton instead. :mad2:

[Rocket Edge]

Or Ireland!

[Shauna]

Or Scotland!

[Quindiana Jones]

Or Bristol!

[Iceglow]

or you could just say get your asses to london you lot, strider is paying how much on travel fees already and you complain about like £10 for the train down infact the only one with the right to bitch really is shauna and thats cause scotland might cost more.

btw this isn't meant to sound mean its joking about

[Shauna]

I'm only joking anyway. xD I'm only 15, there's no way in hell I'd be allowed to go to London by myself. Plus I have school. :(

[Iceglow]

hmm you never know when I was like that age I used to go off and do my own thing as long as I was back for school it was cool.

[Shauna]

Well, this isn't just a day trip into Glasgow, this is ALLLL the way down to London. xD Also, Mum would say no. She wasn't happy with me going into Edinburgh, so I doubt she'd be happy with me going to London. xD

[Loony BoB]

If BoB doesn't migrate his chocobo butt south for this then he shall be punished most harshly...

Why should I?

London: Stri pays for accommodation, I pay for accommodation.
Edinburgh: Neither of us pay for accommodation!

Says it all, really. :p I have no money at the moment so can't travel anywhere. I can barely afford to feed myself... so yeah. But if Stri wants to show up and spend a night or two in my flat, then by all means, let me know and I'll see what I can get sorted. It'd have to be a weekend, though, as I work and can't get time off on that short notice. Danielle will also be here in the weekend, and any other EoFFers that live in Scotland (eg. Shauna, Squinn, etc) are also welcome if Stri manages to get his butt up here.

Otherwise, I'm sure everyone will have fun wherever Stri goes~

[Drift]

yay i'm a good friend! sundays = only time i'm in london tbh even know though its quite hard seeing as i have to start revising for exams

[Strider]

I'm really enjoying the energy in this thread. xD

Headin' up all the way to Scotland seems just out of the realm of possibility, unless someone can find me some transportation for uber-cheap. And I mean like, whoa, uber-cheap. :p

Bristol is a completely opposite direction from Manchester, and I'm only gonna be visiting maybe one or two cities outside of London since I've only got so much time there. I've had a standing offer of a sofa at Ruth's digs (and that's in Derby, which is much close to Manchester than Bristol, if memory serves), which I'll probably take her up on though we've still gotta figure out what day that'll happen. xD

And Kat! If I crash in Derby, you should just come hang out there. :) Looks like it's a lot closer to get there than to London! Luckily, we've still got time to figure out the logistics.

The way I have it roughly planned out right now: 5 or 6 days in the City, 1 or 2 days in Manchester and 1 or maybe 2 days in Derby (if Ruth's okay with that). Unless you guys are like... unanimous in "No, God dammit, Birmingham" we'll just go with that.

[Jimsour]

Busses are always cheap, especially compared to trains. Just much much longer.

[Strider]

Duly noted. :D

Also, I wanted to ask... is there awesome stuff to see in the City besides the really obvious things?

[starseeker]

Camden market is supposed to be cool. Unless you're a chav.

[Quindiana Jones]

I gotta admit: Bristol does sound like a pretty good idea.

[Iceglow]

Camden is cool, other than that don't bother with the eye as the view apparently sucks (ask tinkers she's been on it) but DO go to primrose hill (actually down the road from camden town) where the view at the top is breath taking. Also go along the canals and through regents park (next to the zoo) where some of the scenes were filmed for Withnail and I.

[Dreddz]

Camdem is full of cheap band T-shirts from a back of a truck. Avoid like the plague.

[Iceglow]

Dreddz have you no sense of style and culture? seriously Camden Town is one of the best places in London to go see what the rest of London is really like. To come London and not go to Camden Town is like going to San Francisco and not going to the golden gate bridge or going to the cinema and not seeing a film. No one said you have to buy from Camden but it's probably THE most diverse part of the entire city take it from a 21 year old who has been to most parts of town.

[Dreddz]

Dreddz have you no sense of style and culture? seriously Camden Town is one of the best places in London to go see what the rest of London is really like. To come London and not go to Camden Town is like going to San Francisco and not going to the golden gate bridge or going to the cinema and not seeing a film. No one said you have to buy from Camden but it's probably THE most diverse part of the entire city take it from a 21 year old who has been to most parts of town.

I do have a sense of style and culture, thats why I dont go to Camdem, I usually shop on Oxford Street, y'know, wheres theres actual shops, not market stalls.

[Twisted Tinkerbell]

I love Camden and buy my jewllery from one of those market stalls, which a very good friend of mine owns! Oxford street is ok, but Soho is way better if you're down that way.

[Iceglow]

Dreddz have you no sense of style and culture? seriously Camden Town is one of the best places in London to go see what the rest of London is really like. To come London and not go to Camden Town is like going to San Francisco and not going to the golden gate bridge or going to the cinema and not seeing a film. No one said you have to buy from Camden but it's probably THE most diverse part of the entire city take it from a 21 year old who has been to most parts of town.

I do have a sense of style and culture, thats why I dont go to Camdem, I usually shop on Oxford Street, y'know, wheres theres actual shops, not market stalls.

Ok well getting off topic here but I'll risk it to let you know this for your own sake, however all the clothes sold on Oxford street right about now (well a good 75% of it sports shops not included) all started out a good few years back in camden town market the major difference is that the stuff on oxford street costs 3 times as much as the stuff still being sold in camden. This whole neo-punk rock urban attitude is really just what we alternative people call Skate punk but without the good taste in music to go with it. Still not everyone is perfect and before you decide to slate me Dreddz, I shop anywhere I choose to shop it doesn't matter if it's the officers club/burtons or a market stall in camden (which by the way really isn't off the back of a lorry, most of it is merely brought on the continent in germany, holland and france where the rock scene is much much bigger, the clothes often in fact come from America from major companies such as Criminal Damage or Raven.) sometimes you gotta wise up and shop around a little to get the best bargain, why pay £20 for a Che Guevarra shirt when you can get one from £5 in camden?

[Strider]

Hey, shopping, nice. I've heard Soho is better for the nightlife, though, correct me if I'm wrong.

[Iceglow]

depends on what you're buying ;) but yeah soho has a brilliant nightlife there the only problems are trying to find a pub where there aren't sooo many business people that they're spilling out of the pub and into the street.

[Strider]

Yeah, I kinda figured. I'm not much into drinkin' here, but I figure if I'm gonna immerse myself into Britain, I might as well go all out. xD

[Iceglow]

why the hell not. whats your style stider, punk, urban or what that way I might be able to name more than a few pubs in the area of the west end :)

[Strider]

Eh, I don't really have a style persay. Anywhere I can have fun is alright by me. :D

[Dreddz]

You should go to some of London nightclubs. Fabric is good for a start.

[Jack]

Depending on what I'm doing, I'll come see you. I've been London and if I book 4 days ahead, Its quite cheap. Depends.

If you finalise your travel plans, I'll come see you. Hell, I'll even do the wiki for it :D

[Strider]

Well, it's a given that I'm going. One month from today, actually! :D

I'm still tryin' to figure out where exactly I'm gonna stay in the city, since Lawdy everything is expensive. Right now, I'm lookin' to find accomodations in Kensington or Earl's Court.

[starseeker]

Well, it's a given that I'm going. One month from today, actually! :D

I'm still tryin' to figure out where exactly I'm gonna stay in the city, since Lawdy everything is expensive. Right now, I'm lookin' to find accomodations in Kensington or Earl's Court.

You do know that's the expensive area of the city? Only cheapish thing I can think of is the Holiday Inn at the Hanger Lane Gyratory.

[Strider]

Actually, I found a bed and breakfast for about 45 pounds a night. I can live with that.

[The King of the Swing]

London's nice. In the summer you should come visit Blackpool Pleasure Beach. My home is Kent, way down in the bottom right corner of the UK. But I'm at University in Preston at the moment, so maybe I'll see you of you northerners floating around lol. Saying that, anyone going to watch Jimmy Carr at Manchester Apollo tonight? Apologise for off-topic =/

[Strider]

H'okay, I know it's been a few days, but I've been busy with various things. Anyway, it's gettin' down to about three weeks now and here's what I'm thinkin'.

I found a bed and breakfast little place just off the west side of Kensington Gardens. It's decently priced (for London, anyway), I just have to send a deposit out on Monday to secure a room. I'll put up a link to it when it's not 2:30 AM.

The reception to my going up to Manchester seemed a bit lukewarm to me, so unless you guys can really change my mind I think I'm pretty much gonna say forget it. I will, however, be traveling up to Derby to crash at Ruth's place for a night or two on December 1 (definitely) and 2 (maybe, depends on Ruth). Other than that, y'all can drag yourself to the City to meet me. :D

One thing I wanted to ask, though... how should I dress so that I don't stick out and also provide myself with optimal sexy? I'm probably gonna go get some new clothes sometime this week and I wanna look good, so help me out here.

[yumi]

Knock-off Burberry and lots of it!!

You should visit Swindon it's home of the magic roundabout the 8th wonder of the world.

[Fujiko]

Enjoy your stay in the UK, Stri~ <3

[Dreddz]

Just a heads up about what you should be wearing, it dosent matter, wear anything, London is the most cosmopolitan city in the world so theres a great variety of dress sense throughout the city.

However, if your style is punk then I'd recommend not heading into some of the urban areas of London, London's urban culture somewhat picks on punks/skaters etc. Although I doubt you'll be heading into those areas so it should be ok.

[Iceglow]

Dreaddz not even brixton is that bad to punks and skaters that I would tell them not to dress the way they normally do. However it is true that when wearing punk or skater clothing you always get more attention from drug dealers.

Look forwards to meeting ya face to face in london stri

[Dreddz]

Dreaddz not even brixton is that bad to punks and skaters that I would tell them not to dress the way they normally do. However it is true that when wearing punk or skater clothing you always get more attention from drug dealers.

Look forwards to meeting ya face to face in london stri

I live in Peckham currently and can tell you that its definately a problem around here. I'd only say around the New Cross area that its ok for skaters/punks in South London.

[Strider]

Okay, here's how things are shakin' down.

I'll be staying at the Abbey House (http://www.abbeyhousekensington.com/) in Kensington. The map says it's right on the west side of Kensington Gardens, if that means anything! We'll say on the 28th, 29th and 30th, I'll be seein' the sights and stuff around town. One of those days, I'll probably go hang out with Iceglow (Eh, Steve!) and his woman, although I've gotta talk to him on that. Any other folks wanna meet up on those days, you might as well hit me up with a PM.

On the 1st and 2nd of December, I'll be up in Derby at Ruth's place and maybe her sister Kat. Baloki's said he might head that way, too, although he's still gotta talk to Ruth about that. :p

The rest of the time, I'll probably be more sight-seein' and souveniring for my friends here in London. I've gotta get my cell phone internationalized, too. I'm still tryin' to convince Kat to come hang out with me in the City for a day, too. If anyone wants to interject with any suggestions, lemme know.

[Psychotic]

Hey Stri, how are you getting up from London to Derby? If it's by train, you'll probably go through Leicester, so if you wanted to stop there for an hour or two you could hang out with me before going on to Derby.

[Craig]

If you do end up in Bristol I'll buy you a drink or something.

[Strider]

Hurray for stealing friends' laptops!

I'm going by train, but Idunno if there's any stops or not.

[Strider]

Apologies for double posting, but I'm finally leaving right about... now.

I'll be up in San Francisco and fly out 'bout 10:30 PM PST, get to JFK, chill for a while and end up in London about 8:30 PM tomorrow. I set up my phone to make and accept international calls, so if anyone needs to get ahold of me, they can! 559-346-9051, plus the country code which I think is 1. For those of you guys like Iceglow, send me a PM with your phone numbers and I'll call ya as soon as I can find some intarwebs!

For everyone else, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. :p See y'all on the flipside.

[Clouded Sky]

Safe travels dear.

[Jack]

Add to this. (http://www.eyesonff.com/members/wiki/History/AnAmericanEoFFerInLondon)

Good luck Strider! I will probably ring you, seeing that Swansea is off the beaten track.

[Strider]

And then, of course, I meet like... maybe three of you guys. :p

[Flying Mullet]

You've got almost a week left, right?

[Fatal Impurity]

i wanna meetcha! i WANNA MEETCHA! i live in crewe ....but i could quite easily travel to derby, stoke on trent, chester, nottingham, birmingham or manchester!