Tuesday, July 12, 2011

When you discover a treat...

...and I'm not talking about a forgotten-about M&M down the back of the couch.

London gets a bit of a bad wrap from people when only the surface of the city is taken into account. The latest one to lambast an element of London was Commons Speaker's wife Sally Bercow. ‘God I hate tourists, shuffling along, blocking pavement, stopping to take pics every two seconds’ she tweeted.

And it's true, but that's a story for a 'London is not hot' instalment. But then who am I to talk? Being a tourist myself on many occasions.

The upper epidermis of London is an environment over-crowed with either tourists, tired commuters,or people just simply anry at life.
And the parts of London most people see when they visit certainly do not transmit an alluring image of one of the most visited-cities in the world.

It's only after living in London for a certain period of time, or having friends who have, that you begin to uncover true nuggets of goodness.

I have discovered one such place, combined with an experience - The Tabernacle.

The venue is a unique setting with wide outdoor and indoor bar, and an intimate performance theatre upstairs.
This was where I was lucky enough to see singer/songwriter Ben Howard

I'm not sure it was so much the place that has made it a treasure in my mind or the experience as a whole. Certainly the combination of the artistic and chic venue, the similarly-presented people, and the intimate and captivating performance which made it a London experience I will relish.

Tucked away around the corner from Notting Hill not many people I've spoken to since my visit have been aware of its existence.

The third or fourth trip to the Brick Lane markets have had the same effect. Once you've been there enough times to get used to the bustling crowds, and realise where the good sections are, there's a huge array of treasures to be found in the under-ground vintage markets and independant jewllery and clothes designers.

If you're missing the green pastures from home London even caters to these withdrawal symptoms.
Richmond Park is an wilderness park with a circumference of more than 11kms, and home to resident deer, and not more than 40mins ride on the tube from central London! (That's not long at all for those of you whoa re unaware of commuting times.)

At the end of the day the locations with class and difference are the ones to remember, not the areas commercialised for the tourist market or over-taken with people determined to make a quick buck.

And the good news is, London is such a huge city I have no doubt there are many more nuggets to discover. Today London is most defintely hot.

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