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Last Minute trip to london...advice?

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So I'm taking a last minute trip to london. I'll be going a week from Friday.

Any suggestions on "must see" recommendations or where to stay? Good deals? I still haven't gotten a place to stay.

Any good Blu-ray shops or memorabilia shops that would have Star Wars stuff?
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They have a Forbidden Planet bookstore in London.  You may want to stop in there and ask the staff about the kinds of Star Wars stuff you are looking for.  They were very friendly when I was last there. I'm sure if they don't have anything, they can point you in the right direction.

 

Forbidden Planet

179 Shaftesbury Avenue
London, WC2H 8JR, United Kingdom

“First feel fear, then get angry. Then go with your life into the fight.” - Bill Mollison

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The Cinema Store is pretty great - at least it was the last time I visited. They have two shopfronts, one for mags and memorabilia, the other for books, CDs and DVDs.

IIRC the former has a basement full of older stuff - I saw Kim Newman shopping for laserdiscs there once (a few years ago, not sure if they still do lasers!)

They're here:

Orion House
Upper St. Martin's Lane, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9NY

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digitalfreaknyc said:
So I'm taking a last minute trip to london. I'll be going a week from Friday.

Any suggestions on "must see" recommendations or where to stay? Good deals? I still haven't gotten a place to stay.

Any good Blu-ray shops or memorabilia shops that would have Star Wars stuff?

 

Well, I have some general warnings for you:

1.) If you're a prostitute, stay clear of this place called "Whitechapel". I hear the customers have a "murder and disembowel" fetish.

2.) There's some sort of nationwide conspiracy to sell people french fries when they ask for potato chips. Potato chipping technology must still be eluding them and they're too embarrassed to tell us.

3.) Ghosts have a bad habit of showing up and replaying your old Christmas memories when all you want is a good night's sleep.

4.) The orphans there are incredibly ungrateful, always asking for more.

5.) Don't smoke any cigarettes. They have homosexual connotations over there.

Well, that's all you really need to know.

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Jebus - those are some pretty bizarre stereotypes. Must be this 'humor' I keep hearing about.

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The Hard Rock Cafe in London may have some SW mementos as the cast hung out there during filming (I stupidly walked past the place but forgot to go eat there when I was in London...DOH!)

Go to Abbey Road and get someone to take a picture of you crossing the street Beatles-style. :-P I managed to do that while I was there, but I missed the studio tour. :-( The London Symphony Orchestra recorded some of the the SW soundtracks there I think.

The place I stayed was a nice Bed & Breakfast but I can't recall the name. I'll post the name if I can find it.

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Mielr said:

The Hard Rock Cafe in London may have some SW mementos as the cast hung out there during filming (I stupidly walked past the place but forgot to go eat there when I was in London...DOH!)

Go to Abbey Road and get someone to take a picture of you crossing the street Beatles-style. :-P I managed to do that while I was there, but I missed the studio tour. :-( The London Symphony Orchestra recorded some of the the SW soundtracks there I think.

The place I stayed was a nice Bed & Breakfast but I can't recall the name. I'll post the name if I can find it.

 

 Definitely let me know where you stayed.  I'm still looking for a place. 

 

Which Star Wars cast hung out there?  Where did you get that story from?

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Johnboy3434 said:

5.) Don't smoke any cigars. They have homosexual connotations over there.

Well, that's all you really need to know.

I'm gay.  And it's going to be gay pride the day I get there.  And I'm going to a Madonna concert. 

And it's actually cigarettes, not cigars.

 

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Ah, he was referring to 'fags'. I was really struggling with that one...

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Jonno said:

Ah, he was referring to 'fags'. I was really struggling with that one...

 

Ah, yeah, I didn't get it either until now. The word "cigars" threw me off. I was thinking along the lines of phallic imagery, not their use of the word "fag" which is far more etymologically accurate than the American homophobic insult.

 

I have one more bit of advice to add. Stay out of the red phone booths! Scary stuff goes on in those things!

(Been a few years since I have been to the greatest city on earth, do they still have the phone booths? In the states pay phones have become extremely rare thanks to cell phones. Wouldn't be surprised if other cell phone heavy countries in the world also did away with them, but the red phone booths are such an iconic part of London, it'd be really a shame to see them disappear.)

Several years back, I stayed in a brilliant little bed and breakfast right around the corner from Paddington Station. It was pretty reasonable priced too, and they had an espresso machine. There were several B&Bs all clumped together there in a row. If you find a situation like that (several right next to each other) you can just ask at each one and find out who is the least expensive.

 

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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digitalfreaknyc said:

I'm gay.  And it's going to be gay pride the day I get there.  And I'm going to a Madonna concert. 

And it's actually cigarettes, not cigars.

 

Wow. That one blew up in my face.

...

Wait, what does going to a Madonna concert have to do with being gay?

 

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Madonna is a member of the GLBT community.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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C3PX said:
Jonno said:

Ah, he was referring to 'fags'. I was really struggling with that one...

 

(Been a few years since I have been to the greatest city on earth, do they still have the phone booths? In the states pay phones have become extremely rare thanks to cell phones. Wouldn't be surprised if other cell phone heavy countries in the world also did away with them, but the red phone booths are such an iconic part of London, it'd be really a shame to see them disappear.)

 

 

Here and there, but their numbers have dwindled in the last 20 years - initially through modernisation (they were replaced by more 'contemporary' glass and steel booths in the 80s and 90s), and yes, phone booths in general have become less important thanks to the mobile phone (cellphone) scourge!

Covent Garden would seem to be the best place to look for them now... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_telephone_box

 

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C3PX said:

I have one more bit of advice to add. Stay out of the red phone booths! Scary stuff goes on in those things!

 

But if you see a blue phone booth, go for it!

 

http://i.imgur.com/7N84TM8.jpg

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Dr. Who?

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Elstree isn't still there, right?  It'd be kinda cool to see it...if just for nostalgia.

Just booked my hotel and SO excited!!!

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adywan said:

If you are going to London then i would definitely visit this place.

The Movieum

Shame your not going the weekend starting 11th July though.

 

 

 WOW THANK YOU!  This has now shot to the top of my list of things to see!!!!

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digitalfreaknyc said:
So I'm taking a last minute trip to london. ...

Any suggestions...?

Mind the gap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, come on!!  You guys were all thinking it, and yeah, it was lame.  ;-)

 

Enjoy your trip, man.  It's a fun city with a significant portion of the world's history to visit.  Without a doubt, some of the greatest Indian food there is.

 

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digitalfreaknyc said:
Mielr said:

The Hard Rock Cafe in London may have some SW mementos as the cast hung out there during filming (I stupidly walked past the place but forgot to go eat there when I was in London...DOH!)

Go to Abbey Road and get someone to take a picture of you crossing the street Beatles-style. :-P I managed to do that while I was there, but I missed the studio tour. :-( The London Symphony Orchestra recorded some of the the SW soundtracks there I think.

The place I stayed was a nice Bed & Breakfast but I can't recall the name. I'll post the name if I can find it.

 

 Definitely let me know where you stayed.  I'm still looking for a place. 

 

Which Star Wars cast hung out there?  Where did you get that story from?

Harrison, Mark and Carrie, of course. ;-) I always forget about that 'other' cast. LOL. 

I stayed at the Jenkins Hotel, 45 Cartwright Gardens WC1. (tel? 0171-3872067, if still current). 

There's a really nice fish & chips place nearby, too. My trip was 10 years ago, but I'd doubt if much has changed.

 

 

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I just wanted to thank everyone for their help with my trip.

I checked out the Cinema Store.  There was only one section to the store that I saw...and I started sweating the minute I walked in.  FAR too much stuff to look at!!!

Forbidden Planet was much larger than the one we have here in NYC and, again, was a wreck trying to make it through the store before it closed.  I also had to do a lot of thinking about how the hell I was getting the stuff I wanted to buy home.

The Movieum was also awesome...took a ton of pictures. 

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Very Kewl!!

“First feel fear, then get angry. Then go with your life into the fight.” - Bill Mollison