Wednesday 7 December 2016

Urban Diary

My intention was only to pop into Evans Cycles in Holborn for a quarter of an hour and from there to carry on down to South Kensington on the Piccadilly Line. Yet, here I am on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road, about to embark on another of my spur-of-the-moment “walking adventures”. This time the object of my exploration is Soho. Not in-Soho, but outer-Soho. Its periphery, its urban borders; the imperfect rectangle that means so much to misfits and outsiders.

Not that it was always that way. Henry VIII’s former Royal Park’s delusions of grandeur were dealt a reality check with each wave of migration; from Algerians to Greeks (in fact one of its roads is called Greek Street), they all opened their small businesses here. However, Soho has been chiefly known for a long time for its sex shops and strip shows.


in-Soho

Unfair, I would say, as I traipse up Charing Cross, Oxford Street-bound. The area is still host to many fanciful restaurants and cafes which render this part of London bohemian and left-of field. It is also a place where the old and new mix easily and organically. The gay community has used Old Compton Street as its hanging-out place for years with the Admiral Duncan pub as its headquarters. Carnaby Street brought us 60s “Swinging London”. Many film companies are based here.

I turn left at Tottenham Court Road tube station to find a semi-overcast sky with an oval-shaped late-afternoon sun fast disappearing behind the buildings on Oxford Street. Its trace leaves a scarlet-berry-coloured pavement trod on by thousands of commuters in search of what London’s nightlife has to offer. I am reminded of Keats' "barred clouds" blooming "the soft dying day". I hurry along Oxford Street with its big department stores palisading both Soho on one side of the road and Fitzrovia on the other. I will probably come back here for my Christmas shopping in a month or so but now it is the end of October and the yuletide season is not on my mind yet.

What is on my mind, though, is to get to the other point of this loop: Regent Street. It is always a pleasure of mine to go down on this road, Piccadilly Circus-bound, and see the contrast between the Mayfair upmarket shops on one side (Hackett, Crabtree and Evelyn and Karl Lagerfeld) and the neon signs on the other (that would be in-Soho). I descend the stairs of the tube station, the last rays of a faint terracotta-coloured sun vanishing as I pull my Oyster card out of my pocket.

© 2016

Next Post: “Thoughts in Progress”, to be published on Saturday 10th December at 6pm (GMT)

18 comments:

  1. Walking is simply the best way to see - really see - London.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a lovely old post. You've made it all beautifully visual, a nice moment out of my head. Thank you for that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can practically picture myself there! Thank you so much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You always take so much in as you go for a spin.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Loved walking with you.
    Megathanks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. " the last rays of a faint terracotta-coloured sun " Poet! When may we see you on BBC again?

    ReplyDelete
  7. It must be exciting living in a city with so much to see and do.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I got lost trying to keep up with you, CiL .... your descriptions are superb ....

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, I loved being "there" with you, and your writing is sublime!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your writing is so skillful. I have been there a few times but they were long ago and almost forgotten. You brought it all back to life so a big thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi ACIL - wandering around and watching, checking the architecture, or the lights as you did ... London is cosmopolitan and a great city to see history and in the making ... cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  12. I thoroughly enjoy seeing London through your eyes. Thank you. By the way, I don't know what made you decide to return to blogging, but I, for one, am very glad you did. Your voice is too important to be stifled.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Magical, amazing London.
    My favorite place on earth.
    Can you hear her heartbeat as I do?
    Love your stories, observations, photos, & words! WOW.

    ReplyDelete
  14. those buildings makes me dizzy :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. London is such a fun city to explore. Thanks for the mini-tour! I'm pleased to see you back to blogging too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've never been to Soho, but with your fabulously vivid description of the area, I now feel as if I have.
    It sounds a truly amazing place to explore...so hopefully one day...:)

    Wishing you a great weekend! :))

    ReplyDelete
  17. My name is Mrs Aisha Usman, am a Citizen Of Singapore. Have you been looking for a loan? Do you need an urgent personal loan or business loan?contact Dr. Mark Thomas FOIRM Ronnie Finance Ltd he help me with a loan of $85,000 some days ago after been scammed of $8,000 from a woman claiming to been a loan lender but i thank God today that i got my loan worth $85,000.Feel free to contact the company for a genuine financial service. Email: markthomasfinanceltd@gmail.com

    Whats-App no +919667837169
    Dr. Mark Thomas

    LOAN APPLICATION DETAILS
    Name:…………
    Address…………
    Loan Amount:……
    Loan duration…
    Monthly income…………
    Nationality……
    Country………
    Occupation......
    State…………
    Zip/Code………
    Gender…………
    Age…………
    Marital Status……………
    Telephone………………

    FORM Ronnie Finance Ltd
    Dr. Mark Thomas

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...