As I have mentioned in another thread, I will be spending my March Break in Scotland (my Gaelic class has been fund-raising for a year and a half!). However, we also get to spend St. Patty's Day in London! Obviously we can't go to pubs or anything, and we have to do educational touristy stuff like Buckingham Palace, but we are allowed some recreational time. I put in a bid for Carnaby Street and my teacher said if we had time it would be a possibility. Aside from that, anybody here know some good places to shop in London, for say, records, vintage clothes, that kind of thing?

Been to Ireland, Not London.

Quoted from Mairi

As I have mentioned in another thread, I will be spending my March Break in Scotland (my Gaelic class has been fund-raising for a year and a half!). However, we also get to spend St. Patty's Day in London! Obviously we can't go to pubs or anything, and we have to do educational touristy stuff like Buckingham Palace, but we are allowed some recreational time. I put in a bid for Carnaby Street and my teacher said if we had time it would be a possibility. Aside from that, anybody here know some good places to shop in London, for say, records, vintage clothes, that kind of thing?

First, when anywhere in The British Isles, do not say 'Patty's Day'. It's an Americanism that really gets up the a*se of all native Irish. It's St. Patricks Day, or Paddy's Day. Don't know where 'Patty' comes from, but Paddy is short for Patrick in Ireland.

So, on to London. Carnaby Street is boring to honest. Just go so that you can say you've been there, but you won't want to spend more than 5 minutes. You'll never be allowed back on this forum without going to Abbey Road! Just make sure you go to the right one - there are about 20 in London alone. Abbey Road NW8. Here's a link to a map:

http://www.multimap.com/map/pl.....earch=Abbey+Road+NW8

For shopping I'd go to Camden Market, open only at the weekends, But worth the trip. Nearest tube is Camden High Street, plus 5 minute walk. Here's some links:

Camden:
http://www.camdenmarkets.org/
http://www.camdentown.co.uk/
http://www.camdenguide.co.uk/

There are also second hand record shops and clothes shops there. Pretty good allround place really, if you've only got a day.

I'll try and think of some more places, but it's been a while now since I lived there. Have fun.

The south bank (of The Thames) is very cool these days. Tate Modern is very impressive. Bluemeanie's right - Carnaby Street is a tourist trap and Kings Road is just chain shops.
Covent Garden has great independant shopping and loads of entertainment. Soho is worth a gander and is near by.
But Bluemeanie is right, Camden Market is THE must go place for you. I think you'll love it. Be warned - there is a uniform (black, black and black) that is compulsory. When you catch the Northern Line you can tell exactly who's going to get off at Camden
Notting Hill is the place for vintage records (along with Soho) and has good retro/vintage clothing.
And please please, if you're going to use the underground, learn how to say Leicester Square.

Quoted from Kevin

And please please, if you're going to use the underground, learn how to say Leicester Square.

You mean lie-sester sqaure

Oh, and don't forget to stand around in big groups looking lost at the top of tube escalators, ticket barriers and platform entrances, thereby completing blocking the way for ordinary Londoners WHO JUST WANT TO GET TO WORK FOR CHRISTSAKES, AND NO, WE DON'T KNOW THE F*CKING WAY TO BUCKINGHAM BLOODY PALACE

I went to Romford and A Sixties Party last time I was in London. That was fun.  

Hey BlueMeanie, thanks for the map of Abbey Road. I'm ashamed to say that it didn't even cross my mind! I also went on Wikipedia and printed out a bunch of Beatles landmarks in London. There are two other Beatles fans in my class as well as the two adults, so there's a good chance that I might get to see something Beatles related. I wish we didn't have to do all the crappy touristy stuff, though. I'd rather just shop all day for clothes and records and listen to guys with English accents. Yum.

Quoted from Mairi

Hey BlueMeanie, thanks for the map of Abbey Road. I'm ashamed to say that it didn't even cross my mind! I also went on Wikipedia and printed out a bunch of Beatles landmarks in London. There are two other Beatles fans in my class as well as the two adults, so there's a good chance that I might get to see something Beatles related. I wish we didn't have to do all the crappy touristy stuff, though. I'd rather just shop all day for clothes and records and listen to guys with English accents. Yum.

You're welcome. Our accents are damn sexy, I know!!!

Quoted from Mairi

Hey BlueMeanie, thanks for the map of Abbey Road. I'm ashamed to say that it didn't even cross my mind! I also went on Wikipedia and printed out a bunch of Beatles landmarks in London. [..]

Abbey Road Studios from space ...



Here you can see how far Paul's house is from the studios, Mairi   ...



... and if you go to Liverpool ...

I thought London Dungeon was cool... Hampton Court was nice... And the usual sightseeing of course...

scroll down mair........

Thanks everyone for the info! I am back in Canada now from the trip of my life. Unfortunately I didn't get to do much in London because my teacher decided it would be too risky to unleash a bunch of country kids in the middle of London on St Patrick's night. So we took a bus tour and we saw stuff like Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. That was cool and all, but the best part for me though was when we went past the Bag 'O Nails which as you all know was the place where the Beatles held the Sgt. Pepper's release party and where Paul met Linda for the first time.

Get any weird feelings kinda nagging at you?

Quoted from Mairi

Unfortunately I didn't get to do much in London because my teacher decided it would be too risky to unleash a bunch of country kids in the middle of London on St Patrick's night.

That sucks. I used to be in a band that toured quite a bit, but we never had any time to see anything. It was just playing, sleeping and driving to the next gig. In 2004 I've been in or near London, Leicester, Sheffield, Paris, Toulouse, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Hamburg, Berlin and Warsaw, but I didn't get to see ANYTHING of any of these cities then. Pretty frustrating. I used to go out and just walk for half an hour after soundchecks to at least catch a little bit of the athmosphere of the cities, even if all I could go see was just a shopping mall or a few regular streets.

Quoted from Joost

That sucks. I used to be in a band that toured quite a bit, but we never had any time to see anything. It was just playing, sleeping and driving to the next gig. In 2004 I've been in or near London, Leicester, Sheffield, Paris, Toulouse, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Hamburg, Berlin and Warsaw, but I didn't get to see ANYTHING of any of these cities then. Pretty frustrating. I used to go out and just walk for half an hour after soundchecks to at least catch a little bit of the athmosphere of the cities, even if all I could go see was just a shopping mall or a few regular streets.

Rock and Roll is tough

Quoted from BlueMeanie

Rock and Roll is tough

Hardcore punk is even tougher.