| NAME
| DESCRIPTION
|
Columbia Hotel
95/99 Lancaster Gate
Bayswater,London W2 3NS,
| Home-away-from home for degenerate rock stars and semi-cheap tourists (Oasis got kicked out of the Columbia Hotel). Doorknobs smack in the center of the door, narrow rooms, bathroom with clawfoot bathtub. Full English breakfast includes: baked goods, coffee, orange juice, scrambled eggs, sausage, fried bread, salted bacon and a grilled tomato. Second-tier rock star and his girlfriend at nearby table. There's a restaurant, lounge, and - most importantly - all-hours bar downstairs.
|
Freedom
60-66 Wardour Street
| Gay/lesbian bar with dancing area downstairs. Crowded basement, fishtanks and bald men with cowboy hats. Drinking Grolsh at the bar. Five pound cover charge.
|
Heaven
Under the Arches
Villiers Street
London, WC2N 6NG
| Gigantic gay nightclub. Fifteen pound cover charge - gay night only. I managed to sneak in (straight female) by proxy. Drag queen in sequin & X in the line. Dark, cavernous club. Men without shirts. House techno with a fog machine. Guy stroking my face. Hooch lemonade & mixed vodka drinks. Women lining up for lines of coke in the bathroom. Broken beer bottle on the floor. Much sweat. Everyone dancing to Tears for Fears's "Shout"
|
Portobello Market
Notting Hill Gate
| Rough Trade for used CD/records. Purchases include: emerald green slip with white lace, silk purse, dragonfly pin, 1973 Playboy for dad, striped shirt and silk black & gold dress (two pounds each), Akira poster and a cut-glass bottle.
|
Thai Garden
32 Museum Street
Bloomsbury WC1A 1LH
| Chrome and acid green decor. Superb dinner of chicken, basil, chili, coconut dish; tons of Thai beer.
|
| Virgin (Atlantic & Megastore)
| Virgin-themed trip. Red-eye flight to/from London (free booze! entertainment consoles!) & record store. Picked up "Say Hello to Soft Cell" CD & listened with amusement to Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins".
|
