London, the Tube, MacD and EmmyLou

[Peteaud]

Living down here is good old Somerset we don't get up to the big smoke (London) much, so it was a rare treat / misfortune that on Saturday we headed up the A303, past a large pile of stones that many people had paid to look at and up the M3, M4 and M40 to Hillingdon station.

3.5 hours of travelling and we managed to get a parking space and insert our £1.50 (yes £1.50) fee and headed off to find a ticket booth.

No one around but aha, a machine. Great i want a return to Barbican x 2, no not acton, restart, clear, no not west ham, clear, restart arrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhh FFS.

Eventualy we got two tickets, although i dont know if they were correct, anyhow onto the train we got. What happened to carriages, one big long train with wiggly floors!!!

Changing at Baker street to another train we arrived at Barbican. A quick walk and we found said Barbican hall, great, now for some food and a coffee. No i am not paying £8.00 for a salad, there must be a place open nearby, its London, a big city, a global mega metropolis. Not one damn place open!!!!! Finaly found a restaurant, The Golden Arches, a seedy little place with a staff who struggled with basic english. An order was placed, 1 coffee (not bad to be fair) an american rubber chicken and gloop roll, some nuggets and a milkshake.
This is the 1st time in around 7 years i have dined on such poor quality sh1te, i still feel queesy to be honest.

Back to the Barbican where we spent an hour comb over watching (to the chap with the special lard applied stick it to your head comb over, respect and several hi fives).

Time for the main event, only the support act (poor) and then the interval. Then at last, EmmyLou graces the stage, time stands still, her voice is still amazing, she is still beautiful and when she gets into Dylans "Every grain of sand" i am in heaven (i want that song at my funeral btw). Running through the Wrecking Ball album the evening flies by, the "calling my children home" song, sung with just a few chords on the guitar blew me away.

Shes gone, the stage is empty, now the mad rush to get out.

Onto the train, and another, back to the car, down the motorway to stop at Beaconsfiels services (awful) and finally into bed at i forget time.

What have i learned in the last 24 hours.

1. Emmylou is a goddess
2. London, i never want to live there, a visit every few years is enough.
3. London underground have dire machines.
4. New trains are souless.
5. The Barbican is a bit meh
6. The Golden Arches, is still and always will be dire.
7. Motorways are great at 3.00 AM

Emmylou Harris on stage at The Barbican. I was there

 

[laurence]

oooh, Emmylou. nice one.

shame it was the barbican... that area can be dire if you don't know it. weekends and most things are closed - as you found out. Smithfield and Farringdon are not far, but if you are from out of town, you'd be hard pressed to find your way there, or know there is anything.

you'll be pleased to know that london underground wants to get rid of ticket office staff as nearly everyone uses the machines! even i have struggled to use them and i'm a local lad. as for the new trains - you can get more cattle, sorry, people in.

 

[TVC]

EmmyLou Harris is not my thing, but I understand your excitement. Live performance of any kind; music, theatre, poetry is a privilege to enjoy.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Back to the Barbican where we spent an hour comb over watching (to the chap with the special lard applied stick it to your head comb over, respect and several hi fives).

It's the hour-long comb over at the Barbican Barbers I don't understand.

 

[GM]

Glad you enjoyed the gig Pete. We were there last night up in the Gods looking down on the stage which seemed a mile away, amazing gig though. Lesson learnt ..... don't be a tight wod and buy the best seats!

 

[Peteaud]

It's the hour-long comb over at the Barbican Barbers I don't understand.

We sat up in the balcony outside the hall waiting and Mrs noted that many of the men walking about below had rather good comb overs.
So we killed an hour marking them out of 10

 

[Peteaud]

Glad you enjoyed the gig Pete. We were there last night up in the Gods looking down on the stage which seemed a mile away, amazing gig though. Lesson learnt ..... don't be a tight wod and buy the best seats!

I would have bought better seats but they had all sold out.

What did you think of Lanois?

The write up in the Telegraph was reasonable.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

We sat up in the balcony outside the hall waiting and Mrs noted that many of the men walking about below had rather good comb overs.
So we killed an hour marking them out of 10

As you do....

 

[Peteaud]

You should try the "are the couple married or having an affair" game.

 

[Beebo]

shame it was the barbican... that area can be dire if you don't know it. weekends and most things are closed - as you found out. Smithfield and Farringdon are not far, but if you are from out of town, you'd be hard pressed to find your way there, or know there is anything.

I agree with that. An occasional visitor to London would be hard pressed to find anything near the Barbican. It's a bit of a wilderness, even during the week, but at weekends it is dead.
Remember for next time that central London is quite compact, its a very easy 10 minute walk from St Paul's to the Barbican, and there is much more life around there.

 

[GM]

I would have bought better seats but they had all sold out.

What did you think of Lanois?

The write up in the Telegraph was reasonable.

Yeah, he's an amazing guitarist great technique. Loved the Steel pedal guitar at the end. She's in Bristol tonight, anyone lucky enough to be going!

 

[srw]

There's a Pizza Express 5 minutes away from the Barbican, and Cheapside (new shopping centre with restaurants, plus other restaurants on the street) is only 10 minutes away.

Next time - no, now - buy a pre-paid Oyster Card. The fares are much cheaper than paying cash and there's no fighting with a ticket machine.

 

[smokeysmoo]

One big mistake - you should have had a Peri Peri wrap

 

[Peteaud]

There's a Pizza Express 5 minutes away from the Barbican, and Cheapside (new shopping centre with restaurants, plus other restaurants on the street) is only 10 minutes away.

Next time - no, now - buy a pre-paid Oyster Card. The fares are much cheaper than paying cash and there's no fighting with a ticket machine.

If you mean the big shopping centre just down the road it was all shut up.

Buying an oyster card is a bit pointless for me, see as i only travel in london once every few years (thank god)

Yeah, he's an amazing guitarist great technique. Loved the Steel pedal guitar at the end. She's in Bristol tonight, anyone lucky enough to be going!

Bristol had sold out, otherwise thats where we would have gone.

One big mistake - you should have had a Peri Peri wrap

Hmmmmmmm, that was the 1st MD ive had for years, maybe in a few years time i will try another.

 

[srw]

If you mean the big shopping centre just down the road it was all shut up.

Buying an oyster card is a bit pointless for me, see as i only travel in london once every few years (thank god)

http://m.onenewchange.com/opening-hours
This shopping centre. It's just opposite St Paul's. I'd be amazed if at least several of the restaurants weren't open.

On Oyster cards - the fare from zone 6 to zone 1 is £5.70 each way for cash. It's £3.00 each way with an Oyster card. The Oyster card costs £3.00.

So you paid £11.40 each. If you'd got an Oyster card you would have paid £9.00 each - the difference is enough for a beer in Wetherspoons.

If there's anyone reading this who doesn't have an Oyster card yet and thinks there's the sniff of a chance they'll visit London in the next few years - invest £3.00 now. You know it makes sense.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/visitor-oyster-card