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It was only once we had checked into the Marriot St Regent Hotel that we realised our too-good-to-be-true trip to London was, in fact, happening. Last December, I received an unexpected phone call from Mr Price. I had won a trip to the London Graduate Fashion Week! Over 11 days during London’s summer, three friends and I crammed so much into our lives that eventually a journal became essential.The fullness of this account resembles only some of our wide-eyed London frenzy.

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Monday

We landed in the afternoon. A russian-looking man took us to the Marriot St. Regent Hotel where we looked as out of place as he did in London. Oxford Street was our first destination. Maps in hand and failing to keep our gaping jaws up, we were greeted by the welcomed sound of English “yeahs”, Starbucks aromas, and an endless stretch of advertising. Unashamedly, Primark was where we spent our first three hours in London. As if our starved South African fashion thirsts were not quenched enough, Topshop offered an oasis of clothes and trends we knew only on computer screens. Needless to say, that when we crammed into the upstairs of Subway for £2 lunch special, we felt rather post-kid in a candy store. Night-time came and we tubed to quaint little Stratford. There we enjoyed dinner with Sankari’s relatives and happily concluded that British Indians had lost none of their homely culinary flair.



Tuesday

Hotel buffets always offer the happiness of unlimited anything; the morning smell of camembert and scrambled eggs is certainly missed. That morning, we popped out of the greasy-aired Underground and onto Camden Town's streets. Navigating the trinket-filled isles of Camden Market piled on to yesterday's retail therapy. Under a rare sky of sunshine, we crossed city to the Natural History Museum. The Animal Inside Out was both a fascination and an animal lover's challenge. Dinner involved an encounter with the best vegetarian burger on the planet. The Hard Rock Cafe London also offered none other than The Rolling Stones as the soundtrack to our dinner experience. Perhaps the song of ‘In Another Land’ reminded us that were paying nearly £15 each.



Wednesday

Rain. In keeping with the grey Victorian world we woke up to, the London Dungeons were where we headed. I nabbed a skull goblet souvenir that I now wished I had on me as weapon against the tour’s ghouls and lepers. We marched across Tower Bridge, umbrellas and all, to the Design Museum. A Christian Loubotin exhibit called Fetish was the main attraction. That afternoon, our aching feet walked us unwillingly to Harrods. We munched on massive (and massively expensive) macaroons that tasted like blueberry mist. Covent Gardens were where we spent the night, we strolled the rainy cobbled streets with a friend. The five of us snuck into a toasty pub to drink every ale available and joined the Euro Cup festivities.  



Thursday

In the usual morning cold we explored Hyde Park on bicycle. Our destination was the impressive Serpentine Gallery. Midday then brought the excitement of our first London Graduate Fashion Weekshow; we taxied to Earl's Court fashionably late for the International Showcase. FTV simply fails as a description. The show was a feast to the senses! Feeling hip, the four of us visited Soho. I found lilac hair dye and discovered that thrift stores in London are painfully expensive for a South African purse. Hamley's was our next stop –where Graham slurped up a peanut butter, choc-chip cookie and Golden Nuggets milkshake. After exiting what felt like the set of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, we finished our night at The Social. The glowing lit bar was filled with the Crystal Castles-esque sound of an electronic duo called Visions of Trees. 



Friday

Our last day in London on a Mr Price budget was certainly a lucky one! We arrived late to a Warner Brothers tour of the Harry Potter set. Magically, the organiser's planned for tourist tardiness and we made our tour. Potter fans, Graham, Sankari and I awed more than the muggle Jono when we saw the original movie sets, costumes and animatronics used in the movies. Butterbeer was on order and it was delicious! An unspeakable £40 later, I owned Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, a chocolate frog and Sirius Black's wand –Graham bought Lupin’s. We tubed again, this time to Big Ben during peak hour (and they say taxis are cramped!) Once again we arrived late for the final Gala fashion show, but it too was fashionably late. The show was incredible; a melle of music, clothes and confetti. We scored free things and capitalised on the open bar the after party!



Saturday

The weekend brought with it a train ride to Edinburgh. Luggage in hand, I waited gazing at the beeping billboards of King's Cross Station. Edinburgh is beautiful. An icy wind carries smells of green grass and the sounds of seagulls throughout the city. Hungry, we bought lunch from Marks & Spencer’s and enjoyed it while watching Italy v Croatia in our Rose Street apartment. Graham and I went for a sunlit walk at 21:30. It was only when we went for drinks at 22:30 had darkness come along! That night was one of pub crawling. Spurred on by the songs of Scottish drinkers, we went to Dirty Dicks for an Edinburgh Gold, The Black Cat for The Tempest Lager and a bar below our apartment –its name I forget –for a Kronenburg.



Monday

A cold, early start was easy after a Sunday filled with Princes Street shopping and another delicious M&S dinner with obscure British TV comedy. That morning we climbed the Walter Scott Monument that protruded 287 steps from the drizzly Edinburgh Botanical Gardens. Graham, Sankari and I then visited The Elephant House. This homely cafe is where J. K. Rowling spent some time writing her earlier novels, and proudly claims the title of “The Birthplace of Harry Potter”. Its coffee smelt as good as its reputation was. We breakfasted on scrambled egg, hot spuds and cappuchino. We walked along the souvenir stores in the biting cold of Old Town. The Royal Mile led us towards Edinburgh Castle in time for the noon canon. The kilt-wearing castle guards were also an obvious attraction.That afternoon,we met another of Sankari’s relatives. Her aunt drove us to a Victorian house with enjoyable local company. We were treated to dinner at a noisy modern restaurant, Montpelier’s. Here, I became hooked on Rekorderlig pear cider. 

Tuesday

On Tuesday, we parted with Edinburgh. The four of us left sadly, but with intentions to return. En route to Waverly Station, I managed a farewell glimpse of the hilltop Castle. Four hours of English country side were too idyllic to sleep through, so Graham and I gazed outisde with the Real Estate album on repeat. We arrived at the Oxford Street Youth Hostel at midday –semi-showered students speaking in accents from French to Korean were our company. We toured the Tate Modern and St Paul’s Cathedral that afternoon. That afternoon London smelt like the caramelised peanuts made by its street vendors. Graham bought some for £2. After a needed breather in our dorm, we tubed to Piccadilly Circus expecting a pub fish & chips dinner. Too late for the kitchens, we settled for McDonalds instead. The Fillet o’ Fish had to suffice.



Wednesday

On our full day in London we split up. Jono met a friend and visited Emirates stadium. Sankari returned to Oxford and Carnaby streets for her last day of shopping while Graham and I caught a train to Cambridge. The two of us lunched at The Eagle. The 350 year old pub was where Watson and Crick announced their discovery of DNA. We washed down our long-awaited fish and chips meal with their legendary Eagle DNA Ale. We meandered around the university town for two hours. The Asian student imports who also strolled the streets were hard to miss. Cambridge market was filled with carefree chatter and every book, souvenir and snack we needed. Graham bought a metre-long marshmallow which looked better than it tasted. Afterwards, we rushed back to Camden for a last minute purchase. That night our dwindling pounds afforded us prawn and mayo Tesco sandwiches for dinner. We ate them meekly in another pub, enjoying one last celebratory beer each before our return to OR Tambo tomorrow. Graham had a Guinness, I another pear cider. The return of Castle Lager and Hunters was not the only thing that appeared dreary about return to South Africa. The next morning we left cheery, trying to hide our wish to shout “Goodbye United Kingdom” in a pommy accent. |