The Knights in White Denim Tour -AKA The White Trash Tour…
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Sorry about the lack of updates. I was out and about in London at the weekend, took a number of photos, and then haven't got around to uploading them. So you'll have to wait.
General thoughts on the jeans? As a Forty Year Old Iron Heart Virgin, they seem a lot softer than I was expecting, and not as heavy as I was fearing. They're warm too, which is good in this weather. I don't know if the paraffin wax coating helps block the wind.
The 634 cut seems pretty good too. At first I thought that it was a bit loose in the lower leg, but it seems to have settled after a few days. The rise is a bit higher than I expected, which is good because I find lower cuts uncomfortable.
I'm quite liking the white denim despite my sister's protestations. She's not coming round though…
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I know that some of you are from places where this doesn't count as proper snow, but in the UK the lightest dusting causes chaos.
On Friday, the forecast alone was enough to cause chaos on the trains. I've got a feeling that Heathrow is, or was, closed earlier today.
You'd have thought that a nation who just to list exploring uncharted regions, and was confident enough in their own masculinity to paint large parts of the world map pink would cope with a little snow. But, oh no, everything shuts down.
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I don't normally head up to Camden, but have been up to the market both this weekend and last weekend. It's a bit different from other parts of London. The closest comparisons I could think of would be North Laine in Brighton (albeit ten years ago), and Fitzroy in Melbourne.
As an aside the extremely tall actress Gwendoline Christie used to work in Snoopers Paradise, which was a vintage shop in North Laine, when I used to live there. Of course, I never actually went in because my older brother had made disparaging comments about it. Ah well…
Anyway, back to Camden. They obviously don't realise we're no longer in November.
Though some residents think it's November 2019.
Other sculpture around the place reflects its origins as stables.
The shops and stalls in Camden Lock are an eclectic mix of vintage clothing and accessories, modern fashion and handicrafts. Amongst them is Leather Heaven, which is officially known as Custom Leather.
I had a chat to Crispin earlier today, who's going to be supplying the official belts for the HWDC. He's a nice guy, softly spoken, and he makes good stuff. He was also amused when I pointed out that some brands charge another hundred quid for a similar belt, and thought he might have to up his prices.
If you're thinking of getting one of the belts that Megatron is trying to organise then do so. But go for the Baker's oak bark tanned leather, because it's thick, bombproof, and really something quite special.
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Last weekend I took a run down to Shoreditch, which is probably the most fashionable (there's that word again) part of London. Naturally everything there is ultra-hip…
Seul, if you want me to find out what they're asking for it…
A couple of years back I came down to London for a job interview. I'd borrowed my mother's old, brown Karrimor rucksack as I'd just moved back from the Netherlands, and most of my stuff was in storage. Anyway, I was browsing in Present, and one of the shop staff inquired where I'd got it from. He even asked for first refusal if I ever wanted to sell it. Turns out they were very much in demand by hipsters.
My mother, who is even less of a fashionista than Giles, was rather amused by this.
Anyway, the main reason for heading down to Shoreditch is Son of a Stag, which is probably the best denim shop in London. If you're down that way, go take a look.
The owner spotted my Knightly raiment, and was interested in taking a look. He thought that they were a "pretty good" pair of jeans, but recommended Spellbound as his choice.
Yeah, Spellbound jeans might be made on vintage machines with nicely curved back pockets, but a pair of 634s could take them in a fight!
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Having been elevated to the knighthood, I felt the need to acquire clothing suitable for my new status. Where better than Gieves and Hawkes, probably the biggest name on Saville Row?
Whilst trying to find the last of those coats, I caught the tube out of Sloane Square station. Yeah, I know, I'm going upmarket now.
London is filled with buried and hidden waterways, one of which, the River Westbourne, flows through the cast iron conduit you can see in the photo.
Another stop, this time in Mayfair at the RRL Store on Mount Street. I'm a bit in two minds about Ralph Lauren's denim, some of it is nice, but I dislike the fact that a lot of it is distressed.
The shop itself is worth a look. Parts of it feel like you're in a cowboy outfitters, but there are some nice vintage pieces mixed in with the new products. I saw a pair of Corcoran Jump Boots, and these very nice Russell Moccasins.
To recover from a shopping trip, I recommend Hawksmoor, who sell what is probably the best burgers in London. Yeah, I disagree with the critics who say otherwise.
It's an occasional treat, and I have to let my cholesterol levels recover afterwards.
My advice is don't eat too much at lunchtime, and go for the beef dripping fries.
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Nice updates, Graeme.
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What are the burger prices like at Hawksmoor Graeme? I can't even find burgers on their menu for the one near Covent Garden.
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I took a run over to Richmond on Tuesday. The London one, not the identically names town in Yorkshire. If you live in London then it's one of the nicer places to be.
This is the Green, which is the one of the more desirable corners of the borough.
I was chatting to an older gentleman last year who was serving in Lutwyche a while back, and he said that he and his wife nearly borrowed the money to buy a house there back in the sixties when he was newly graduated. He didn't, and the property they were looking at was recently up for sale at somewhere well north of a million quid.
Now, I know that the older generation likes to lecture the younger about being feckless and hence not able to afford a property. But when twenty and thirty somethings are spending half their income to rent a room in a shared house, it's a whole different kettle of pilchards to how it was fifteen or twenty years ago.
The Green used to be a jousting ground, as down by the river was Richmond Palace, home of Henry VII and Elizabeth I, who died there 410 years ago. These days it's mainly used for cricket, though not in this weather.
Sadly there were no passing knights for me to uphold the honour of Gosport against.
Incidentally, this is what it used to look like, though only a few parts survive.
Heading off down the southeastern corner of the Green takes you past an unassuming building.
This is where Eel Pie, Pete Townshend's publishing and merchanising empire is based. I never saw him, though.
And this is where I lived in 2011. Because every knight needs his castle, right?
The site of Richmond Palace got flattened a couple of times over the years, and the tower was a pump house to a manor, since demolished, that was built in the late eighteenth century. The Thames is tidal, and it floods frequently, so it was used to drain the gardens.
Incidentally, the gardens behind the wall are lovely. And private.
The tower is tiny internally, less than 400 square feet / 35 m2. When it last sold, it was apparently the most expensive property on a square foot basis in the borough due to its compact and bijou dimensions. My landlord had to move out when his missus found herself in a blessed condition, which was where I came in.
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My parents habitually head through to Kendal on a Saturday for the weekly shop and market. It's a small, old town, famous for Kendal Mint Cake, which is the traditional fuel of British mountaineering expeditions; Catherine Parr, who outlived Henry VIII, and worked her way through four husbands; and Alfred Wainwright, who lived there for many years and wrote a series of guides to the Lake District Hills.
This is Farrer's Tea and Coffee Merchants. I've got a feeling that the building is three or four hundred years old.
I've been to London quite many times and I've never found it too exciting but your pics make me want to give it (yet) one more chance..
