5 ms·

Lots of people like London. I'm not one of them, but then I don't like big cities. I would say my biggest gripe about London is the frequent transit failures.

Lots of people like London. I'm not one of them, but then I don't like big cities. I would say my biggest gripe about London is the frequent transit failures. I literally can't remember the last time we didn't have someone come in an hour late because of some train/bus problems. My second biggest gripe is the frequent transit strikes ;-). If it's not busted, it's not running because management and workers are fighting with each other. Especially if you are comparing London from 20 years ago, I would have to say that it is much nicer than it used to be. I lived in London 2 years ago and also 20 years ago. I remember 20 years ago coming home and literally being able to draw pictures on my arm with the grime that accumulated during the day. Blowing my nose always resulted in black snot coming out. The Thames was filled with garbage. Those days are mostly gone now. Hell, tours on the Thames is considered a fancy thing to do these days. The things I think are not quite as nice (and I'll brace myself for the backlash)... Culturally the city is kind of confused IMHO. 20 years ago it was vaguely European, but really English when it came down to it. You could still get a decent Sunday roast in any pub in London at the time. Now it is decidedly multi-cultural. I think young people will definitely prefer the London of today, and I won't blame them, but personally I miss the London of times gone by. These days you have to go further afield to get more of an English cultural experience, IMHO. Not necessarily a bad thing, but like I said, there will be people who prefer one over the other.

shazzy 10y ago
Apart from the Sunday roast you mentioned, which incidently is available in the majority of pubs I've been to (I had a very nice one yesterday) what other parts of the "english cultural" experience are you missing?
- alimbada 10y ago
  That's pretty much it. English culture is extremely bland (unless you want to count the embarrassments that are binge-drinking and hooliganism which often go hand in hand...) hence why our national dish is curry. :)
  - raverbashing 10y ago
    I suppose it's a "fish can't see water" type of thing (or trolling/ignorance maybe?)
- mikekchar 10y ago
  Keep in mind that my experiences are based on my preferences. YMMV. But for example, 20 years ago the licensing laws were set up so that pubs were open from 11-2 and from 4-11. Usually in London, they had an exemption to allow them to be open between 2 and 4. There were some bars that were open past 11, but you needed a special license. Now bars and pubs that are open past 11 is the norm in London. It also used to be that you would have chip shops and sandwich shops and cafes that would serve an english breakfast. Now you have chain espresso shops and ramen shops and sushi shops, etc (hey, I live in Japan and love Japanese culture, so I will stick to complaining about that so as not to appear racist ;-) ). When I'm back in London these days I have to go out of my way to find the kind of food that was around every corner 20 years ago. As for pubs, chains like Weatherspoons (love them or hate them) have done a great job of maintaining and even improving certain things like the availability of real ale. They have worked hard to lobby for reduced prices for beer so that it is still (barely) possible to drink a decent pint and not go broke. But the good independent pub in London is a rare sight now, IMHO. 20 years ago the words "free house" actually meant something. Now you'll see "free house" on the side of Champions League football entertainment centre that serves nothing but InBev products. These days the city never sleeps. It never has a day off. You can obtain any kind of food or experience you like, practically 24/7. You can easily find high quality European restaurants. You can drink fine wine in the shop on the corner. You can find italian fashions (and pay your entire salary on a single outfit). These are all great. But it's hard to find a quiet neighbourhood pub. Piano singalong? Ha ha ha ha! Wait less than 30 minutes for a good english breakfast? Drink a finely crafted English pint with Fuggles and Goldings hops? Find a non-chain pub that serves bangers and mash? Eat a pickle and cheese sandwich (even on a train)? Be able to not be disturbed at all hours by rowdy drunks when you live near a pub? All of these things are getting harder/impossible to do because they have been supplanted by non-English culture. Which is fine in one way, but like I said, I miss London of 20 years ago.
DanBC 10y ago
> I remember 20 years ago coming home and literally being able to draw pictures on my arm with the grime that accumulated during the day. Blowing my nose always resulted in black snot coming out. [...] Those days are mostly gone now. Watch out. The air is still polluted, and it's a significant cause of death in London. It's just a different type of air pollution, and you mostly can't see it.

shazzy 10y ago

Apart from the Sunday roast you mentioned, which incidently is available in the majority of pubs I've been to (I had a very nice one yesterday) what other parts of the "english cultural" experience are you missing?

alimbada 10y ago
That's pretty much it. English culture is extremely bland (unless you want to count the embarrassments that are binge-drinking and hooliganism which often go hand in hand...) hence why our national dish is curry. :)
- raverbashing 10y ago
  I suppose it's a "fish can't see water" type of thing (or trolling/ignorance maybe?)
mikekchar 10y ago
Keep in mind that my experiences are based on my preferences. YMMV. But for example, 20 years ago the licensing laws were set up so that pubs were open from 11-2 and from 4-11. Usually in London, they had an exemption to allow them to be open between 2 and 4. There were some bars that were open past 11, but you needed a special license. Now bars and pubs that are open past 11 is the norm in London. It also used to be that you would have chip shops and sandwich shops and cafes that would serve an english breakfast. Now you have chain espresso shops and ramen shops and sushi shops, etc (hey, I live in Japan and love Japanese culture, so I will stick to complaining about that so as not to appear racist ;-) ). When I'm back in London these days I have to go out of my way to find the kind of food that was around every corner 20 years ago. As for pubs, chains like Weatherspoons (love them or hate them) have done a great job of maintaining and even improving certain things like the availability of real ale. They have worked hard to lobby for reduced prices for beer so that it is still (barely) possible to drink a decent pint and not go broke. But the good independent pub in London is a rare sight now, IMHO. 20 years ago the words "free house" actually meant something. Now you'll see "free house" on the side of Champions League football entertainment centre that serves nothing but InBev products. These days the city never sleeps. It never has a day off. You can obtain any kind of food or experience you like, practically 24/7. You can easily find high quality European restaurants. You can drink fine wine in the shop on the corner. You can find italian fashions (and pay your entire salary on a single outfit). These are all great. But it's hard to find a quiet neighbourhood pub. Piano singalong? Ha ha ha ha! Wait less than 30 minutes for a good english breakfast? Drink a finely crafted English pint with Fuggles and Goldings hops? Find a non-chain pub that serves bangers and mash? Eat a pickle and cheese sandwich (even on a train)? Be able to not be disturbed at all hours by rowdy drunks when you live near a pub? All of these things are getting harder/impossible to do because they have been supplanted by non-English culture. Which is fine in one way, but like I said, I miss London of 20 years ago.

DanBC 10y ago

> I remember 20 years ago coming home and literally being able to draw pictures on my arm with the grime that accumulated during the day. Blowing my nose always resulted in black snot coming out. [...] Those days are mostly gone now. Watch out. The air is still polluted, and it's a significant cause of death in London. It's just a different type of air pollution, and you mostly can't see it.