Saturday, October 13, 2007

Up and Coming Somerstown 2

When I moved to Kings Cross in 2002, it was still a bit iffy. But with the coming of the Eurostar we even now have... middle clas people.

There are at least three gay couples living in my building (all far more fabulous than me - either whippety thin cardigan-wearers, or flip-flops, beards, motorbike and Guardian).

My street has a proper pizzeria, a Szechuan chinese, and a wine bar. But just over the road is The Brunswick Centre. It used to be a delapidated Barbican rip-off, with a Somerfield and a charity shop. Now it's a shopping centre out of your dreams.



For one thing, there's a Waitrose. It's heaving - rammed with middle class people who've just materialised. Build it. They will come. And they spill out, eating at Yo Sushi, or Strada (we even have a Nandos for daytrippers from Zone 3). Later, they'll dive into the Virgin Megastore and Space NK, before checking out show times at the French Art House cinema. People wander happily around, looking like pastel drawings from an artist's impresison in an architecture brochure. It all looks worryingly like Caprica in Galactica. I love it.

This afternoon, there was even a cute Polish gay couple arguing over which season of the OC to buy on DVD.

UPDATE: Orchis pointed out that I'd forgotten Skoob, a giant underground second hand book store. When they reopened, they'd done the entire floor in cheap wood flooring, hadn't left any gaps for expansion, and the floor had risen. As a result it was brilliantly like walking on a wooden sea, where a careful step in Crime could cause ripples in Ancient History.

6 comments:

Caliope said...

and Skoob's - ok its a rather overpriced second hand bookshop but it is a bookshop !

Skip said...

Oh, I love Skoob. Hold on...

Gary said...

I managed to cack-handedly reference you yesterday. H & I were walking through the 'Brewery 1/4' (as it styles itself) just off St Mary's Street. H commented it was like one of those English people's shopping enclaves in Spain. I said, oooh, you know what it's like though, I was reading somewhere, about someplace being like Caprica, and the whole time you're there you're waiting for the Cylon heavy raiders to swoop down bringing death from above...

Later we were at home on our separate computers. H came in and said, you got that Caprica thing from Skip's Acorn Treasury. Except he didn't mention anything about Cylon attack ships and death. That was all you.

Skip said...

You morbid, morbid man. That is all.

Editor - Pai Skincare said...

We're opening a shop in Kings Cross!

Funky Tees....many in tight sizes.

Is next door (with interconnecting door) to Soho Books....so you can pop in after picking up your DVD.

No more Euston Blogspot...have you moved?

Listening to Dirk Gently on the radio...anything to do with you? Harry Enfield doesn't quite fit into Arvind's shoes.

Ed

Skip said...

Really? Oh, Ed, you sex beast. Nah, the Blog's still here.

And no, I don't like the Radio Four version.