Day three of my London trip was Alice in Chains Day.
Chloe and I were both feeling the effects of the last two days, and in order to make the gig that evening we needed to fuel up with a big lunch. So as a thanks for giving me a place to stay for a few days I took Chloe out to a pub nearby that she said did really good food. I ordered a burger, that was HUGE and came with the largest chips/fries I think I’ve ever seen. It was as if they’d taken a potato, chopped it into four or five strips, and decided that was enough prep. Chloe went with the Chicken Burger that included these giant chips too. We took the chance on a drink to start our day off nice and slowly, because when you are hungover the first is a struggle, and it’s not until after your third beer that you feel human again. Chloe went down the cider route, and stuck with that option until we were actually at the gig that evening. Me, I went with a pint.
It was almost a really bad decision on my part. I had to grab a glass of coke to drink at the same time and I think that was probably the smartest move I made that weekend. We slowly ate our food, while chatting and generally letting the world roll by. Neither one of us could finish lunch, but without a doubt it ensured we were both going to be fighting fit by the time the gig came around.
With our stomachs full, and our first drink of the day out of the way, we casually made our way into Camden to have a walk around Camden Market. I never get a chance do do anything like this when I’m in London normally because I’m always working, so we made a point of not rushing anywhere and just spent an hour or so wandering around. It was in Camden that Chloe took me to the craziest shop I’ve ever seen. Simply because it was the craziest shop she’d ever seen, and had to show someone else. I can’t remember what it was called, but there were two giant robot statues outside the door, techno music blasted out from the store, and everything inside was neon. It sold some of the nuttiest clothing I’ve seen, and there were a couple of things that came straight from the Jetsons Cartoon. I think if I had to spend any decent amount of time in that place I would have gone a little insane.
After that experience, we made our way to the venue for the evenings gig because we weren’t entirely sure where it was. Thankfully the wonder of the iPhone and Google Maps got us there without any trouble. We were a little early so we found the closest pub and attempted our second drink of the day to see how the rest of our evening was going to pan out. Chloe stuck with her cider drinking, and it seemed to perk her up a little more, I went with a beer, and because I’d finally digested the giant burger, and had been walking around for a few hours, my hangover was gone and I was feeling really good again.
Once the doors to the venue opened we decided to join the ever growing queue, and after about fifteen minutes found ourselves in the venue, at the bar. There was one support act at this gig, and they were a band from Oxford, who had a drummer, a keyboard player, and a very, very energetic female singer/guitarist. Chloe and I both fluctuated between really liking them, and thinking they were a little meh. I think in the end the energy from the singer won us over and we found ourselves getting into them.
It took a little while to get all the gear ready for Alice in Chains, but the wait was worth it. The gig was pretty heavy throughout, although they did drop into a little acoustic set in the middle of the evening. We found ourselves as close to the stage as we could get and were singing along and really getting into the whole thing, and at various points there were shouts for them to play “Rooster”. They kept everyone waiting and finally played it as the last song of the evening. As soon as they started the song, the place went crazy. It really was worth the wait.
After the gig Chloe and I grabbed the tube back to the flat, catching the very last train that stopped at her local stop saving us a fortune in taxi fares. We sat around having a couple of beers and talking about the gig for a few hours before both deciding to call it a night. Chloe had to do some work in the morning, and I had to make sure I caught my train home.
The following morning was going pretty smoothly. We had ome breakfast, and I had a few mugs of coffee to make me feel human again. Chloe was doing some illustration work for one of her clients as I sat in the living room watching TV, and using the last twenty minutes of battery power in my laptop. I had a 1pm train and so just before midday we made our way to the train station, so I could catch the LDR and then the tube to Kings Cross. I caught the train and then the tube to Kings Cross without any issue, and should have arrived at the station with enough time to grab a coffee and relax before the train as due to leave. Of course that’s not what happened.
A few stops before Kings Cross we were informed someone had gone on the line just after Kings Cross, and as such the train would stop at Angel, and then bypass Kings Cross completely. That’s not what I wanted to here. I jumped off at Angel, fired up Google Maps on my iPhone to see exactly how far away I was from Kings Cross station. It was just under a mile to the station, and I had 15 minutes to get there before my train left. If I’d been able to catch a cab it would have been fine, except for those 15 minutes there must have been a cab strike because I didn’t see a single taxi anywhere. In London. No cabs anywhere! I couldn’t believe my luck. So in the end I had to run just under a mile, with two bags, one of which had my laptop, my D70s and a couple of books. It wasn’t a streamlined run.
I got to the station, found the correct platform, and I made it onto the train. I cut it so close that the train began pulling out of the station as I was sitting down in my seat. My relaxed trip to the station had become a stressful, moments away from disaster, mess. Luckily I had four and a half hours to get over the only negative thing in my entire London trip.
I’ve spent years complaining about having to go down to London, and in four days that entire argument was blown out of the water. I had a great time hanging out in a good city, which can be contributed to two things: Not having to work, and A Great Friend.
