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Newsletter Issue 2 - 1st October 1998 |
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| Budget
Hotels The English Tourist Board recently announced that London budget hotels do not offer good value and the standard of cleanliness an service is often poor. Well this was well known before, and I've mentioned this already on this site. The reason is two-fold: the pound is over-valued and secondly, property in the capital is very expensive. Even the smallest hotel in central London with some 12 to 15 rooms is worth about 1 to 1.5 million pounds. Anyone spending/borrowing so much money wants an adequate return and this is why accommodation in London is going to be expensive. The London evening newspaper, the Evening Standard, jumped on the bandwagon, and sent an undercover journalist to investigate the state of affairs in one of the hotels I have mentioned in the accommodation listings (Boka Hotel). But in my opinion, the investigation misfired: the reporter got a tiny room with thin walls; there was some building work in he corridor at daytime; the English breakfast (bacon, sausage, eggs, toast & tea) was, in his opinion, substandard. But (and a big but) he only paid £22 for one night in a single room and he admitted that the room was clean and the bed comfortable. What do you think, did the reporter get a good deal or not? Gold rush in Kensington The London Times recently had an article in which a scientist claimed that, very soon, it would be viable to collect dirt from roads in order to extract precious metals. This is because these precious metals are expelled together with exhaust fumes from catalytic converters in cars. Therefore, as an added bonus to the readers of this newsletter, I can now reveal the London hotspot for panning activities: the corner of Earl's Court Road and Cromwell Road and Kensington, which is the traffic spot in London. Please don't all rush at once even if no license is necessary. Achy Ramp update In the last issue, I mentioned the problem that the fashionable restaurant the Pharmacy had with its name. Its owners had changed it to Achy Ramp, yet I came up with a few suggestions of my own, including Army Chap. Lo and behold, what is the new name of the place? None other than Army Chap. I'm obviously a big influence on Damien Hirst. Although on second thoughts, perhaps that's not such a good thing to admit. Although if you are reading this Damien, how's about a free dinner? September weather I'm constantly asked more about London weather than anything else. As far as I am concerned it's unspectacular, neither particularly hot or cold, with the occasional rain shower, but I guess this keeps the streets clean (something must). Last month was rather nice, reasonably warm. I just hope October is not too rainy. |