Saturday Walkabout
On the Portobello Road. Plus... visiting a cultural
touchstone.
Jane, Jerry, and I headed out for a walk down the
Portobello Road, here in Notting Hill Gate. It's the site of the famous Notting
Hill Carnival - a massive festival of West Indies music in August (and site of
the Notting Hill Riots in the 60s and
70s).
Portobello Road becomes one long (and I do mean loooong) strip of stalls selling everything from antiques at the south end to random pieces of crap at the north end.
The Portobello Road runs under The Westway (an elevated roadway), which was referenced repeatedly by The Clash (a documentary about The Clash by Don Letts is called Westway To The World). This was the stomping ground of many people from that era of music.
Not far from The Westway is the original Rough Trade records - a shop and a record label that was highly influential for the late 70s music scene. The posters on the wall range from original punk bands to current shows. It's a musical museum without even trying.
We stopped up the north end for a coffee and a bun at a Portuguese bakery. Here are my hosts, Jane and Jerry, seated in the middle.
We returned home, stopping on the way at The Dub Vendor. There are no record shops like this in Toronto.
We came home, had an excellent salmon dinner, and then Jerry and I headed for the Royal Festival Hall for another evening of music.
Portobello Road becomes one long (and I do mean loooong) strip of stalls selling everything from antiques at the south end to random pieces of crap at the north end.
The Portobello Road runs under The Westway (an elevated roadway), which was referenced repeatedly by The Clash (a documentary about The Clash by Don Letts is called Westway To The World). This was the stomping ground of many people from that era of music.
Not far from The Westway is the original Rough Trade records - a shop and a record label that was highly influential for the late 70s music scene. The posters on the wall range from original punk bands to current shows. It's a musical museum without even trying.
We stopped up the north end for a coffee and a bun at a Portuguese bakery. Here are my hosts, Jane and Jerry, seated in the middle.
We returned home, stopping on the way at The Dub Vendor. There are no record shops like this in Toronto.
We came home, had an excellent salmon dinner, and then Jerry and I headed for the Royal Festival Hall for another evening of music.
Posted: Sat - June 14, 2003 at 02:39 PM Meltdown Out and About Email Comments
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Published On: Jul 02, 2003 09:07 AM
Total entries in this category: 17
Published On: Jul 02, 2003 09:07 AM