Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Off the boil
Nike and Niketown are now firmly on the back burner following a visit yesterday to Cotswold, the outdoor shop I had thought was in Kingston market place turning out to be a hifi shop. Having previously taken advice that military types like them, settled for a pair of Merrells (http://www.merrell.com/UK/en), costing about the same as a pair of Nikes from Niketown. Smart without being flashy but will probably need a little breaking in, being rather more substantial. Certainly proved necessary to prune both big toe nails.
Next, following the bigos failure last week (October 23rd) tempted by a Polish restaurant in Old London Road which we had not noticed before but which had, apparently, been there for just about a year. Slightly discouraged by its being empty when we arrived around 1230, but mood improved when we found that a pint bottle of Zywiec was going for £2.75 or so, not that much more than Wetherspoons. The waitress tried to get to me to try others but I stuck to my guns. Accompanied by potato pancakes and stuffed dumplings. The pancakes were thinner and more dingy looking than the latkas I used to get in Great Windmill Street, but good all the same. Dumplings good too. A hearty lunch. BH was pleased with her soup and chicken salad, so I expect we shall go again. See http://www.republicrestaurant.co.uk/.
The only down side was that it was explained that lots of Polish people don't like bigos so it was not on the regular menu. Just done as a special from time to time.
Rounded out the outing by a hunt for the Kingston cigar shop which someone somewhere had told me of. Nip through a touch of bureaucracy for aliens at the Kingston Library and onto a terminal to find that there is a cigar importer at 30 London Road. Fuelled by the Zywiec, I was thinking that I might be able to blag my way through to some samples but desisted. Then, this morning, I try again to find it claimed that I can buy cigars in both Bentalls and Teddington, which might be more convenient than trolling into the big town. Oddly, Google does not tell me about the cigar store I once visited in down town Kingston VA.. Perhaps it has faded away; the main drag did have a rather down at heel look to it. Killed, presumably, by the big stores.
PS: I see in today's Guardian that my trinity post of 22nd October falls into the category of 'disgusting, hypocritical and self-deceiving'. This according to someone who describes himself as an art correspondent. Perhaps he should stick to art; I can imagine he is a fan of Damien Hirst or perhaps the late German chap who was into the arty display of corpses.
# posted by Jim @ 3:59 AM 
