I was born in this city and I hope I die in this city (but not just yet). It seems to me that every year, a couple of my old mates move out to the country. Why? They want "more space", they want to "stare at the sea", they want to get "away from the dirt and decay". They tell me they can get more for their money in the middle of nowhere. Personally I think they are all completely bonkers. Having more space, staring at trees, having postcard views and a homgeonous environment has no appeal at all. I love Mill Hill, if I had to move, I'd rather move in to town than out. Sure London is dirty, smelly and people are not friendly in the street, but all of the things I love are on my doorstep. Tonight (snow permitting) I'll take the 384 bus from the top of my road to Barnet to watch Hadley FC at Brickfield Lane. Last night, I travelled into Euston to meet up with a couple of old mates, Costas and Ashwin. We had a couple of beers at The Doric Arch, a Fullers pub in Euston station, which has a decent selection of ales (I had a couple of pints of Olivers Island, a tasty golden ale), then we adjourned to the Great Nepalese on Eversholt St.
Have you ever tried Nepalese cuisine. There are some excellent dishes. As Ashwin is a vegetarian, we had a selection of veggie starters and shared them. I particularly enjoyed the Nepalese veggie Momo's and the Masco Bara's (lentil pancakes). For my main, I had a lamb Kathmandu Tho, very tasty aith the black lentils Kalo Dal, and a nan. It is delciious. I've been going to the Great Nepalese for nearly 40 years, it is an institution. It was a good night and I think we managed to put the world to rights. As we were getting ready to leave, I got a tap on the back. It was a rather fierce looking Northern Irish chap. He said "I heard what you were saying about Brexit". I was slightly concerned for a second. He then laughed and said "Thank your lucky stars you don't have the DUP!". At that we all laughed and had a joke. The night wasn't particularly special, it was just one of many, where I've met mates in town, had a beer and a curry and returned home happy.
Normally it is an easy journey, a Thameslink train from Mill Hill Broadway to St Pancras, then a 10 minute walk to Euston. Last night, we had the down side of London. Thameslink wasn't working, so I had to slum it. I took a bus to Burnt Oak and took the Northern Line. It added about 15 minutes to the journey, but it was still less than an hour. When you get out into the sticks, public transport ceases to be an easy option. I have friends who like a curry, but they have the choice of one or two if they are lucky. With London on our doorstep, I could probably have a great curry at a different restaurant every night of the year.
My other great love is music. The tube goes through Camden Town, which has three of my favourite music venues. For lovers of pub venues, you have the Dublin Castle (if you can make it, my band The False Dots are playing there on Friday 24th March), if you like a slight bigger, more salubrious environment, there is the Jazz Cafe, who have some of my favourite reggae artists on a regular basis. My missus particularly likes it, as you can have dinner upstairs and she can see the bands (being shorter than me!). And then there is the Roundhouse. I have my name on the wall and my story on their website, which is perhaps my greatest life achievement.
There's plenty of other venues I love, but those three are ones that I especially make the effort to frequent. I really can't imagine wanting to live anywhere that this wasn't on my doorstep. I wrote a song and made a video about The Dublin Castle, hope you enjoy it.
A very special night to celebrate our drummer, Gray Ramsey's 60th Birthday - a special, collectors item free gift for all our fans to mark the event! Buy your tickets early, it's cheaper
https://www.wegottickets.com/event/571039
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