London

[carrickharp]

...could someone recommend a good Irish bar (or good bar) to watch the Scotland v Ireland match on Saturday, staying in the centre of the city so somewhere in that area would suit (I have been over before but always stayed in the Cricklewood area but I don’t want to have to go all the way out there again) cheers folks.

[paul_oshea]

leicester square. go to waxy oconnors its a good pub for watching irish matches.

its on wardour street picadilly circus would be the closest stop. Its actually got an entrance on two streets i.e. back and front door. they have a website address, just google for waxy oconnors.

[carrickharp]

Cheers Paul, any other good spots to go to while Im there??

[paul_oshea]

oneills up the road from there is a good spot. its on the same street.where are ye staying? if you are staying out around fulham or chelsea there are lots of bars out there, but they are a bit posh for me!!

[carrickharp]

oneills up the road from there is a good spot. its on the same street.where are ye staying? if you are staying out around fulham or chelsea there are lots of bars out there, but they are a bit posh for me!!

Stayed out there last year never again as you say it is a posh area, staying in the Marble Arch area, think I was in that O'Neills a few years back.

[Peadar]

It can be a nightmare watching games in Waxy's.
By the way, it's on Rupert St.

O'Neill's is a great spot as you can stay there dancing all night.

[Peadar]

Actually, in 1999, I watched rugby in a place called Callaghan's in Marble Arch. Good big spot and great atmosphere.
Been a while though so you'd need more up to date info.

[endabob1]

It's a couple of years since I frequented the bars of London so forgive me if some end up being crap.
Normally a good crowd in Waxy's I stopped going there as we always seemed to lose, O'Neils is half a dozen doors up and is ok same as every other O'Neils in London. The Porterhouse in Covent Garden, just up from the strand is a good spot (Not sure if they show Rugby though you'd have to call them to find out), Bootsy Brogans in Fulham was a good spot too it's owned by the same crowd as Waxy's.
There used to be a plastic pub at the bottom of the Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch which I got drunk in several times, not sure if it's still there but I remember having a good time in it.

[Peadar]

There used to be a plastic pub at the bottom of the Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch which I god drunk in several times, not sure if it's still there but I remember having a good time in it.

Sounds like Callaghans.
I enjoyed the craic in there anyway.

[endabob1]

That sounds right, I was down that way a few weekends ago but I didn't notice it I have a feeling it's changed to a non-Irish pub now

[paul_oshea]

It can be a nightmare watching games in Waxy's.
By the way, it's on Rupert St.

its on rupert street and wardour street. oneills is on wardour street about 4 doors up.

[Peadar]

its on rupert street and wardour street. oneills is on wardour street about 4 doors up.

Access isn't always permitted via the backdoor on Wardour St.

[paul_oshea]

porterhouse shows the matches, only problem if ye dont really know london its hard enough find and tucked away around 1.30 on saturday it will be tourists around that area and the likes so they wont have a clue where it is if you need to stop and ask.


Access isn't always permitted via the backdoor on Wardour St.

since you moved back home it has!!!

[endabob1]

http://www.porterhousebrewco.com/coventgarden.html

It's easy to find but hard to leave!

[Peadar]

since you moved back home it has!!!

That's funny because I was walking by last Sunday & saw 4 guys being directed to the entrance round the front.

[paul_oshea]

what time was that at peadar? only time they do it is sundays, generally before 4. never any other time. its because they do a big clean up on sunday for end of week.

[carrickharp]

Cheers for the help lads went to Waxys at 12.15 on Saturday (as advised by very sound barman from Mayo there on Friday night he told us to get there early as to get seats for the match) great craic there ended up in O'Neills in the evening great day out!

[Peadar]

You got the best of both worlds so then.
Yeah they're plastic Irish pubs but you're sure to have the craic.

[paul_oshea]

as advised by very sound barman from Mayo there on Friday night he told us to get there early as to get seats for the match

ginger headed fella? thats vinny, think he is a dub though didnt think he was from mayo. Tom who runs oneills is from ballina. got him to put up posters for me for the north london shamrocks in oneills, sound man. gave me the oenills "loyalty" card as well so get in free and anyone else with me, handy to save £8 a head when a big group with ye!

waxys really doesnt go over board with the plastic stuff, and they have lots of irish staff. its actually half owned by an italian!!! oneills are run by a guiness subsidary.

i was in waxys meself, you werent the fella who kept walking round and bumping into people and then got thrown out by any chance dublinharp?!?! :D

[Peadar]

i was in waxys meself, you werent the fella who kept walking round and bumping into people and then got thrown out by any chance dublinharp?!?! :D

That was more likely to be you...

[paul_oshea]

not at 10.30 maybe at 3.30 :D

[carrickharp]

i was in waxys meself, you werent the fella who kept walking round and bumping into people and then got thrown out by any chance dublinharp?!?! :D
Nope:eek:
The barman from Mayo had glasses and wasent working on Saturday, we were sitting upstairs at the table beside the "fireplace" really liked the fact that staff were really sound in there!

[paul_oshea]

ya staff in there are bang on alright. and you notice through the years very low attrition rate considering its a bar....good sign i spose!

[bennocelt]

I will be heading to London to start work in September, living and working in east London, not too far from west ham
looks like a well dodgy area

wonder has anyone here ever lived in East london, and give me the low done.........whats it really like, is going to a West Ham (or Grays Ath) games good craic, will I get mugged, do the BNP care if you are Irish these days, etc

[Pauro 76]

Only place ive lived in East London has been Aldgate, and that wasnt too bad to be honest. Whitechapel is apparantly quite trendy these days.. Keep the head down and you'll be ok. Ive a mate living in Barking and being Irish isnt an issue there, although a few bars are totally dodgy, its just like most other suburbs really...

[Dodge]

You're going to hate it bennocelt, full of brits

[Peadar]

Aldgate is in "The City" so it's nothing like where Bennocelt will be.

Bennocelt, you could always check out Charlton Ath. who are based south of the river from London City Airport.

If I were you, I'd go over on a reconessance mission.
You could stay somewhere like the Express Holiday Inn at Greenwich and use the tube to check out the area.
The public transport in London is fairly good so you don't have to live where you work.
Keep that in mind.
If you're using public transport, it's a good idea to get an Oyster Card. (https://sales.oystercard.com/oyster/lul/entry.do)
It's a wonderful city, make the most of your time there.

[bennocelt]

You're going to hate it bennocelt, full of britsyeah just like ireland then;)
Aldgate is in "The City" so it's nothing like where Bennocelt will be.

Bennocelt, you could always check out Charlton Ath. who are based south of the river from London City Airport.

If I were you, I'd go over on a reconessance mission.
You could stay somewhere like the Express Holiday Inn at Greenwich and use the tube to check out the area.
The public transport in London is fairly good so you don't have to live where you work.
Keep that in mind.
If you're using public transport, it's a good idea to get an Oyster Card. (https://sales.oystercard.com/oyster/lul/entry.do)
It's a wonderful city, make the most of your time there.tx p,
i have actually lived in London before, south, near kennington, and i loved London, but when i was in East London for the job interview, i was surprised at how much poverty i saw (you know in this day and age)

[Peadar]

tx p,
i have actually lived in London before, south, near kennington, and i loved London, but when i was in East London for the job interview, i was surprised at how much poverty i saw (you know in this day and age)

Given that there's almost twice as many people in the greater London area than there is in Ireland, you're bound to have more obvious examples of the social divide.
I'm sure it's not all bad out east though.

[Pauro 76]

I will say, that London is a very hard place to get used to at first. And finding your feet is the hardest part. If you dont have a job, do anything, bar work or something, its money coming in and you meet a lot of people that way if you dont know many people. Stick with it though, I love it now, but I had to go through the hard times first. Oh and a few words of advice, phones: dont go contract with 3. And gumtree.com is probably the best house-sharing website if you need to go that route.

[Dodge]

Going to London in October so starting to look at hotels. Can anyone recommend any decent hotels? Looking for something that's fairly close to all the touristy crap and won't cost too much.

[GavinZac]

we stayed in Rasool Court Hotel London in february, good location in Earls Court/Kensington next to a tube station, very basic room though but fairly cheap.

[paul_oshea]

Dodge, save your money and go somewhere else, london is crap!!! but if ye still want to go ill post up some info later. if ye book now ye will get decent enough accomodation.

if you want to be relatively close then earls court, gloucester road, kennsington etc are the kind of areas that are relatively cheap but close enough to the centre of town. if you are thinking of going to a football match fulham is close to all those areas too.

[Ash]

we stayed in Rasool Court Hotel London in february, good location in Earls Court/Kensington next to a tube station, very basic room though but fairly cheap.

I stayed in the Rasool before. A kip of the highest order.

Last time I was in London I stayed in the Holiday Inn in Brent Cross.
Hotel was very nice and its not that far on the tube to the touristy
stuff. Get the tube to Euston and then change for Kings Cross and
you can get to anywhere from there :)
Mind The Gap

[Dodge]

I'm going for the NFL game on the bank holiday weekend in Wembley, so yeah I kinda have to stay in London ;)

[beautifulrock]

Dodge, Brent Cross is a good shout for Wembley cant be anymore than 10/15 mins away from the Stadium.

[passinginterest]

Stayed at Jurys Clifton Ford (http://londonhotels.jurysdoyle.com/cliftonford_london)last April. It's a 4 star near Oxford Street. I'm as cheap as they come so I can tell you we got a good deal on room only by booking early! Not too inpressed by the room considering it was 4 star, had to move because first room they gave us smelled like sewer. Location wise it was great though.

[paul_oshea]

brent cross is out in zone 3, and the tube is a good walk away from the holiday inn ( i dont live too far from there myself ), plus its not a great area at night time either. you would be dependent on taxis. If you are going to wembley, the crown in cricklewood isnt that far ( not that cheap though, unless you tell them you are over with some GAA team or function ) and its really really nice.

but you are probably only going to be in wembley once and for a few hours so its probably handier to stay in town.

that jurys hotel is very central alright, never stayed in it though so dont know what its like.

[GavinZac]

I stayed in the Rasool before. A kip of the highest order.
I agree, but I thoought I'd be nice since they returned my digital camera after I left it in my room. A couple of weeks late, but to be honest I expected some cleaner to have pocketed it.

[Ash]

brent cross is out in zone 3, and the tube is a good walk away from the holiday inn ( i dont live too far from there myself ), plus its not a great area at night time either. you would be dependent on taxis.


True, looks fairly dodgy at night, but on the plus side, the Holiday Inn
have (or had last time I was there) a free taxi service every 15-20 mins
between the hotel and station.

[Dodge]

Anyone ever been up on that thing? Going over to London at the end of October for the NFL game in Wembley. Missus wants to go on the Eye.

From what I gather it takes 30 minutes to. Queues should be too bad in October, would they?

Any help?

[Sligo Hornet]

Might be better to book in advance, although shouldn't be too busy....if it's a clear day you'll have a fantastic view!

There are now several Street Artists, Human Statues etc alongside.....enjoy the experience!:)

[passinginterest]

Anyone ever been up on that thing? Going over to London at the end of October for the NFL game in Wembley. Missus wants to go on the Eye.

From what I gather it takes 30 minutes to. Queues should be too bad in October, would they?

Any help?

It's pretty dull to be honest. Great views and all, but there's only so long it can hold your interest, by the time it gets back to ground it's a relief.

I pre-booked it online along with tickets to see Phantom of the Opera. Was worth it for the Phantom tickets, they were in prime location and saved a good few € on the package deal. I'm not big into musicals or anything but I have to say I'd go back to London just to see Phantom again, it was truly fantastic.

[passinginterest]

Might be better to book in advance, although shouldn't be too busy....if it's a clear day you'll have a fantastic view!

There are now several Street Artists, Human Statues etc alongside.....enjoy the experience!:)

When I was there the museum beside it had a Dali exhibition on. Now that was well worth the entry fee.

[paul_oshea]

Anyone ever been up on that thing? Going over to London at the end of October for the NFL game in Wembley. Missus wants to go on the Eye.


Dont go its crap, takes too long to queue and go round and then when you get up you realise there really is nothing to see of London from that view. Go to tower 42, far more impressive, seriouslly, especially if you want to get a good view of the City and Canary wharf. Plus its cheaper :) Except the drink. BUt if you are bringing the bird its a great idea as it kills 2 birds with one stone etc.


When I was there the museum beside it had a Dali exhibition on. Now that was well worth the entry fee

Do you mean the Tate or the Royal Museum? How they think that building is art ill never know, either of them actually, both are eyesores and one looks just like the M15 building.

GO to tower 42 ( they do meals too ), your missus will love it, your wallet wont though.

[sligoman]

I was on it earlier this month actually. Queue's were ridiculous(granted that was a Saturday so I suggest going another day maybe;)) but you can pay an extra £10(each) to skip the queue and 'fast track' your way onto it, still have to queue that way but definitely cuts it down a lot. It's one of those things where you'll probably only go on it once because you're a tourist and just to say you were on it. I certainly wouldn't go back on it again anyway as I think it's both too expensive(£15 normal queueing or £25 'fast-track') and queue's too long. Gives you a good view of the city though, not that many places stuck out(bar Wembley, The Oval cricket ground and obviously Big Ben, which is right beside it)

[Mad Moose]

Didn't think much of it at all to be honest. Thought the height would scare me but it was fine. Th queues are ridiculous.I did it mid wek and there were massive queues but it didn't take long to get my ticket actually even though I thought it would. The queue to get in he capsule was crazy but for some reason again it didn't seem to take that long.

Think I paid 30 pound and it really wasn't worth it and I wouldn't bother with it again.Still its an experience. Hope you enjoy it.

[DaveyCakes]

I think its worth a spin.

[a.a.d]

I think it's one of the best attractions in London - (The fact that I got engaged at the top has nothing to do with this, I swear)

[beautifulrock]

Well worth doing it Dodge, especially if you can do it during the week and miss the Q's