Remember This
More lost landmarks we liked...
A mixture of city landmarks and stuff we liked, loved and were curious about. Email us now to add any of your own dearly departed places.
London restaurants: RIP Ninjin
One of London-RIP's favourites was a Japanese restaurant at the top of Great Portland Street called Ninjin. Before the time when every supermarket sold sushi and London had myriad fabulous Japanese restaurants they sold brilliant sushi which was seen then as being wonderfully exotic. The restaurant was in a basement and had a sophisticated, serious subterranean ambiance. It predated the 90s fondness for wood and minimalism, the interior being cherry wood tables and smoked glass. The service was always charming and helpful. The whole sushi ritual with the ginger, soy sauce and horseradish was elegant and the setting heightened the experience. Ninjin closed in the early 90s and was replaced by a pricey deli. Much missed!
London restaurants: RIP St James
Reliable is the word that springs to mind in relation to the St James. It was one of those cafes that always hit the spot. Named after the nearby church in Muswell Hill, it served comforting, unsophisticated food to customers who could while away the hours drinking coffee or milkshakes in cosy booths. Favourite specials included steak and kidney pie, liver and bacon and roast pork. The school dinner type puddings, like chocolate pudding with chocolate sauce and apple pie and custard were lovely. It was the sort of place that acted like balm for the soul if you were feeling a bit down, a quiet corner in what was then a relaxingly dull, out-of-the-way suburb, as opposed to the area's current incarnation as a gridlocked mosh-pit heaving with snarling uber-parents. A perfect afternoon would be a browse in Harum Records, followed by lunch or tea at the St James. This great cafe closed a few years back. It's a restaurant now.
London shops: RIP Biba
Biba shut down years ago, but it's a legend and rightly so. Walking in there was like entering someone's fully realised 1920s fantasy world. The five storey store in Kensington High Street had an Aubrey Beardsley-ish feel, all black feathers, smoked glass and marble. Unusually (and unwisely) for a clothes shop, the lighting was atmospherically subdued. It was dark, in other words. Biba sold mainly clothes and make-up, the latter in unlikely but effective shades. I had some green foundation which made my face looker paler a la David Bowie, I thought. There was also the Mistress Room, which I recall consisting of a satin-covered bed, strewn with saucy underwear. I remember how a friend (not me, honest!) stole a remarkable pink ostrich feather bra from said department. Yes, stole. And there was a problem. On the occasions I want to Biba, not many people were paying for anything, thanks to the darkness and the famously inattentive shop assistants. The whole place was full of marauding teenagers simply walking out with the stock. A pity. This beguiling place closed in 1975 and I honestly don't think there's been anything like it since.
London landmarks: I am curious yellow
Does anyone else remember those little yellow go-cart type things advertising Nautilus gyms were all over the place in the late 1980s? What a bizarre marketing tool they were. Where did they come from and what the hell were they for? Did they ever inspire anyone to buy gym equipment or join a gym? Will we ever know? Guess it's just another of those London mysteries...
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Leave a message for us here.Messages
| Message: | 2/2 |
| Date and time: | 04/04/2007 at 22:47:00 |
| Sender: | Peter Park |
| I think the little yellow "go-karts" referred to in "Remember This" were actually Sinclair C5 electric cars.I guess Nautilus used them as signboards because they were so dire no-one would dream of stealing them! | |
| Message: | 1/2 |
| Date and time: | 15/07/2006 at 17:02:23 |
| Sender: | Chris |
| The yellow Nautilus Gym "Go Karts" were actually grey Sinclair C5 thingies. Remember they were going to revolutionise road transport as we half peddled, half battery powered our way to nowhere? I think the ones abandoned by the roadside were sort of fly-posted by Nautilus Gym. | |
