Leavin' on a jet plane

Rufus · Post by **Rufus** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:03 am

That's right, I'm off to the motherland (England) this evening for 10 days. I'll be in London on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday staying near Green Park. I've carefully mapped out my battle plan and strategy for my visits to TOBS, GFT and T&H, complete with a list of shaving creams and aftershaves to be procured at each. SWMBO is being very tolerant of my plans, which makes me think that she has mapped out her own plans vis a vis the High Street...shudder, shudder. Oh, and by the way, in case you were wondering, we will work in visits to the British Museum and the Tate and we've tickets to War Horse and One Man Two Guvnors. After that we'll be visiting family and friends. Toodle pip.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:10 am

Have a good trip.

water · Post by **water** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 11:15 am

Do not overlook D.R. Harris in St. James's Street.

desertbadger · Post by **desertbadger** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:35 pm

Sounds great, have a safe trip!

Regards,
David

SRD · Post by **SRD** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 6:05 pm

Have a great trip

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 6:29 pm

Lucky you!

Oh, yes, she's got a plan. Just follow the rule, she can get her stuff, and then she'll be happy to see you get your stuff. Have fun, and don't forget to take some pictures of those old gentlemen's shops. Maybe even get a shave? Bon voyage!

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 6:54 pm

brothers wrote:Have fun, and don't forget to take some pictures of those old gentlemen's shops.

Yes, we will gladly accept stories and photos in lieu of individual personal gifts for each forum member.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 6:48 am

have a good trip and ditto on the sentiments already expressed

clive

jww · Post by **jww** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 7:14 am

Enjoy -- London this time of year is fun -- especially if you can catch one of those fab European Christmas markets. I admit to some envy.

Rufus · Post by **Rufus** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 12:11 pm

Just returned from my visit to "Jolly Old" and London. We had an excellent trip and our visit to London was outstanding if not long enough; we spent 2 nights/3 days in London, but would like to have spent the week. Whilst in London I was able to visit, TOBS, Trumpers, Harris, T&H, Crabtree and Evelyn and Penhaligons. I picked up the following:

TOBS St James shaving cream bowl and tube
TOBS Avocado shaving cream bowl
TOBS St James aftershave
TOBS Mr Taylor aftershave
Trumper Coconut Oil shaving cream bowl
Trumper Wellington aftershave
C&E Sienna shaving cream tube

Of all the shops above I visited I like TOBS the best. All their merchandise is out on display and can be handled. At Trumper, on the other hand, all their merchandise is locked in glass display cases or behind the counter and can only be accessed by a shop assistant; not very customer friendly in my opinion. I was disappointed by Penhaligons as they didn't have any of their signature Blenheim Bouquet aftershave splash in stock at either their Burlington Arcade shop or their Regents St shop; we didn't have time to visit any of their other London shops or stockists.

The 2 plays we saw were excellent, as was our visit to the British Museum.

We also trolled Oxford St and Regents St visiting all the large stores. From the crowds on these streets and in the stores one would never know that we are in economic hard times.

As I said at the beginning, just not enough time in my favourite city. To quote Samuel Johnson, "...when a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."

m3m0ryleak · Post by **m3m0ryleak** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 12:54 pm

Been more than an three decades since I studied theater (or theatre) production in London, the British Museum I remember as one of my favorite places.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 3:37 pm

Sounds like a very enjoyable trip Rufus, what did you think of T&H?

Rufus · Post by **Rufus** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 4:28 pm

Squire wrote:Sounds like a very enjoyable trip Rufus, what did you think of T&H?

Squire, it was a very enjoyable trip all round and not just the London part. We hadn't seen the family in nearly 18 months, so it was good to get caught up. I'm particularly fond of English bitter and real ale and I was able to satiate myself quite nicely as well.

As concerns T&H, I'm ambivalent towards them. I've visited their 2 shops in Toronto on several occasions and have come away less than satisfied and I found my reaction to their London shop the same. I can't quite put my finger on what bothers me about them, but after visiting TOBS and Trumpers I felt no need to linger at T&H. Of the 3 T's and Harris I find TOBS very difficult to beat.