tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post8553249397181914837..comments2024-03-28T08:37:56.790+00:00Comments on Shadows & Light: Farewell, Mr. CroqueSteve Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684120060438252945noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-35586306375495431102016-10-20T16:03:53.453+01:002016-10-20T16:03:53.453+01:00I'm sorry. I'm just going to plant myself ...I'm sorry. I'm just going to plant myself here and have a moan. You have broken my heart! I live in America now but I go to Croque Monsieur every time I visit and had been eating prawn mayo there for 17 years. I used to take my lunch down the street into Regent's Park for a picnic. It does feel like the quirky authentic spirit of London is being scooped out and replaced with pre-packaged sameness. I suppose that's the way of things, at all times of history and all over the world - but I'm alarmed by what I perceive as so much of what made London London being burned away so rapidly. Every year I visit, I can barely recognize the skyline over the East End because they've thrown new skyscrapers up. CXR used to be a famous place to pick up books - almost an entire street of literature. Now they've moved and downsized Foyle's and it seems most of the independent book stores have closed. And the markets, Spitalfields covered in particular, used to be a neat place to pick up cheap tat off a stall or some home printed shirts off some upcoming young designer. Now you can buy the same exact shirts for £5 off any number of stalls because so much mass produced junk is being shipped in from the east to anyone who'll flog it. I used to go to an old hat stall and buy a good quality flat cap my grandfather would have worn but now I see that stall's been replaced by a new stall where I can buy a flimsy flatcap in any colour of the rainbow for £5 from China. I know I probably sound like a moaning old woman but I DO miss my London. I miss the London that felt like a real place and not something that was shipped in from a factory. It's the timeless refrain - I'm sick of "wonderful progress" gnawing away at the things I loved...Sarah Bynumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09961530628371946715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-9768843086510495022016-03-01T04:23:39.103+00:002016-03-01T04:23:39.103+00:00It must be hard to keep storefront business's ...It must be hard to keep storefront business's going these days when so much of retail has moved online. It's great that you and Dave support your neighborhood establishments. 37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-73079231038600255722016-02-29T03:00:06.014+00:002016-02-29T03:00:06.014+00:00Small businesses have been dropping like flies in ...Small businesses have been dropping like flies in our town the past few years. Probably not just our town either, from the sound of things. It's everywhere. Glad you and Dave are doing your bit to keep them going!jenny_ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15475480579733466963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-87790426068375287332016-02-28T18:40:20.808+00:002016-02-28T18:40:20.808+00:00Shame about Bar Linda...no worries about your blac...Shame about Bar Linda...no worries about your blackberries, once established they are difficult to discourage. Linda Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03070050388987072100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-55269866921051369372016-02-28T16:58:39.670+00:002016-02-28T16:58:39.670+00:00I checked out the link for that restaurant and it ...I checked out the link for that restaurant and it looks very, very interesting. I saw on the menu that they serve a Croque Monsieur also with stir-fried kimchi. I wonder what that is like. <br />When I worked in Chicago one of my favorite places to eat was called Le Colonial a French/Vietnamese restaurant. A combination that seemed to work very well.Sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645915869786296771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-25786485002561788252016-02-28T15:22:38.361+00:002016-02-28T15:22:38.361+00:00Oh dear...lets hope a starbucks doesnt appear in i...Oh dear...lets hope a starbucks doesnt appear in its place ehJohn Going Gentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14958171262765033946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-70576255691675288242016-02-28T14:59:47.877+00:002016-02-28T14:59:47.877+00:00With the low success rate of small businesses, I w...With the low success rate of small businesses, I wonder why so many people start them?Redhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-82083083237180524902016-02-28T14:23:58.306+00:002016-02-28T14:23:58.306+00:00Oh. Poor Mr. Croque! I would make a pun but I won&...Oh. Poor Mr. Croque! I would make a pun but I won't. <br />Ms. Moonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09776404747858099919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-61449316440782646922016-02-28T12:42:34.842+00:002016-02-28T12:42:34.842+00:00We have a bramble hedge at the bottom of our garde...We have a bramble hedge at the bottom of our garden. I deliberately left it like that for security reasons. I mean - which would you rather tackle - barbed wire, an electric fence or a jumble of vicious brambles?Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.com