For my American readers, I must first expain "high street" and then explain SW17.
The high street:
The high street is the main commercial/social road in an area, where all your "main street" shops will be found. Although there are some mega-malls in the UK, many people still shop in town centers. The high street often has the official name "_____ High Road".
SW17
SW17 is the first part of my post code - which covers the whole of the Tooting area proper - and in London these codes are used as short hand for a neighbourhood. Having the right post code can add tens of thousands to your property price. My post code is SW17 XXX, a friend of mine who lives not very far at all from me, lives at SW19 XXX. That's the Wimbledon post code, and even though she really lives in West Colliers Wood - and Colliers Wood is crapper than Tooting - she gets the respectability and the cost of the SW19 post code.
Mr Galt's question:
I can't tell if he was being a bit sarky (which would not be out of character for this reader) but he asked What do you consider High Street in SW17?- perhaps he is familiar with the less-than-salubrious atmosphere of SW17? Or he was genuinely curious - or maybe both? I'll have you know that we have not one, but two yuppie coffee shops near me. And my borough - the borough of Wandsworth - is famous for supporting five high streets, one of them Tooting High Road, when many London boroughs can manage but one. This fact is so well known, that I only discovered it last night, after the Vol-in-Law told me. (He had been reading the council's PR rag).
Anyway, Mr. Galt, a picture is worth a thousand words, let me give you a little sample of Tooting high street shopping.
Looking for something that will put a smile on your face?
Hmm... surely they don't sell just odd looking succulents? No, look a little closer.
I go past this store just about every day and I never see anyone go in or out.
Not your style? Then, how 'bout some menswear?
And, trust me, the clothes live up to the name... for example a silver tie and vest set, or a dashing white polyester lounge suit have previously been in the window. It looks like one big joke, but the store owners seem so sincere about it all.
8 comments:
you know, I go past that Taki Casuals place every day, and never before got the joke...
Call me oblivious.
Though I don't know Mr. Galt, I'd expect that anyone who chooses the name "John Galt" bears watching. If nothing else, I suspect he's due some respect for making it all the way through Atlas Shrugged.
Yes, indeed, I couldn't do it! I meant to read it, but I do have an excuse. I had a copy and loaned it to a skinhead (yes, really) and then never got it back.
Who would have thunk a skinhead would be an irresponsible borrower of books?
Okay, Vol, your excuse beats mine. My excuse is that my copy was the mass market paperback with tiny print and narrow margins. By the time I'm suffered through 400 pages or so I was pretty sure I'd gotten the message. Old Ayn wasn't real subtle in her writing.
So...now I'm snarky for asking a perfectly reasonable question. (Oh, were I truly trying to be snarky, whatever that is.) Do you treat all Vandy grads this way?
I'm a somewhat frequent visitor to and lover of London though I'm not familiar with Tooting and its environs. Your show-and-tell has solved that shortcoming. Thank you.
And, I'll never tell "Who is John Galt".
sarky - sarky !!
Brit shorthand for sarcastic.
I'm a little sensitive about my area - being so close to the SW19 post code, but yet sooo far away.
And we love all our readers here at this blog.
Eddie Izzard talks about a shop on Tooting high street that carries weapons and musical instruments. Would anyone happen to know what it's called and the address? I'd love to pay them a visit some time.
Online shopping in USA is affordable with international shipping rates getting lower.
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