So now I was headed for Margaretta Terrace. What's its significance, you ask?
Patric Doonan was a British actor that Morrissey must have had respect for, because otherwise why would he have included his name in "Now My Heart is Full" ? I read in an old copy of "Sing Your Life" (a Moz zine cowritten by David Tseng of mozzolo, even before mozzolo had been an idea conceived) that Patric Doonan's house was at 4 Margaretta Terrace (it's the flat on the right), so here you go.
Already a bit peckish after starting off at Sloane Square, I decided the next little shop that suited my fancy would be where I'd have lunch. I stepped into a couple different quicky marts but they were all sandwich shops. I finally decided on a all-halal certified Lebanese outpost - Al Dar II (it has several shops in other parts of London, such as one on Edgware Road) and ordered a plate of shawarma without the pita bread, and a mango drink that was made fresh from actual, unadulterated mangoes right before my very eyes. The manager was very nice and was able to answer all my questions, probably wondering why an American tourist was eating among all the well-heeled locals. I even was able to get a nice table by the front window and do some people-watching, something you just don't do in D.C. or anywhere around where I live. I felt very cosmopolitan munching on my sandwich, taking sips of my mango smoothie, and enjoying the sun from the comfort of an indoor seat.
After lunch, I also decided that I needed SOME photo of a "Borough of Chelsea" sign, similar to the one that is focused on at the beginning of the "Suedehead" video. So here are two of those. The third photo is of some lilies I saw in a garden, just as I was passing through Chelsea.
Properly fortified and raring to get walking again, it was now time to find THE flat that Morrissey steps out of at the beginning of the "Suedehead" video. As you can recall, he receives a parcel from a small boy wearing a green hat with flaps (who is his real life nephew Sam). Of course I was unable to see the current state of the bathtub and whether or not the "there is a light that never goes out" rug is still in existence, but you get the general idea, don't you? I had to ask a policeman to help me find it, and once I did, I loitered around a bit on the street, because I was worried he'd ask me, "what are you doing with that camera?" It is my unfortunate luck (I had a 50/50 chance) that I took the photo of the street on the OPPOSITE side of where the bicyclist is coming down Chester Square. I should have taken another one from the right side but by then, it was scorching, it was hot, and I still wanted to get up to Abbey Road sometime that day, and I was just happy to have found THE flat.
I'm not aware of London being a surfer's paradise, so I was a little surprised to see what I consider a "woodie" (that awful looking blue car on the left hand
side of the street) sitting parked on the street.
My impression of Chelsea and Belgravia? Wow, the opulence, considering it's in the middle of the big city. Now I understand the "Sloane Ranger" concept now. I guess it's like living in Tribeca in NYC or ritzy parts of Manhattan. You can tell the rich live here because of the way they've got flowers and ornate trimmings on the fronts of their flats, and even by the cars they drive. No, there were no SUVs. But we're talking nice-size sedans here, which are virtually unheard of in, say, somewhere like Manchester.
I got back to Kings Road and got on a double-decker bus to Oxford Circus. (Oops, I forgot I had a tube and bus pass so I wasted a 1.50 bob here.) I figured if I could at least find that, it would serve two purposes: one, I could figure out where Argyll Street was (where Morrissey's Palladium gig would be on Sunday night) and from there, I could take the tube to Maida Vale, a little ways off from Abbey Road. The next installment (2c) will be of interest to you if you're a Beatles fan.
posted 12/04/06
London photojournal index