London Questions

[whistlelock]

alright, since I prefer actual books to internet research, since any dork can put up a website.
Can anyone point me in the direction of some good research on London's:

high crime areas
orgainized crime
prostitution
Murder rates
Scotland Yard's organization
Punk/music scene
Political Rally area's
Unique subculture area's
on going archeological digs inside the city
quasi mystical sites, that sorta thing.
?

I'm gonna be making a trip to the local book stores and library this week. So any help would be hot.

[kcshc]

high crime areas: City of London aka The Golden Mile.
orgainized crime: Banks, Insurance Co's, Fund Houses, Other Financial Institutions...and don't forget - Parliament.
prostitution: No shortage there!
Murder rates: Depends how much yer willin' t'spend, guv?
Scotland Yard's organization: A tad top-heavy, actually!
Punk/music scene: long gone.
Political Rally area's: Hyde Park and Ken Livingstone's office.
Unique subculture area's: Everything outside of W1
on going archeological digs inside the city: The last bit of the old London Wall by The (unsightly) Barbican
quasi mystical sites, that sorta thing.: Houses of Lords, Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Mile End Road, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, Wembley Stadium (since vandalised).

Hope that helps! ;)

[melnif]

prostitution: soho and king's cross are the most famous areas. also, every single phone box in the city has about 50 little prostitute ads blu-tac'd on the inside. they're of the "don't be bored and lonely, call me now for a personal visit" variety.
punk/music scene: what kcshc said about the punk scene, but the main music played in the clubs is drum & bass, house, and garage.
quasi mystical sites, that sorta thing: there's a lot of huge cathedrals around the place, like st. paul's. tower of london has an interesting history.

www.londontown.com (http://www.londontown.com) is a bit touristy, but it might help you out getting your bearings for the city.
directory.google.com/Top/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/London/ (http://directory.google.com/Top/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/London/) should help with most of the other stuff you might wanna know.

[le kilt]

Sorry, can't think of any books offhand, but the London edition of TIME OUT magazine would be a good general source for all the topics you mention.

Other Brit mags possibly with useful info: THE FACE, DAZED AND CONFUSED, NME, MIXMAG, though they're Brit wide rather than just London, and are fashion/Art/Music orientated.

[E J Pennypacker]

I know you dont want to look on the net, but for the most up-to-date info, I think you NEED to look on the net. So all this is probably going to get you angry! I mean, for:

high crime areas --

Erm, it's best you visit the Metropolitan Police website. Or Scotland Yard. What type of crime are you talking about here? Small "Mr Minor" crimes? Or bank robberies and such? Brixton has a bad rep. But Im sure there are other places alike.

Organized crime --

Yup. Guess it's all over London. I couldnt tell you where. But I'd guess all the gangs have some thumb in the pie. From Tongs in China Town, to East End Lads in Central London.

Prostitution --

SoHo. Or So Many Hoes. Haha. Sorry, bad joke there. Again, prostition can be found on the net. Could try there again. Kings Cross is where the Pros section used to be. But no longer. So best leave that area alone. Unless you are referring to it as a joke.

Murder Rates --

Again Scotland Yard website or any London police site will give you the up-to-date figures.

Scotland Yard Organization --

Well, see above.

Punk/ Music scene --

Yeah, as Le Kilt said, check out TIME OUT site. Also those other publications.

Polictial Rally areas --

All central London. Could plug in May Day riot stories on the net and see where they all hit. But most spots are for maximum traffic hold up. i.e. Trafalga Square. House of Parliment. Embankment. London Bridge.

Subculture areas --

Not sure what you mean by this. But East London has a thriving Asian community. Is that what you mean?

Arch site digs --

Check internet for up-to-date stuff. Im sure there are digs on all the time.

Mystic sites --

Again, see above.

Hope SOME of this helps. :lol

EJ

[nrmetson]

In my shoes...


high crime areas - Brixton your guaranteed to get mugged, Camden your guaranteed to get offered drugs, Soho your guaranteed to get offered sex. Old Kent Road is a biyatch too.

orgainized crime - There has been lots of shootings lately, organised by rival black gangs etc.

prostitution - Oh so Soho

Punk/music scene - The typical old punk music scene is out, BUT the new wave is really big in some areas now, not so much punk anymore but more rock and metal. Its all the bloody same anyway, all dress like idiots, wear black clothes, make-up etc.
My college is full of them.

Political Rally area's - Central, main area's.

[Fortean]

When I've been there, the Newspaper Reading Room of the British Library at Colindale, the bookshops in Bloomsbury, and the storage areas beneath the British Museum.

During the 1920s: 39 Marchmont Street, Bloomsbury, (Charles Hoy Fort's residence was on the second floor). See: www.resologist.net/talent20.htm (http://www.resologist.net/talent20.htm)

And, from 1926 to 1936: 13-D Roland Gardens, South Kensington, (Harry Price's laboratory).

[JakeSchuster aka Ostroff]

Hell, I lived there when it was one of the safer cities in the known universe. A suggestion, though, is to try Iain Sinclair's nonfiction works (look on Amazon UK, and, yes, Iain is how it's spelled). He knows London as well as anybody, and he's interested in its dark greasy underbelly, not the furry fluffy stuff the tourists flock to see.

[Pike]

Head for: news.bbc.co.uk

[commandomonkey]

Mystical cites:

Somewhere within "The City" there's a temple of Mithra (who was apparently big within the ranks of the Roman Legion) which was excavated, and then glassed over.

So (if I remember this correctly) there's this section of sidewalk where you can walk across this clear big window and look down into the excavated ruins which sit on the level where they were found.

And in the Guildhall in the city, there are two statues of Gog and Magog, a team of giants who are the city's protectors.

My details of any of those may be wrong, but they could start your web/book search.

The whole guild system within "The City" has always seemed quasi-mystical to me.

[JakeSchuster aka Ostroff]

Commando, that's Iain Sinclair's big interest: the quasi-mystical aspects of London and their influence over the modern city, including such criminal figures as the Kray brothers. Look for his book Lights out for the Territory for a nice treatment of this theme.

His novels have also dealt with this theme.

[iembalm]

Read From Hell by Alan Moore for an outstanding mystical history of London.

[Fortean]

When Richard Stanton Lambert falls prey to the slander of being mentally unbalanced, after having investigated the "talking mongoose" with ghost-hunter Harry Price, I decided to make use of the mythical animal carvings at the gates of the the judicial system, in London.


EXT. INNER TEMPLE GATEWAY, LONDON - DAY

Kenneth Brown and Holmes lead Lambert through the Inner
Temple Gateway, under 17 Fleet Street. Lambert looks at the
carvings of Pegasus about the gateway.

LAMBERT (V.O.)
My solicitor, Mr. Kenneth Brown,
and junior counsel, Mr. Valentine
Holmes, guided me through the maze
of the Inner Temple, with all its
affidavits and consultations.

INT. HASTINGS' CHAMBERS, INNER TEMPLE, LONDON - DAY

Lambert, Kenneth Brown, and Holmes are seated in front of SIR
PATRICK HASTINGS, who looks through their brief.

LAMBERT (V.O.)
And we were fortunate to secure Sir
Patrick Hastings, shortly before
the trial.

HASTINGS
I must warn you Mr. Lambert that in
cases such as this, the damages
awarded may not be worth the
trouble. Last year, I won a similar
case for Sir Oswald Mosley,
however, the damages awarded by the
jury were a single farthing, and,
he was not awarded costs.
(beat)
Are you prepared to pay the legal
costs, which can be considerable,
if you should lose?

LAMBERT
(nervously)
Yes, if I must.