After a group meeting, we went to 'The Biz', a restaurant inside
LBS. They served some kind of rice with curry containing lots of
vegetables. I ate rather well and found it quite edible, until I heard
the price. 3.50 pounds, or about Rs. 233. Roughly what my sandwich cost
in Tokyo. Very nice.
I needed a suit for the Boston Consulting Group presentation
tomorrow, so the afternoon was largely a shopping exercise. I took the
tube to the Bond Street station, and walked along Oxford Street. It's
something like the Brigade Road of Bangalore, I guess. The first shop
I walked into had been strongly recommended by my cousing (Vishnu) --
Ciro Citterio. Luckily they had BIG banners outside saying "Sale!", and
had 99 pounds written boldly, so I had the guts to walk in. (Of course, I didn't
convert. I don't fancy buying suits for Rs. 6,650).
A negro walked up and said, "Hey, my man! Can I get you a suit?"
"Uh, yes please. Actually, this is the first time I'm really
shopping for a suit, and I'm a complete social moron, so why don't you
help me?"
He walks me up to some hep-looking suits and says, "You should
be about 38, my man. So how about these?"
"Wonderful. Excellent. Are they 99 pounds?"
Stops on his tracks. Turns around. Says, "Oh!" and walks me
down to another section. Points at a whole rack of suits, says "They're
all 99 pounds."
"Why are they on sale?"
I must admire his sense of self-control. He probably
mentally awarded me the 'Naive Question of the Year' award, and said,
"Because, my man, no one bought them for a long time, and we're clearing
them out." Suits me fine. So I try out a couple of suits, decide to try
other shops, and then come back.
The next visit was to Marks & Spencer's on Oxford Street.
Nice place, but I
don't know what the fuss is all about. Looks pretty much like Stopper's
Shop to me, and considering that this is London, probably a whole lot
cheaper. There were quite a few suits for 99 pounds too, but Ciro Citterio
was offering a shirt and tie for free (upto 30 pounds) along with it.
From there, took the Underground to Notting Hill gate (yes, the
same
Notting Hill as the movie)
and then to High Street Kensington. (If all the names sound familiar, you've
been playing Monopoly.) There's a shop called Amazon there which had a suit
for 79 pounds. Yes, I said 'a suit', because they had one. But I didn't like it.
So it was the tube again, this time to Fulham Broadway. More shops, and none with
what I wanted. Back to Bond Street station and Ciro Citterio. Now I'm the
proud owner of an Oxford Street suit.