ApproximatelyInfinite

I'm kind of sad there are so many GA gates...it makes having a CPer party harder :sad:. I was in the Wembley area again today by chance, and all my friends with me were asking me about the upcoming show there :wacky:.

I finally, FINALLY gained permission to go from my professor, as well as booked train and accommodation! :dance:. It's no longer a question or even a guilt-fest: I AM GOING! I booked a hotel for two nights, so I'll be arriving on the night of the 18th. I was thinking that I'd shoot up to Wembley that night after dropping off my stuff to get a lay of the land. If there's a significant line for the show on the 19th already, I might just stay up there (and inform other CPers via text that the line is getting busy, if they want). Otherwise, I'll return early the next morning. I just thought I'd mention my plans to anyone, especially those staying closer to Wembley than me (I'm staying in Bloomsbury, at the hotel I'm currently living at), who might wish to join me in line on the night of the 18th if it's getting busy then. I'd say if you'd like to get the report on how the line for the 19th is going as of about 8 or 9 PM on the 18th, PM me your mobile number and I can let you know :D. I'M SO EXCITED NOW THAT IT'S CONFIRMED THAT I'M GOING! :dance:

AHHH, I think I'm able to go to this! My professor wasn't that mad about the whole Wembley thing, and I'm in the process of booking train tickets right now. Do we still not have a place and time? I'm thinking I need to be on a train as of 1-2 PM at the latest, but my hotel is quite literally 2 minutes from Russell Square, so if we do it there around noonish I can totally pop by for at least a bit. If we're still unsure of the final details, I put my vote in for 11ish/noon at Russell Square :D. Euston Square Tube stop is a short walk to Russell Square, which is on the Metropolitan Line, which is the line taken from Wembley Park Tube stop, so all of you staying near Wembley could easily come in one 30 minute Tube ride.

Thanks for the replies about joining the line, everyone...you're right, one person doesn't make a difference and we're obviously a group. I guess I'm just a bit worried about some security guard seeing me and being like "HEY, YOU LINE JUMPER! :angry:" I saw a men's right next to the ladies' :D. We're all covered, and I assume there are other ones on the other side we didn't go to.

Does anyone have any idea if I would be allowed to join someone in line? I can't get there til the morning of the 19th, and I assume there will be many people there before then. Semy's probably going much earlier, so do you think if I asked a security guard or something and if the people in front and in back of where he is are informed that one more person will be joining the line, that I'll be allowed to join him there? This is the part I'm most nervous about :uhoh: :worried:.

@Grace & Pris: I'll post a picture of the bag tomorrow :nice:. I loooove it. Grace: Your sig is so adorable yet so sad at the same time...

I went to the Bakery again today :D. I didn't really take any pictures because the door was open and I was nervous someone would see us lurking around, but I just love walking by :wacky:. I feel like talent and Coldplay karma oozes out of there. I did discover today that the #24 bus stops quite literally RIGHT in front of the Bakery. The #24 bus also happens to be the bus that stops quite literally RIGHT in front of where I'm currently living. This makes me excessively happy. However, what I find more ironic is that a stop or two down the road from my stop, the same #24 bus stops right near the corner of the street where Ramsay Hall is, where they all lived and met in 1996. I find it kind of awesome that one London bus takes them from where they met and started to where they ended up now, critically acclaimed and unbelieveably famous, in a 10-minute bus ride :D. Yes, I am a weirdo, but I thought this was cool. The #24 bus also passes through Camden Road where their flat was, but not right by it, so that's less cool :P.

Double post :dozey:.

Semy and I did a dry-run to Wembley today. Based on having seeing the waiting areas etc, this is what I think might be useful to know: 1. The Tube ride is LONG :P. Longer than I expected, anyway. When you buy tickets/day passes/use Oyster cards, be sure that what you use is valid to travel in Zone 4. My Oyster card apparently only works in Zones 1, 2, and 3, so I had to pay extra. 2. Get off at Wembley PARK, not Wembley Central if you can. There's a (longish) pathway directly to the stadium from Wembley Park. The Metropolitan and Jubilee Lines run to Wembley Park. 3. There are toilets and small food stands where we're going to be waiting in line, thank the lord. I'm hoping the food stands will be open, because there doesn't seem to be ANY other easy food finds within walking distance that would be quick and that wouldn't leave your space in line open for very long. Wembley seems quite isolated from anything but its car park, walkways leading to it, and the Tube station. 4. I don't know how many GA gates there will be, but apparently there's at least one at one near the stage and and the other at the back, far away from the stage. If the entry gate isn't specified on your ticket (the lady we talked to didn't seem to knowif it would be), try to find out from an employee which line is for close-to-stage. 5. Get there early. I don't know how early is advisable yet (especially because getting there very early for the show on the 19th will mean getting mixed up with the lines for people seeing the show on the 18th), but I'm getting a tad concerned about how likely it is I can personally get close based on my schedule and travel plans. Oyy, for me this is going to be such a logistical nightmare, but I think it's going to be brilliant in the end :D

I don't care what native Brits have to say about Primark: I can't think of anything better than getting decent clothes for nothing. Even if the style of them can be a bit out there sometimes, the basics are perfect. Nice t-shirts for two pounds? 10 pairs of socks for two pounds? I'll take it. I will also totally take advantage of the cheap home wares when I move into my more permanent home. Also, European H&Ms are about 400 times more awesome than American ones. I got basic black high heel pumps that I doubt I could find at the H&M at my mall at home, as well as a GLORIOUS brown leather bag that doubles as a satchel. That was a total, embarrassing splurge, but I couldn't pass it up and I absolutely love it.

Yep, that'll be on the tour I'll lead of "Old Coldplay Haunts circa 1996" as an added bonus. £1 extra for that special sight. Seriously, though, this area is exactly where the boys used to live: Ramsay Hall where they all met is a very short walk away, as well as all their old classroom buildings etc (yes, I've scoped them all out and could show people if they were as nerdy as me). I'm totally getting a kick out of shopping at the same bookstores and Tescos and all that as the guys must have :wacky:. I think Russell Square would be perfect because of both the significance and the smaller size, much better than Regent's Park etc. As for the Tube, eh, it's like always busy :P. I really hope I can go to this :sad:.

If Russell Square is still on the table of options, I can do some serious scouting, seeing as I live about three seconds away from there now. It's very nice and would do well for our meet-up, though I got very sick there on my first day here because I get sick every time I travel, so I find that a bit funny :P.

Thanks to Liz, I JUST REALIZED I OWN THE DVD WITH THE INTERVIEW OF GUY'S BOSS ON IT. However, I left the DVD in America :bigcry: :angry:. Sooo, if anyone owns the "Love Actually" unauthorized Coldplay DVD, I'd love you forever if you'd watch it and tell me the name of the pub. Otherwise, I'm going to have to bribe my brother to watch it at home in America and tell me what they say :rolleyes: :lol:.

OK, I know this is a picture thread, but I have a question for you rabid Berrygirls: Does anyone know what pub Guy worked at after he dropped out of UCL? All the sources say he worked as a barman in a "local" London pub, and I assume "local" means it was around UCL? Or maybe around their place in Camden? I'm living on the same road as UCL right now and I'm wondering if he used to work in the pubs I've been going to, or if I can find the pub he worked in if it's in Camden. Anyway, it's a long shot, but if anyone knows, it would be awesome, and I'd love you even more if you knew and you wrote it on my user profile :D.

^Yeah, that's what I said :stunned:. My luck is too good. I'll take a picture of the dorm the next chance I get, and I need to go back to the Camden flat and the Lord Stanley to get pictures...and a Bakery visit, of course.

I just realized today that if you walk in a straight line for only two minutes from the cross street where I'm living in London, you walk smack into UCL's Ramsay Hall, AKA the dorm that the Coldplay boys all met and lived in :freak:. Semy and I actually walked past the building a few nights ago without knowing it, and today I realized exactly what we had been walking by and got very excited. All week I've been thrilled that I'm living on the same street as UCL and have been shopping in the same grocery stores and bookstores as the guys did when they were my age (dorky, I know), but the fact that I have now located their dorm SO CLOSE to me makes me happy :wacky:.

At least he didn't go cancer-patient and shave it all, so this is SOMEWHAT acceptable. Still, though, the man has such beautiful hair and always worries about losing it...so why doesn't he just keep it as long as he can while he still has it? :bigcry: And whoever said it above: it does look like it's receeding, but we didn't notice that last week when he had it longer, did we? :angry:. Another reason he should keep it long.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :bigcry: :bigcry: :bigcry:

Ugh, I'm having SUCH a hard time learning Celsius...but I now know that 20-25 is quite nice, so 36 sounds brutal! I think since it doesn't get as cold in England as I'm used to, I'm going to be a bit sad this fall/winter :sad:. I think I'm going to be waiting around for a perfect temperature to break out the riding boots and leggings etc. If that top you posted was a bit more fitted and a bit less drapey, I'd want it in a second :wideeyed:.

^I can't wait for it to get cold enough to wear those sorts of things without dying of heatstroke :P. That's a very pretty top, but I guess it's a bit too dressy to be my style. I have a few similar tops which are more tshirt-like, though :D.

The Lord Stanley pub in Camden :D. It's less than a block away from their old flat.

Today Semy and I went on an adventure to the old Coldplay flat in Camden and we had a drink in the pub that used to be their home base :wacky:. (The ones featured in the 60 Minutes interview). I suppose it's not that exciting just to see a random building from the street and be in any old pub, but the fact that they were Coldplay places made me excited :P. There was even this old, crappy piano in the pub, and I would put money on the fact that Chris used to use that. I don't really know why I didn't take a picture, but it's easy enough for me to go back and do it again sometime :D.

Are you talking about college/uni in general, or overseas specifically? The first thing you need to do for American schools is get out and look at schools to decide what you do and don't like. Junior year is a good time to do it, you're the same age as my brother and he's just starting as well. Visit a state school, a private school in a city, a private school in a small town, etc, all of which have things you like about them after internet research. Also, those Priceton Review type books, like 361 Best Colleges & Universities or whatever, are very helpful in deciding which schools are worth a visit. But basically, the entire process is a total bitch. Keep that in mind.

Some of those pictures are to die for :dead:. And Mich...I think Chris did cut his hair...but not short! :sneaky: :dance: OMG, look at that shiny, beautiful hairrrrr :wacky:. It's a sin to shave that off. And it's tidier now than it was a few weeks ago :P.

I'm there for at least a year, hopefully more, assuming I like it :D. I'm actually leaving for the airport in like two hours :freak:. You have to take an English language test? But you're from Australia, yes? Ususally they don't make you do it if you are a citizen of a primarily English-speaking country. Getting the visa was a total pain organizationally, especially because the UK just revamped the visa system and no one knows what they're talking about. I can answer specific questions if you have them (at least from my American experience), but my advice is APPLY FOR THE VISA AT LEAST 2.5 MONTHS IN ADVANCE, just in case. And START the application like a month before you submit it, because it can get confusing.