The Stuff We Can't Fit In Somewhere Else in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire*

The things which can't be categorised

You can tell us more about Leamington Spa.

• pretentious, think theyre special, laugh at people who are "different", snobs, homophobic, I could go on and on ...........
• never come to leamington
• Deacon Paul Moss, who sang the Gospel at Pope Paul II's funeral? Won't he be ordained a priest in Leamington Spa, in July of this year?
• What about Pete Chambers mega book about Leamington and Cov music entitled Godiva Rocks, Portland Books sell it.
• The police in Leamington are crazy. After 8 at night they drive around in armoured vans in full riot gear. I think all it comes down to a massive complex about how bad they are at catching criminals. You never hear about them arresting any of the seriously dangerous dealers and gang leaders who everyone knows exist in Leamington, instead its always punk kids with spray cans and couples smoking a joint when they're out walking the dog who get charged. They just love fighting, especially if its 5 of them with night sticks and CS gas against two 15 year olds with acne and badly bleached hair, you've got to admire our criminal justice system...
• The Shop of Controversy - Planet Bong!! sells kickass goods like obscure band tshirts at fair price of £15, quality posters, lighters, patches, stickers, cool anarchistic/street punk/don'tgiveadamn propaganda!! you HAVE to check this shop out. staff really friendly and they have class music playing in their. oh, and ya can buy incense sticks etc. in there. power to the people! peace out.
• What would i change? Don't hang on to the regent Hotel as if it were an ancient monument develop it before it becomes an eyesore (this is already occuring). Create an area where we can have more street style cafes a la rouge without closing the parade to traffic. Improve still further downtown areas.
• not everyone who was brought up in this cruddy place returns. I had the marvelous experience of being expelled from Leamington College for Boys in 1961 (I think). Anyway it was as soon as I was 15. I lived there off and on (if you can call it living) until 1968ish. Never to return. Having said that the town always had many interesting characters, one of whom who should also be remembered was Dick Turpin, brother of Randy, also a champion boxer and an ace person. I would have loved to have seen Dick entertain Robert Relph at fisticuffs. There was also a famous artist who in the 1950s painted a notorious picture called "The Ladies of Leamington". Forgotten who he was, but he put the hackles up the blue rinse brigade who lauded it over the plebs who had to work for a living.
• Whatever happened to the Church of Bongo circa 1984? What do the Grand Lodge of Druids get up to?
• Ian Beale doesn't live that near Leam!, believe me!
• YOULL NEVER LEAVE LEAMINGTON. THEY ALWAYS COME BACK.
• The town has some quality graffiti - Nigel Rees take note! As well as those peices already mentioned here there is a plague of amusing "Mr Kiss" graffiti all over the south of town. Who is he? Will we ever know? The best bit, however is written in pen on a boarded-up shop window near the Jug & Jester. There is one of those signs up reading "Bill Posters Will be Prosecuted", and underneath it some wag has written "Bill Posters is Innocent"! Genius!
• On the graffiti front. The best bit of graffiti in town has to be the Class War 'Call this a Nation ?' sprawling on a bricked up railway arch at the back of Bath place. One helpful Leam resident has considerately pointed out underneath 'No, it's a railway arch' Classic.
• More graffiti! : I always liked the one at the train station, which they have now sadly scrubbed out, which welcomed the visitor to 'Leamington Spa, the most F***ed up Town Going! (They're probably about right!) Also, 5 ley lines cross down by the maijn church! Spooky!
• Sweet Seductions - good quality chocolate
• Leamington - and several of the town's neighbouring villages and towns are mentioned in a number of Oscar Wilde's plays - most notably The Importance of Being Earnest. "Death in Leamington" by Betjeman. It's "Aleister" Crowley, numbskulls! (As featured on the cover of "Sgt Pepper's") The guy referred to as John Lennon's best friend from college is John Hague. When I was a kid, he and his family had a lovely home overlooking Whitnash Golf Course. To their great credit, he and his wife would permit urchins such as myself to run riot around their property, collecting conkers from their horse chestnut trees every Autumn. They had loads of kids. I remember their son, Jasper, and a tiny little girl called Sadie. The adult Hagues had painted the hallway with largescale reproductions of Roger Hargreave's "Mr Men" - aaah! Soon after they sold it, the house burned to the ground. Pity
• Leamington has some interesting grafitti of late. "John Craven", "God gave us life, he also gave us Loinel Blair", "I Hate Nerys Hughes", "Wogs in", "Avoid Cider" and curiously "4:09am" are all new additions.
• cant miss the spots is only a one horse town
• Hi folks, I'm one of the voluntary wardens for the Leam Valley Local Nature Reserve. This stretches from Welches meadow almost to Radford Semele. Warwick District Council need your views on a wetland creation proposal to enhance the wildlife in the valley. There's an excellent display in Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre foyer. Have a look. Let them know your ideas. Many thanks, Bill Jackson
• in the regent hotel - now being demolished - was a picture of the real tennis club in leamington saying it was the first in the world. actually it was the marylebone cricket club, yes, that great place of cricket, that was the first. an annual match is played still every year between the two clubs. the m.c.c. has several courts and is very popular. also, there is a lot played in philidelphia, u.s.a., the old home of 19th century brits. and where there is still some cricket played. prince edward - windsor that is!! - produced a good video on real tennis about five years ago. if not into the harder rigors of squash, it is a great game offering many skilled challenges. take it up - excellent in every way.
• You can't walk down the Parade without some freakoid leaping out from the shadows and claiming he's Jesus or something. Most amusing, but at the same time a little frightening.
• NB:There is in fact little or no REGENCY architecture in L/Spa, it is almost all Victorian. Mind you if Mrs Bucket (location shots in suburbs of L/Spa) has anything to do with it,she'd have us all calling it Georgian!
• The Loft Theatre is an amateur company with a professional reputation. They do a good mix of commercial theatre and small-scale experimental stuff.
• Shops: Rackhams is the main department store. Got everything, even your credit limit...
• To stay: Travelodge at M40 junction. Cheap (c. 35 quid/night) The Royal, top of town has some real special deals going for weekends. Bit run down, but good location, and breakfast is good. (Actually, may not be any more. The chef, Tom, died recently....) Argue, and you can get a weekend night for about 30 quid. (It's supposed to be 60 for a weekend). Avoid the Regent.

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Last updated: 2008-10-14