Sunday

Schwing Along with Wayne's World at the Prince Charles Cinema London



After the fun I had in December seeing Muppets Christmas Carol at the Prince Charles Cinema London with my friends Marie and Christie, it made sense to go back and pay another visit. When we heard about the Schwing Along with Wayne's World event, we knew it was the perfect evening for us! We even decided to make a real event of it and stay the night in a London hostel.

The hostel is called Clink 78 and it's incredible. It's in an old courthouse, complete with two courtrooms and cells that you can stay the night in. Unfortunately the cells only sleep one or two people so we couldn't get one!

The place is absolutely huge! It's like a maze walking through the corridors to the rooms but it's well signposted and there are showers and toilets everywhere. They're single-sex too, so you don't need to worry about men walking in on you! On top of that, unlike the hostels I've stayed in in European cities, the shower cubicles are completely private with lockable doors. Phew!

Our room was... cosy, to say the least. It didn't matter though, as we only needed it to sleep in.
We managed to get a private room for three at a price of £20 each. This is right in the centre of London, just around the corner from King's Cross station. What a bargain! 

The best thing about Clink 78 is how they've given it a modern feel but kept pretty much all of the original features.

Look at this! This is the computer room and it's been kept exactly as it was when it was used as a courtroom. Fun fact: In 1978, The Clash were put on trial in this very courtroom for shooting a pigeon. 

Of course, I made a beeline for the dock! This is my "I'm innocent, your honour!" face. 

The judge's chair! How cool is the neon sign?

I could have stayed in here forever, hunting out all the tiny little details. The TV room was also a courtroom but it wasn't as faithfully preserved as this one.

After settling in, we headed to a lovely pub called The Yorkshire Grey. It had a really relaxed atmosphere and the food was incredible. The garlic fries are to die for! If you're ever in the Holborn area, I fully recommend it!

When in the pub, we discovered that it was only a mile from Oxford Street, so we hopped on the bus outside and made a stop off to the Tottenham Court Road Primark. It was much better than the Marble Arch one- absolutely huge but not swarming with people, even though it was Saturday afternoon. 

Anyone for a jumper sponsored by McCain? You get 50p off your next packet of oven chips...

I was desperate to find the My Little Pony jacket that I'd seen in Company this month and I was certain it would be in this branch. After looking over the whole shop, even asking a member of staff where I could find it and having her looking at me like I was insane, I finally found a rail full of them just as I had given up and gone to pay. Hooray! 

Rather than tackle the sweaty, crowded tube, we got the bus back to King's Cross and, after quickly getting into our Wayne's World-inspired costumes, we checked out the hostel bar down in the basement. The music was catered to the international crowd since they get so many backpackers, so it wasn't really our thing. 
My costume was inspired by Stacey. I wore a blue velvet dress and floral bomber jacket with black Converse hi-tops.  
Do you think we did a good job?
Of course, you can't attend a Wayne's World event without canvas sneakers! 
 
Then we got to Leicester Square ready to party in the bar before the film. Unfortunately, the advertised "90s themed pre-party in the bar" was non-existent and the staff seemed to know nothing about it. To appease us, and the other attendees who were confused by this, they played some 90s rock in the bar and let us wait down there. 

We got free red solo cups with our drinks so we could pretend we were in Stan Mikita's.

When the screen opened, we were each given a free donut. Yum yum! Our host was named Ralph and he was hilarious! He got all the Garths on stage for a Bohemian Rhapsody headbang-off. Marie also managed to wangle a place in the contest but unfortunately she didn't win. Ralph also encouraged us to get involved with the film, booing Benjamin, whistling Cassandra, and, of course, schwinging along! It was so much fun to quote along with the film. There was a real party atmosphere and everyone got involved.
Afterwards we were pretty tired so we went straight back to the hostel and climbed into bed. Annoyingly, we were woken up at 7:50am by the fire alarms going off but at least it meant we were early to breakfast! Unlimited breakfasts of toast, cereal and juice (as well as tea and coffee). I made a beeline straight for the little Nutella pots!
Once we'd filled up our tummies, we got the train back home. There was a man sitting behind Marie who was playing The Rolling Stones and The Jam very loudly on his iPod. We absolutely loved it but he had no idea that he'd caused a mini disco behind him!

It was a fantastic weekend out. In fact, the Prince Charles Cinema have an overnight Pixar pyjama party coming up in March and I'm organising an informal bloggers' sleepover out of it. All the details are here if you want to come along! 

14 comments :

  1. I read about Clink78 recently in a student beans article - it's almost a shame that I have friends to stay with in London whenever I go down!
    The Pixar party sounds ace, I'm going to see if I can come :)
    Megan x | MeganRoisinn

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  2. Hahaha how fun! I love your Stacey inspired outfit and I love that they incorporated Schwing into the event title. Love it!

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    1. Thank you! They were so clever with the name!

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  3. Looks super fun!! the burger yum yum.

    xo

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  4. This sounds like the coolest place ever!

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    1. If you ever visit London, you know where to stay!

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  5. What a great weekend! I wish I could attend the informal meeting but I live in Spain. Love your "I'm innocent" face :)

    Jasmine xx
    For a Real Woman
    So easy Spanish!

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    1. Aaw, such a shame that so many bloggers live in different countries! Reckon I could fool a judge with my innocent face? ;)

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  6. sounds like an ace couple of days. I love the prince charles cinema! I went to a sing-along Labyrinth screening there once and it was AMAZING. The SoHo curzon sometimes does alternative screenings too. I love that watching films takes so many different forms these days. The next thing on my list to try is one of the secret cinema events.

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    1. There was a Labyrinth one there the same time as the Wayne's World screening and there was a girl in an AMAZING Bowie costume!

      I must look out for these secret cinema events!

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  7. I stayed at that hostel a few years ago when I came down for a gig, I didn't know any of its history though. Very interesting, thanks :-) Sounds like a great trip, have you ever been to a Secret Cinema event? (http://www.secretcinema.org/)

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    1. I've never heard of Secret Cinema until now! Thanks for the recommendation!

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