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hobgoblinnOk, I'm setting my novel in London, which is my first mistake (no, signing up for nano was my First mistake, but hey, let's not go there.) And this is a place I shall Never get to, unless teleportation becomes cheap and reliable as a transportation option. So... I put it to the international f-list: Where does Giles live?
In my story, it's about 2 years post Chosen, and Giles is in London and Head of the new Council. He probably gets housing a little more exalted than he's been used to in Sunnydale, but still pretty modest because he'd probably insist on that. He probably is staying in a building the Council has owned since London was a Roman outpost. He lives alone, until Willow comes back and insists on staying in his guest room.
I'm envisioning a place with more than one level, with a study, kitchen, couple of bedrooms, couple of baths. A place in town, close by other similar brick structures. He goes jogging in the neighborhood every morning, with a couple of Slayers trailing him. I have them hiding in a nearby alley until he passes, then coming out to follow at a discreet distance. He has a car, so he needs a place to park, perhaps on the street. It also needs to be reasonably near a Tube station, though.
What's realistic here? In what neighborhood might the Council have some stodgy, functional housing? What might such buildings be called? Brownstone is what comes to mind for me, but that's a New York City term, or that's the connotation I carry for that term. Townhouse might also describe it, but I don't know how British that is, either.
And while we're at it, what's the weather like there, now? I can, and have been doing, research on that more easily than remedying my sad lack of London geographical knowledge. But temperature ranges don't gie the whole story. Willow's going to find it damp and cold regardless, but I'd like a little more detail all the same. Especially about fog. You see it in the movies. But how cold or warm does it have to be before you get fog? It's in Willow's dream, and I'm about to make that play out in reality. But I'm not sure what season works here.
In addition to wild speculations and on the spot personal experience, I'd be interested in any links to sites where I can do more research on my own. I'm reading some online versions of London Newspapers to get a feel for the flavor of the writing, which is quite different from ours, in a good way. What papers do you locals read (or avoid) for various things? What would Giles read? (I want to see if my guess is close.)
In my story, it's about 2 years post Chosen, and Giles is in London and Head of the new Council. He probably gets housing a little more exalted than he's been used to in Sunnydale, but still pretty modest because he'd probably insist on that. He probably is staying in a building the Council has owned since London was a Roman outpost. He lives alone, until Willow comes back and insists on staying in his guest room.
I'm envisioning a place with more than one level, with a study, kitchen, couple of bedrooms, couple of baths. A place in town, close by other similar brick structures. He goes jogging in the neighborhood every morning, with a couple of Slayers trailing him. I have them hiding in a nearby alley until he passes, then coming out to follow at a discreet distance. He has a car, so he needs a place to park, perhaps on the street. It also needs to be reasonably near a Tube station, though.
What's realistic here? In what neighborhood might the Council have some stodgy, functional housing? What might such buildings be called? Brownstone is what comes to mind for me, but that's a New York City term, or that's the connotation I carry for that term. Townhouse might also describe it, but I don't know how British that is, either.
And while we're at it, what's the weather like there, now? I can, and have been doing, research on that more easily than remedying my sad lack of London geographical knowledge. But temperature ranges don't gie the whole story. Willow's going to find it damp and cold regardless, but I'd like a little more detail all the same. Especially about fog. You see it in the movies. But how cold or warm does it have to be before you get fog? It's in Willow's dream, and I'm about to make that play out in reality. But I'm not sure what season works here.
In addition to wild speculations and on the spot personal experience, I'd be interested in any links to sites where I can do more research on my own. I'm reading some online versions of London Newspapers to get a feel for the flavor of the writing, which is quite different from ours, in a good way. What papers do you locals read (or avoid) for various things? What would Giles read? (I want to see if my guess is close.)
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-20 07:28 pm (UTC)Gower St, where my fanonical Council is.
London neighborhoods: one of my open research topics. I'll feed info & links to you as I acquire them.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-21 03:48 am (UTC)I found a good couple of sites on London weather, and on Fog. I have trouble having celsius temperatures mean anything to me, though.
Thanks for the links. If I stumble across anything interesting myself, I'll shoot it your way. And try to miss whatever cat is using you as its sleeping platform....