Urban Sightseeting #4: Love Is The Drug

By Londonist Last edited 181 months ago
Urban Sightseeting #4: Love Is The Drug
Walden Chymist, Elizabeth Street, SW1
Walden Chymist, Elizabeth Street, SW1
Druggist, Archway Road, N6
Druggist, Archway Road, N6
Walden Chymist, Elizabeth Street, SW1
Walden Chymist, Elizabeth Street, SW1
Allchin & Co., Englands Lane, Belsize Park, MW3
Allchin & Co., Englands Lane, Belsize Park, MW3
Stamp Chemist, Hampstead High Street, MW3
Stamp Chemist, Hampstead High Street, MW3
Chemist sign, Lower Belgrave Street, SW1
Chemist sign, Lower Belgrave Street, SW1
Wootons Cash Chemist, Richmond Avenue, N1
Wootons Cash Chemist, Richmond Avenue, N1
Courtenay Chemist Clock, St Johns Wood High Street, NW8
Courtenay Chemist Clock, St Johns Wood High Street, NW8
Windows in Tatchbrook Street, SW1
Windows in Tatchbrook Street, SW1
Boots The Chemist, Camden High Street, NW1.
Boots The Chemist, Camden High Street, NW1.

So sang Bryan. And if that's the case then nobody out with their loved one on Valentine's Day will be needing their local chemist for anything more than a morning after pill and some paracetamol. Or perhaps something like Diocalm might be required after a bad choice of restaurant.

Most of us, including the unloved and unlovable, only ever pop in to our local chemist shop to buy the things we'd forgotten to buy at the supermarket; mainly lotions for our skin, and potions to fight off colds. It's all about looking and feeling better. But tell that to the assistant who reads out the content of your prescription in a loud voice to all the customers in the shop!

These days we are more familiar with the chains on our high streets tempting us with their buy-one-get-one-free offers, but a few independent shops with interesting old frontages are still with us. And, for those chemist shops that have gone, some interesting glimpses into the past remain.

But the big question is, at this time of year especially, when the cards and the flowers don't arrive, what can you take to mend a broken heart? Can a chemist help with that?

By Jane. You can see more of Jane's London photo collections, covering everything from boot scrapers to weather vanes, over at Janeslondon and Jane's Flickrstream.

Last Updated 13 February 2009