More of London.

On Sunday we were were well rested and met up early'ish with our daughter and her boy friend. We walked the short distance to Columbia Road Market. No.1 daughter had raved about this place and Helen wanted to see it for her self. It is held on Sundays and is largely a flower market. The plants and flowers are very reasonably priced and there is a wide variety. The street is narrow and with stalls on both sides it makes for a good busy atmosphere.

There is a flower of every hue.

On and around Columbia Road are permanent shops too. These cater for every taste of interior decorating, fashion, crafts and every other sort of business making the market worth a look even if you don't like flowers.

There are also plenty of places to eat and drink and the shabby chic has a great toe hold in this area. The silver box on the left looks like it is selling ice cream but is in fact selling oysters!

After a couple of hours at the market we went for a walk and ended up along the Regent's Canal. I must say that it wasn't a pleasant experience due to the number of bikes that were going up and down. I can't say that they were zooming about as the tow path was so full, but it was the fact that they that they assumed by ringing their bells they expected you to get out the way. What made it doubly galling was that the road running parallel to the canal was deserted and the bikes would have made much better progress there anyway!

From the canal we cut inland and came across the Wenlock pub that was a little gem. It was just off Shepardess Walk which was a route that the sheep were brought in to the city for market.

I loved the symmetry of the back of this terrace. I wonder how many of the chimneys are connected to anything now. It makes you think about how much better the environment is now that these are all pumping out smoke at this time of year.

As the pub didn't do food we went in search of fodder. On the walk we came across a bloke feeding squirrels chestnuts. He was very knowledgeable about them and knew them all by sight. Helen was delighted.

By the time we had had a good Sunday lunch in a Weatherspoon's it was time for us to catch a bus into the West End. The girls wanted to look round Regent's Street and Oxford Street. We then realised that the lights were to be switched on on Oxford Street that night so we gravitated that way and waited for sometime. Nobody seemed to know when they would be going on but Kylie Minogue was to officiate. I think that she was fashionably late as we had to leave before they came on as we had tickets to the Comedy Store. Students and nurses get a good discount so it can be a good evening. It is just between Leicester Square and  Piccadilly Circus. Sunday is the the Comedy Store Players day for their brand of improvisation where they get suggestions from the audience and weave stories etc round them. Josie Lawerence, Paul Merton, Neal Mullarkey, Lee Simpson, Andy Smart and Richard Vranch were extremely funny and was a good night. They obviously work together so much that they know all the tricks of keeping the continuity going. After a hot chocolate and a tube trip back to the hotel we were saying goodbye to Amy and Joe as they had work in the morning.