After a rather fraught train trip from Exeter because our train tickets did not work, we arrived in London
Fortunately, no one scanned them!
Getting from Paddington Station to our District Line Tube platform was horrendous,
dragging cases and ourselves up and down endless staircases, thankfully being assisted by other passengers
Apparently, we were directed to the wrong route and there is a lift
We arrived exhausted at the home of our friend Angela in Wimbledon
We spent the evening catching up on our trip and on Angela's, she had just returned from Oman
Sorting out breakfast the next morning in her lovely kitchen diner
We decided that it was the day to visit some places in central London
that were previously part of our working and studying lives
We were surprised to see a Biltong stand in the Wimbledon tube station
It is very popular and for South Africans rather expensive
R119,20 per 100g for Biltong and R100 for Droewors (dried sausage)
Actually not bad as a small Nestle chocolate e.g. KitKat will cost you £5!
Do lots of Brits live in Wimbedon? Or are our wines and cuisine becoming popular?
They had some really good South African wines for sale at some extraordinary prices
The labels above the bottles relate to the wines above them
There were some anomalies in the pricing
Alto Rouge was £18.50 (R425.50); Alto Cabernet £17.15 (R394.44), a relative bargain
Cellar door prices are R130 for the Rouge and R280 for the Cabernet
Kanonkop Paul Sauer £53.75/R1236. Cellar door here is R1950, another bargain in the UK
and Boerewors at amazing prices per kilo, the middle front pack is selling for £7.25p (22.50 to the rand = R163)
If you have the tourist Oyster card, which you buy outside the country, you have to travel after 9 am and before 4 pm
or just use your debit card at the turnstiles as all the British have to do. No concessions for tourists, just for the locals
We took a nostalgic trip on the tube to Bond Street Station and were surprised to see the Christmas lights up,
but not yet turned on
Lynne worked in Oxford Street for many years, five of them in Antiques, first at Philips Auctioneers
then as the Office manager and a buyer at The St James Collection, the Antique Department at Selfridges
John stayed in residence in Bolsover Street in his first year studying of Photography at The Polytechnic in Regent Street
So very familiar ground with great memories
But is has changed a great deal, old buildings and several department stores have gone
and huge new buildings have appeared
But Selfridges is still there and it has upped its game; it's very swish and very expensive
We looked for an old drinking hole in Duke Street called Fino's,
where Lynne and her friends became members of the Wine Bar generation in the 1970s, but, sadly, it's gone
Lynne's family lived on the corner of Duke Street and Wigmore Street through the Second World War,
not a very safe place to be
Her father was a local Air Raid Warden
The lunch menu at the pub. Can't say a Fish Finger sandwich appeals, but the prices were similar to those in Devon.
We didn't know what "Redefine Steak" means. There is a Trade Descriptions Act...
Apparently, it is "A classic dish with a modern twist: Redefine pulled beef, rich in flavour, wrapped in puff pastry...."
Redefine Meat is an Israel based company that makes plant-based meats using 3D printing
At least, they put "steak" in parentheses
After a trip through Selfridges and a surprisingly swish and expensive Marks & Spencers (It is the flagship store!)
and their food departments which made us salivate, we caught a bus right outside in Orchard Street
that took us to our next destination: Camden Market
A nostalgic bus trip, as we went up Baker Street and some of the route we both took to get home to West Hampstead
(we both lived there, but never at the same time!) and then along the Regent's Canal through St John's Wood
Walking down Camden High Street. Not much has changed there
Still rather sleezy with second hand record shops, Kebabs and lots of fake merchandise
It was quite a walk to the Market and when we arrived we were both very thirsty,
so we dropped into The Ice Wharf for a beer
We ordered our beer before we saw the menu and it is extraordinarily cheap
All the food on the menu also comes with a drink option. We looked at what people were eating and it did not entice us,
we were heading for the famous food stalls at the market
A Worthington Pint for £2.49 and an IPA for £1.99 Excellent refreshment and a chance to use their facilities too!
You will not see prices like this very often in London or indeed in much of the UK. Really good deals.
Very popular and we saw lots of families
You order at the bar and they can bring it to you or you can take it to your table yourself
Decor! En route to the loos
Regents Canal. Lynne worked on the side of it in her last London job at NCVO,
but at the other end, behind Kings Cross Station
The Camden boat locks
You cross a small bridge to get to the market which is extremely busy, this was a weekday
and you can go on a riverboat tour from here
We needed some lunch, so took a tour of the many small food stands
If you are expecting interesting Pop Ups, they are not here. But there is a huge choice
Indian food
Fried chicken at El Pollote and street food at Karro
You might have to hunt for somewhere to sit when you have your food
Jam packed with stands and people
Doesn't sound like Dim Sum bao food
Smash burgers and layered meat with sauce are very popular.
Cannot imaging the mess eating them would cause...
Chicken schnitzel and Dutch Pancakes anyone?
His Poffertjes didn't look right....
The pancakes are hidden beneath too much glory
This stall took our fancy as one of the things Lynne was determined to eat in London was a Dosa,
a regular lunch treat when she worked in Bedford Square
And, luckily, John was attracted to the Mysore Masala.
Those are sample Dosas on the counter
The Jina is a very thick crisp pancake stuffed with mashed potato and dipped in chutneys,
the Mysore has chicken and masala sauce.
On the hunt for somewhere to sit and eat ....
Patiently waiting ... Lynne managed to find us seats in one of these pods, just as it started to drizzle
Some stalls cleverly have seats for their customers.
And there are stalls selling all sorts of things at one side of the market
The woman who cooked our lunch had ecently arrived in London from Nepal
John's Dosa before it was wrapped up
Sauce and salad added
Lynne's getting a liberal dose of chilli and herbs
Then wrapped and cut up instead of rolled, for ease of eating, she suggested
Served with two dips, the red one fierce chilli, the white a coconut base
We gave our seats to these two patient travellers from Australia
There are a brewer and a distillery in the market
Eye watering prices. 10 cl! Is that a capful? Certainly not a boy scout
"Half Hitch", but not half price!
Tempting, we drink a glass of fresh orange juice every morning in SA
Now there is a puzzlement...
This one had a Meal Deal on offer
Time to begin the Looooong walk to the tube station. We were certainly getting our plus 10000 steps per day in London
One can take a narrow boat, but we didn't
Another bridge about to be wrecked by padlocks
Crowds walking both ways in the street and we were being verbally enticed into shops
Lynne did venture into one to look at Sketcher shoes but exited damned fast
when she found they started at £80 a pair for women
Wow
We went inside to look and there were a lot of stodgy plate fillers and just a few specials
Lynne used to go to one in Kilburn where it was £5 (a long time ago in the early 1990's)
It's clever, there is only so much a greedy person can eat
However, one evening, we saw the manager having a fit. One of the customers was just eating all his chicken!
Nothing else. "He's eating my profits! He's had 14 pieces" he said
Traveling on the Underground escalators brought back many memories, some good, mostly bad
The crush and rush of getting to work and home again
Halloween was that week and people were very creative in their decorations
Home to supper and conversation and plans for the rest of the week
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