To market to market

The four of us were up early and drove with Andy (mate of Nick's) to Milton Keynes where cars were sorted and the four then boarded am express train to London. Lucky it was fast because there were no seats and thus had to stand for the entire 40 minutes of the journey. Arriving at Euston station (yep the game of monopoly was immediately underway) we met up with Carol of whom the girls had not seen for over 30 years.

Much gossiping ensued as we all ploughed deep down into the depths of the underground finding our way eventually to Fenchurch Station (tick) where after a bit of mucking around we caught up with Jeremy and thus the reunion was complete. Standing in the queue and going through security to get up to the Sky Garden was pretty easy. As was snaffling a comfy seat for us to catch our breath and snap some selfies. Nick and the blogger then did a quick walk around the garden - admiring the view.

It was great to have a direct line of sight into the tower where so many years before the argument to bring down an empire was conducted. The boys then left the reunionists to their revalries and reminiscing and once again toured the complexities of the tube system to emerge at Borough Market. This is the place not so long ago got into the world press headlines for all the wrong reasons. It was great to see that the attacks had not dampened the enthusiasm or the size of the crowds which certainly just go to show how pointless and ineffective these events are.

We spent some time sampling some of the offerings in Lathwaites, which sell fine wines under the impressive stone archways of some old ancient store house. Very nice ambience well removed from the crowds outside. We did however join the throng later at the Market Porter for a pint on the sidewalk whilst the market crowds busselled around us. Next stop was the Southwark tavern which was pretty much the centre of the attacks. No sign of any fear or panic. Just distant memories for those that care to remember.

As we had great seats to crowd watch and partake in the fare we stayed for a few pints of various flavours as well as indulging in a lunch of fish and chips. Moving on we used the noisy little underground bullets to get to Camden Market. This area is a revelation with a wide range of cultures, stereotypes and thought processes on display. Everyone had the same attitude though. Have fun. And that they were. Saturday evening in Camden and all the weirdos were out on display. A huge variety of tatts, piercings, hairstyles were moving all around - seemingly moving eclectic to normal.

Negotiating our way into a pub which seemed to resonate with the vibe we soaked up the ambience with old punk rock blaring in the background and watching the various individuals all happily interact with each other. Being transient ourselves and watching the clock we moved on up the street to end up in a far more normal establishment next to the canal, which just happened to be showing the only bit of colour in the entire city for the entire day.

So whilst the people and the vibe were colourful the rest of the place was shrouded in its usual drab grey coat. Leaving the Ice Warf we grabbed some travellers from the corner store (you can that sort of thing here) shot through the underground again and met the girls on the train for a fun trip home.

This time we had seats so it was pleasant and we ended back at Bucks for a debrief with a 16 yo red and cheese platter and conversations late into the evening.