Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
London, London you are filled with endless possibilities. Its's quite overwhelming the range of places you can go and the vast amount art and culture that litter your streets and buildings.
The back garden!
I've just returned from 6 days of looking after a beautiful bloodhound and two adorable cats in north London. Not only did I get free food and accommodation in exchange for my services, I also got some cash in hand to be able to enjoy myself while I was there (money whoopee!). In between dog walking, where I got to enjoy London's green spaces on a daily basis, I managed to figure out one or two things that really stood out on my map of must sees in London. Having done most of the major central tourist attractions I am interested in a month or so back, when I was there last with the Koreans, and important stuff like the Science museum on previous visits, I decided to go a wander through the artsy, alternative, retro, hippie type world of Brick Lane and check out their Sunday market. World food stalls, vintage clothes, ridiculous queues for bagels and great street art was very much right up my street (apologise for the bad pun). My favourite parts of the day was getting a free sample of handmade chocolate from a guy working in the chocolate shop on Brick Lane and his comments abut feeling like Jesus. As soon as he appeared at the door with baskets of chocolate a steady flow of chocolate lovers swarmed towards him through the crowds of passers by. My lunch was pretty great too, delicious Jamaican lamb stew with rice eaten in the hustle and bustle of the street stalls while the guy on the right serenaded me with No Woman No Cry. Good timing, Mr Busker.
Sleeping Snowball
At the top of on my list of things to do in London was to check out Spoken Word London. I had hoped to build on my National Poetry Day experiences, with another performance of the same poem but with the added element of reciting it instead of just reading it. Unfortunately, my underestimation of how long it takes to travel across London meant that I didn't quite get there in time to sign up. All was not lost none the less, I saw some fabulous performances! There was a really diverse range of voices and subjects,and I got talking to quite a few people in the intervals too. A real friendly and open minded bunch. There was even one guy who stripped off completely naked during his first poem and kept his clothes off for the rest of his 5 minute stint. That was definitely a first, a little distracting I have to say, but it worked well with the message in his words and certainly makes it a memorable evening.
Me and Minie
Izzy
I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for events like this, a little closer to home, in the future.
Having done most of the major central tourist attractions I am interested in a month or so back, when I was there last with the Koreans, and important stuff like the Science museum on previous visits, I decided to go a wander through the artsy, alternative, retro, hippie type world of Brick Lane and check out their Sunday market. 
World food stalls, vintage clothes, ridiculous queues for bagels and great street art was very much right up my street (apologise for the bad pun). My favourite parts of
At the top of on my list of things to do in London was to check out Spoken Word London. I had hoped to build on my National Poetry Day experiences, with another performance of the same poem but with the added element of reciting it instead of just reading it. Unfortunately, my underestimation of how long it takes to travel across London meant that I didn't quite get there in time to sign up. 
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