Shoreditch & The City

BY DAY AND BY NIGHT

I enjoyed being in the city centre last week that on Sunday, due to the nice weather as well, I was inspired to visit the Shoreditch/Brick Lane / Spitalfields Market area. I went a little late, so missed a lot of the market traffic, and food stalls, but I did catch the last wave of it.

First thing I noticed, as usual, was the change the place has undergone. One day I really should get some of my old photos out and compare what the area looked like just a decade ago to what it does now. Some of it is night and day. Anyhow, while some of the changes involve removing the soul of the area by erecting metallic, ultramodern, buildings, some of the changes are actually positive and benefit the area somewhat.

There are better toilet facilities now, for example. In those days, people would u
se the parks and back alleys to do their toiletry business because of lack of facilities and large crowds. I think the entire area smells a little better these days.

I bumped into a couple of people I hadn’t seen in almost two decades! That’s almost always a good experience. I can think of a couple of situations when it isn’t, of course. One of them was a elite swimmer back in the day and she basically looks the same now - probably even more fit than I remember. There something to be said about never stopping exercising.

I ended up chilling with them in an outdoor lounge in a large square. There was a bit of outdoor Tango going on that was very well attended. London is like that in summer - social dancers and professionals alike often take their craft outdoors, usually in parks, and inadvertently provide free entertainment to the masses.

Walking through Spitalfields Market after hours was quite surreal. The place shuts down, but a lot of tings are usually left in-situ, ready to go on the following day. It creates this post-rapture feel that is hard to describe. The City itself is even more eery at night, especially on a Sunday. Although there are some bars and even clubs here and there, they close early and everyone quickly gets out of the area trying not to miss their last tube home. Some head to the West End to continue their night.

The elephant sculptures, Herd of Hope, have been there for a while. They added to the eeriness of the place in a funny way. If you stare at them long enough, it’s easy to imagine them coming to life and suddenly start moving around.

I'm not thinking of doing this for different parts of London. Canary Wharf would be an interesting one, as would be More London. Perhaps even some of the affluent neighbourhoods like Kingston or Knightsbridge. I doubt that one ever gets deserted though, even on Sunday, due to the high tourist traffic over there. We have Harrods and a major gateway into Hyde Park there.

The final plus I failed to mention was the amount of casual exercise got in. Throughout the day I must have walked for 6 hours or so! Totally beats sitting on the couch or in front of my computer any day ☀️

Peace & Love,

Adé