A week in London part 3, a Sunday Saunter

With so many things to see, we knew we could only scratch the surface. On Sunday, (a few weeks ago) we deployed our “stay local” policy and set off on foot. I wanted to see the Columbia Road Flower market, so armed with our google map we set off East along the canal, which is always an adventure, full of vibrant culture

Thats one very colourful boat

turning right at Hoxton. We discovered the Museum of the Home, housed in the 300 year old Hoxton Alms houses,

Museum of the home archive photo

https://www.museumofthehome.org.uk/what-we-do/our-story/
Although some of the rooms still showcase the almshouse life, its a bit worrying when you start seeing items you have owned (still own) featuring in displays. Actually we think displays of what we remember and took for granted can be quite thought provoking and we enjoyed nearly 2 hours wandering around.

Im sure I remember a hoover like that, a record deck before they became retro trendy, we still have our trusty Nokia, played games like that on the big telly and … who hasnt had a Billy Book case from Ikea

I was a bit worried that having spent so long in the museum the flower market would be closing up for the day, however, it was still in full bloom

Columbia Road flower market

I was very restrained and only bought an orchid

They were only £5

We were getting a bit hungry at this point so we took advantage of the many pop up street food cafes

A captive customer base


and went to look for somewhere quieter to eat our salt beef bagels,

The hoardings said they were the best, and yes it was certainly tasty

We had found ourselves in Hackney City Farm

By now we were getting used to seeing weird and whacky sights, in this highly creative community.

But nothing prepared us to come face to face with Jaws leaping out of the canal as we meandered back towards Firecrest

The Hackney Sharks

These are just two of the Hackney Sharks. The remaining three or four are currently under cover as there is some controversy over whether or not this art installation, or a structure that needs planning permission. Personally we love them and want them to stay. As far as we know, they haven’t eaten anyone yet. https://www.antepavilion.org/updates/sharks-back-maybe-gah2t

We had thoroughly enjoyed our explorations today. We had seen a real community. Im sure we werent the only tourist visiting the flower market, but these were the real people of London, enjoying the weekend. It was vibrant, fun, friendly and I sensed very caring.

Hackney City Farm