We went out for the day yesterday. I took about 125 photos, which was a sensible thing to do considering it doubled my backlog of photos to edit. Not that many need much editing, but I do have a habit of taking them at a slight angle. And many photos benefit from a bit of cropping. Some benefit also from a fiddling with the brightness, especially considering I am developing a tendency to over-expose.
It took us quite a while to decide where to go. The criteria were simple enough. Water and a walk, but nothing too strenuous walk-wise. Not too far a journey from London, must be achieved by public transport. Must offer an escape from the hustle and bustle of London.
So where did we decide upon? Central London, of course! Camden Lock to Little Venice and back. And back again! I was able to tick a great many boxes in the photography list - water, boats, water foul fowl, buildings, kittens, hyenas, people - but I failed by a moment to tick the box called 'famous singers', as one chap turned to me (we were jointly witnesses of a road rage incident. Maida Vale's like that) and said "Did you see Lulu getting into the back of that car? She lives here..." Still, I'd rather file her under Tory Twat than Famous Singer. You know you make me wanna shout...
We took the canal boat return trip and then walked back the 2½ miles along the tow-path, amazed by the tranquility, enjoying the heat and the breeze, communing with people in a very 'out-in-the-country' way. There were loads of people out on the towpath, although five minutes out of Camden Lock there was no sense of over-crowding.
I am always amazed yet puzzled by the diversity of London. Sometimes when we do things, like boat trips and walks, we are confounded by the homogeneity of the participants. We met almost no African or Afro-Caribbean people and very few Asian, and on the entire towpath I don't think we saw one person who felt obliged to dress as a wannabe C-list Reality TV show participant in Heat Magazine, and the only chavs apparent were a young woman who had obviously been dragged along to sit with her bloke fishing, and this chap who insisted on following me around all day wearing an England 1966 t-shirt.
We spent a long time looking for the supposed famous bars and restaurants of Little Venice, but failed miserably, so my perma-stalker recalled that a year or two ago we had vowed to explore the Middle Eastern restaurants on Edgware Road. Almost randomly we found Maroush near Marble Arch, where we had a delightful meal. I would certainly go there again. I am very partial to Lebanese food, stuffing my face on three mezza dishes (halloumi cheese pastries, a cold chick pea soup and roast potato with veg), whilst Jimmy had roast lamb shanks - he doesn't really like the idea of sharing mezzas, or tapas for that matter). And a nice wine from the Bekaa Valley. It was quiet while we were there, between fiveish and sevenish. Reading the reviews on the net, I see that service is 'appalling' - 'we had to wait five minutes to be served', 'the waiters flirted with female customers' - puhlease if you want rushed service with a snarl and shit food go to McDonalds. Me, I prefer the Middle East. In fact I was sort of disappointed that the loos were Western Style.
We got home and watched the Argentina-Mexico game. The air was so still that despite having the back door and front window open, I ended up stripping off just to feel fresh.
