Where have all the hippies gone?

This was the most pressing question on my mind between the hours of around 1 and 3 this afternoon. Or, more precisely, where do they buy their clothes? I was wandering around the amazingly, extraordinarily, colourful mass of shops and stalls that is Camden Lock and its various markets. I was on a mission to find a particular type of waistcoat for the play. I had set of to Camden with high hopes after what I thought to be an inspired idea. Turns out the place is a lot less hippified than I remembered from my previous visits there (admittedly not for a good while) or they have moved on. Things that would have been a cinch to find include: any comedy t-shirt ever dreamed up by a teenager in their bedroom, any leather, rubber or corsetry items dreamed of by probably a different set of teenagers in their bedrooms, every type of London souvenir, Doc Martins, combat gear and replica Guatenamo Bay or death row overalls. I also suspect that had I not already eaten lunch I could have had my pick of possibly every cuisine ever thought of. A few stalls had a fine collection of bongs and the one store that promised hemp clothing was closed.

Eventually I asked a horse. This horse. He stuck his neck out (sorry) and indicated the bottom of the steps he was guarding. There I found a vintage shop that came up with the goods. Not exactly what I was picturing but good enough and the bargain price of £5 so well suited to our meagre budget.

There were horses galore around this section of the market which was aptly named Camden Stables and so my cunning powers of deduction lead me to conclude was once the stabling place for the horses pulling the canal boats. There were a million and one blip opportunities around here which I didn't take advantage of as I was so determined to achieve my mission. I was also quite proud of not being distracted with shopping for myself. I shall pretend I will be returning in the near future to take another blip.

The morning was spent having a meeting walking around Richmond Park which was in glorious sunshine. Managed quite a few shots there but none of them very striking and after an afternoon in the madness of Camden the tranquility of the morning doesn't feel like it belongs to the same day. I did try to take a picture from King Henry's Mound which, if you don't know, is a raised point in the park that has a telescope that gives you the most amazing view straight to St Paul's Cathedral, about 10miles away. No idea how they manage this but no-one is allowed to build anything that will disrupt the view. I don't have the right camera but if you are interested you can get a good idea here and some techy photo speak for those of who like that stuff ;-). Didn't see any real horses in Richmond Park a little surprisingly and only a couple of deer from afar. Deer hunting in RP would be another good blip day. All these excuses for getting out and about.

It's Tuesday so it must be time to grab a quick bite before heading off to rehearsals.

Tally-ho
Lesley x