My Covent Garden.

This is a place that is not only quaint, unique and creates its own atmosphere inspire of its densely populated location, but for me is a place that I spend a lot of time both professionally and personally. Yet it is a location which I never tire of.

Needless to say Covent Garden, my Covent Garden holds countless moments and memories for me. It has seen the meeting and greeting of a vast array of contact, the birth of new relationships, the end of others, emotional good-byes, hilarious evenings of wine and cocktails, shopping days, afternoon teas with folk, a giggle and a cupcake and listing to the live music on its sun-trapping cobbled streets, to name but a few. I have many more moments to come and ready-to-be-made memories in my future years but especially so over the coming months. I have many upcoming corporate meetings but more importantly I have some rather delightful plans to meet various friends and family, all of whom are special to me. Some live near, some live far away. Some I see often, some I'm unable to. Meetings caused by previous meetings. Fresh meetings about fresh topics meeting fresh demands. However, each meeting and occasion is one I look forward to and will be filled moments of which I know I'll treasure in the special place of my Covent Garden.

Sentimentalism aside however, I have equally had some rather interesting and what I call 'only central London' experiences in Covent Garden and Neal's Yard. One of them took place about eight years ago when I was merely shopping there and I was approached by two rather funky looking individuals with rather official looking clipboards. I was subsequently asked by one of them what part of Italy I was from. (I'm not Italian and have no Italian heritage whatsoever!) Clearly I informed them that I was not of Italian descent, of which led the rather funky individual male to literally grab those walking past to ask if any of them thought I looked like I was Italian in a what could only be described as an on-the-sopt vox pop. The general consensus was that yes, I looked Italian, and when they were told I wasn't no one could quite believe it. Yet, I could not quite believe, not only what was happening so suddenly, but also that quite so many people thought I was Italian. Anyway, the purpose of all that was for the rather funky looking individual to tell me he was a model hunter for Toni & Guy and wanted to use my hair for an photoshoot they were doing in Italy in three days time and was hoping I would be willing to do it and if I was available for this all expenses trip. Perhaps it would be appropriate at this point for me to inform you that, in my opinion, I absolutely do not look Italian or even remotely mediterranean but I am a very dark/oil black brunette. So whilst desperately racking my mind as to why quite so many people in central London were under the impression I was Italian and that this guy from Toni & Guy, the feature of my hair and its colour was the only thing I could think of!

Before long the rather funky looking individual was waiting before me with his rather official looking clipboard, waiting for my response. I knew immediately that I wasn't available and that as fun as going to Italy all expenses paid for a Toni & Guy photoshoot had the potential to be, it all got finally and speedily decided when the rather funky individual informed me that there was (of course) one condition... they could do anything at all to my hair- cut, trim, "roast", colour and style my hair in ANY way they wanted and that I'd just have to deal with it on the shoot and thereafter. As artistic and creative as Toni & Guy can be and are indeed renown for being, alas I declined the offer!

Thus, despite but including the above memory, Covent Garden is, in my opinion, a delectable nugget of central London which offers great fun, variety, creativity and vibrancy.