Around the world in August and September 2011

Whilst on my latest travel adventure I will endeavour to keep a visual and written record of what I'm up to by posting daily - including three photos taken (roughly) at morning, noon and night!

Friday 19 August 2011

3 x a pickle - Losing my soul

When one is in the UK and needs cheap, light clothes that they can wear on their annual holiday to Spain (and then never again as it is never warm enough to wear the same clothes here) the best (and worst) of a bunch of high street retailers to visit is Primark. It is exactly the type of consumer retailer experience that makes me shudder, still yesterday morning I found myself bumping shoulders and manically trawling the racks with the rest of them in Primark Oxford Street in order to kit myself out for Saturday's trip to Spain. Although successful, I left a little down, realising I would never get that hour of my life back and perhaps I could've spent it reading classic Russian literature. Luckily across the street the window displays at Selfridges department store were there to cheer me up with bursts of colour and luxury items with excessive price tags. I worked at Selfridges as a Christmas temp when I was living in London and while that wasn't the best job I've ever had, it failed to spoil the magic of the windows for me.

Morning
Selfridges window display August 2011

Noon


Further healing the damage Primark had caused to my inner being was lunch in the gutter of a Soho street with my dear friend Leah. She took me to a sandwich stall and coffee shop where they know her by name and what she will order, nice to know that can still happen in a city of this size.














Night
The restoration to my soul was completed by spending the night in a pub with my two cousins - one from either side of my family. An interesting (to me anyway) thing that has occurred so far on this trip is an abundance of gherkins. At my first meal on arrival there was a little pot of mini gherkins and again on Day four's meat plate. Last night my standard pub burger came with delicious giant gherkins! I hope it is not some subversive communication about the country being in a pickle?

Britain - In a pickle?

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