December '06

To market, to market ... (Borough) ... almost

We planned on waking up early as we had heaps of stuff to get done ... Alas, as with most of our atempts to get up in the morning, our doona (or duvet as they're called here) was way too warm and comfy -- we were still in bed 'til afternoon!

By the time we got to the Borough Markets at London Bridge, most of the stalls were closing. We did, however, managed to score our Monmouth coffees before they closed ...

• Borough Market

To market, to market ... (Camden)

 

Hoping to avoid the crowds for a change and to do some light browsing, we decided to head to the markets in Camden -- during a weekday to avoid the mad weekend crowds.

I'm not sure which of the six markets we've managed to cover, but I've managed to buy: 2 wallets made out of old Japanese manga; a crab fridge magnet, and some table cloth type thing. There are heaps of other stuff there I'd like to clutter our home with ... next time!

 

• Camden Market at camdenguide.co.uk

• Best of Camden at camdenlock.net

• An online shop at camdenmarkets.org

Shopping ... *AGAIN*

*sigh* Had to go back to Oxford Street for more tortuous shopping!

This time, I remembered to pack my camera and found these on Regent Street ...

 

I can't believe it took us all day to get ... a Stainless Steel frying pan! All the pans we've seen seemed to have those non-stick surfaces on them, and I don't really like those ...

Shopping really wears me out ... think I prefer to do them online :)

Boxing Day Shopping Bonanza

Today we did the unthinkable and joined the hordes of bargain hunters in the department stores on Oxford Street ... The department shops were so packed that the escalator stopped working when too many people went on it at once! :B There was a long queue outside Selfridges for Gucci stuff or something *shrug*.

After much double checking of prices and doubling back for stuff, we finally managed to get: two dinner plates (we've been eating from paper plates for the past couple of days), the pot that I wanted (was £38, now £14.80!) and a steamer.

We came across a strange "shop" today, called Argos. It didn't have anything in it, just catalogues! And it was packed! Everyone was flipping through catalogues and then placing orders ... I think it's a great idea, but don't think it will work in Sydney (market too small, and people there are too used to Westfields, and being able to browse).

Merry Feasting ... uhh Christmas!

Our feasting begun right after returning from a long trek home from St. Paul's Cathedral (for the midnight Eucharist) around 3:30am! After calling home to our respective families, our Marks & Spencer Quiche Lorraine (Smoked bacon and mature cheddar cheese in a creamy free range egg filling) was ready for consumption!

Went to bed around 4:30am ... and got up in the afternoon, in time to pop our Sainsbury's Oven Ready Maple cured turkey crown into the oven!

 

All we have to do now is wait ... (and baste the turkey in it's own juices every now and then) and prepare some vegies for a well-balanced meal. For carbs, we had garlic bread and roast potatoes; for greens, we had raw celery and carrots; and some cheese and smoked salmon for variety.

We had to wait an hour or so before attempting dessert ...

... with generous servings of Marks & Spencer's "Luxury Thick and Creamy Custard" (made with Channel Island Milk and Bourbon, vanila extract with vanilla bean seeds). Fantastically artery-clogging stuff, I say!

Today's dinner was brought to us by Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer!

Goal! Our first soccer match ...

We managed to score Club Level passes to the Arsenal (vs. Blackburn) game at the Emirates Stadium :D As we had club passes, our entrance to the stadium was so much nicer, compared to the turnstiles that the peasants had to use ...

We were still outside the stadium when the kickoff occurred, but judging from the boos the Blackburns seemed to have scored a goal very early on in the match ...

We got some free drinks (beer and coffee) during the intermission, which was nice as it was getting pretty chilly outside ...

Luckily for us, the home team (Arsenal) won today (6-2!) so the crowd was quite cheerful and well-behaved ... tho I witnessed a Blackburn fan being ejected in the first half ...