Oh Hi There - Thanks For Coming Back!!!
It's not very often that I have so many requests for me to blog, so I am pulling this one out for all my lovely friends who so kindly follow and read - you guys are the best. The last month has gone by faster than I ever could have imagined and so much has changed since I last wrote to you all. I am now working two jobs - which for everyone back home, will not be a surprise because you know I am always too busy for my own good. I'm also planning Christmas at my humble little London abode for all my foreign friends who can't make it back to their native lands for the holidays. I am super excited for Christmas day, despite the fact that I am very very behind on everything to do with Christmas at the moment. Anyways, I didn't make you come on here to read my to do list, did I now?
Today I did something special... I explored my own neighbourhood!!! I know this probably sounds unexciting to you, but I have only really ever walked in one direction from my house which always takes me to the weird and sometimes wonderful place that is Shoreditch.
Today, Carmel (my Kiwi friend seen above looking all California 1980s chic), and I took a little stroll down the other way. All of this was prompted by the fact that Carmel has just recently moved up into the area and has become curious about what fun stuff there is to do around her house. We started down on Roman Road by the London Buddhist Centre (because this exists! So Cool!) and walked towards Stratford. To start, if you look right down, you get a glimpse of the ridiculous statue they are spending insane amounts of cash on to build for the Olympics - which my dear friend Marie has so correctly named "The Iron Fart". I'm generally pretty open when it comes to art and interpretation etc. but I'm just not feeling this one and can't help but laugh every time I think of Marie describing it as a fart. (If you haven't seen it and would like to - CLICK HERE!)
I have to say that this side of the hood is a lot cleaner than what I am used to , and quieter too, but they also don't have a mad sidewalk market everyday, so I suppose that's normal. We also came across this statue of a man walking his dog (or as I later learned - is actually a blind beggar with a seeing eye dog) which I kind of love. This entire neighbourhood is a strange mix of huge old estates (like the green building behind in the picture) and clusters of houses, with little pound and knick knack shops strewn about and this statue is just another random thing thrown in to the mix.
We spent about an hour and half (because I was limited for time for my work lunch break) walking up and down Roman Road until we came to a park and a section of Regent's Canal which was really lovely! I had no idea or had never even considered the possibility of there being a bit of water near us. Across from the water, is this amazing exercise park built by Adiddas. All the equipment is neon pink, yellow and blue and is all quite fun. Despite not being dressed for the occasion, we still tried everything out and for the record, no one got hurt. Now imagine Carmel saying something tough like "OOOSHE!" as she does this leg press with her arms in the air!
I re-confirmed that my legs are strong, and that my arms are less strong but that I can in fact shimmy up a wall when necessary. I was tempted to tell you all that I was running along this wall below, but I think it's pretty clear that I am holding on for dear life. This is not nothing.
Before hitting up the pound shops to buy stuff we didn't need but bought anyway because it was 69p, we frolicked by the shores of the canal and made friends with a couple of ducks. Carmel insists that they were under the impression that I had food, but I'm sure that somewhere in their ducky brains they just wanted to come up and say hi. Also, I was sure I would forget about this one thing I saw not too long ago about ducks, but sadly, as soon as I saw them coming, this hilarious image appeared back in my head. If you haven't already seen this, I'm about to ruin ducks for you.
RUINED! ALL I SEE ARE MASKS!
So there you have it, my exciting day of weird statues, pound shop adventures and ducks wearing masks - I don't think I could ask for much more really! I guess I was more surprised about how much I discovered in such a short time right outside my front door. There are quite a few neat things to take in not far from home and I'm definitely going to be going back to all of these places again! To end, I would just like to clarify that I'm not writing this to encourage you to get down to Roman Road right away, because yes, we did have fun and it's nice to know where you live, but the actual place itself is not terribly exciting on it's own.
On that cheerful note my lovelies, I will leave you. I hope you all have a smashing good time over the holidays no matter where you are!
I promise I will be thinking about you!!!
xo Spec.
YAY!! :D <3
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