Another day revisiting old haunts, and seeing how London is reinventing itself. A tube strike threat looms over the city – buses are good, but slower, and our time here feels limited. But not today. Today we had tubes.
We started in Angel, a favourite corner of the city. Quieter than much of the city, with a proper village feel. We took a slow wander through Camden Passage (antique shops, good coffee, narrow lanes) then across to Chapel Market, which is a normal Saturday market of fruit, veg, and mobile phone cases.
Then, a deep breath and up the Northern Line to Camden. Louder, messier than before, like someone turned Camden Market up to eleven. All pseudo-punk-lite energy and tourists wearing retro band t-shirts. Frankly ferocious on a sunny Saturday morning… thrilling to see, but the charm and bargains buried under thousands of elbows has been lost.
From there, King’s Cross. Once grim, seedy, often dangerous. A place you didn’t hang around. What we found was unrecognisable… a polished plaza of high-end offices, entertainment, food, parks, and shops, stitched together with considerate architecture. Coal Drops Yard folds the old gas towers and warehouses into something almost European. It felt more Paris than London. I’m never sure about gentrification, but maybe here they’ve done it right. Worth a look, especially if you remember what it was before.
After regrouping at base camp, we set out once again. This time to see an adaptation of My Neighbour Totoro by composer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company. This was polished West End theatre at scale. Think imaginative puppets, sets, and music carrying the magic of Studio Ghibli onto the stage. We loved it. But after eleven days, eighteen thousand kilometres we were a bit wrecked. We stumbled home and collapsed.
The Obligatory Blog 