I’m working nearby Shepherd’s Bush Market.
I love markets. I can’t think of one London market that I don’t like.
One of my hot tips for living happily in London is to live by a street market.
It doesn’t matter what sort, fruit and veg, flowers, antiques, bit of everything. Street shopping makes for a lively and mostly congenial atmosphere.
Living near Portobello Market was my favourite, Saucy and I had a shop just off the fruit and veg bit of the market. I lived less than five minutes from work. Antiques, fruit, veg and tat, perfect. It was around there that I honed my hanging out in cafes half the day, chatting to anyone, skills. It’s probably why I am fonder of Portobello than any other part of London.
Now I live near Camden Lock because that’s where Cornflake was based and have a studio near Kilburn Market because it’s cheap. I swear some of the stalls in Camden are still selling the same stock as they were in 1983. Some areas have been ruthlessly done up and although it has a vintage, retro, nostalgic, punk, post punk, futuristic crazy cyber, touristy thing going for it, I miss the authentic grime of half derelict warehouses full of genuine, decades old shite. Kilburn on the other hand, is cheap with a capital C. Handy for all sorts. Endlessly entertaining, it’s a hot spot for religious evangelists and fist fights on a Saturday.
Shepherd’s Bush is a beacon of multicultural, bargain shopping, I hope that it never becomes an up market market. Hair for extensions, dress jewellery, vegetables, enormous passion dampers, bras a family of four could live in. Where would people buy this stuff if Shepherd’s Bush got gentrified? Where?
My favourite lunchtime find was this Dior, giraffe patterned, knitted coat.
I’m fairly confident that Christian Dior had nothing to do with it. I like to think it was produced by Mandy Dior, no relation, from Twerton, near Bath, in her spare time.
fat tart 