As you can see, i’m running a little late with the reports of my London trip.
All i can say is, whether in Singapore, London, and, i’d hazard a guess here, Timbuktu, shopping is absolutely the most draining activity known to man (or men).
Let me run twenty kilometres and i”ll still be raring for more after.
Shopping?
*thud*
(That’s the sound of me falling to the ground in utter exhaustion, if you didn’t realise)
Anyway, i kicked off my second day in London with a quick trip to Putney Bridge station on the Underground.
What’s at Putney Bridge?
Get ready for this…
Fulham Football Club!
Yeah, me too.
No, i haven’t switched allegiances from The Arsenal to Fulham but under the circumstances, them being that it is nigh impossible to get a ticket for a game at Ashburton Grove, i have to settle for one at one of the Premiership’s lesser lights.
It’s not too bad since they’re playing rejuvenated West Ham and i’m quite excited at experiencing the atmosphere at a stadium that’s more traditionally English (Imagine this: Craven Cottage is to Ashburton Grove as a rickshaw is to a Lambourghini).
There’s no comparison really. One’s not better than the other. It’s just different.
i just imagine that it’s a little odd that my virgin Premiership experience will be a game at the home of Fulham.
But still, i’m thankful and grateful.
The second third of the day was spent along Portobello Road.
It has plenty of shops selling all sorts of stuff but is probably more well known for the roadside stalls that peddle really cheap vegetables and fruits, by London standards at least, though raspberries, strawberries and Portobello mushrooms are much cheaper here than in Singapore.
We had lunch at a quaint little Italian restaurant that served pretty decent pizzas.
All in all, Portobello Road is a pretty good place to stroll about and spend a lovely afternoon.
In the evening, we spent half an hour or so looking for the tkts box office, which famously sells official half-price tickets to various shows in London’s Theatreland.
It was all pretty rushed and off-the-cuff, which is the point really, but we got tickets at 7.05pm to a 7.45pm show, Love Song.
It’s a ninety minute play with lots of snappy, witty dialogue, which i imagine wouldn’t be too popular in Singapore.
The odd thing about it was getting to watch Hollywood stars (Neve Campbell, Kristen Johnston, Michael McKean and Cillian Murphy) in the flesh. i mean, you watch them on the big and small screens and you’re living in Singapore and you don’t ever expect to see them up close in real life, and, the next thing you know, you’re watching them in a play in London which you decided to catch at the very last minute.
Hey, that’s the beauty and magic of London, i suppose.
