After I dropped Earlham friend from France off at Waterloo, I went up to the East End for the Sunday markets. Let me tell you, l thought these things were supposed to start early! Silly me. I was there around 9 and people were still setting up. By the time I left, some of the "upmarket" (the artsy stalls) weren't even done setting up. Ah, well. The Bagel shops were as good as promised and darn cheap! Can we say 15p for a fresh bagel? They're not even that price in Indianapolis, although the experience did make me miss our wonderful Indianapolis institution, Bagel Fair. Otherwise, I'd say many things about the Brick Lane area markets were a bit dodgy. You sort of got the feeling that if anything of yours ever got stolen, this is where it would end up. Too many bikes, empty bags, and mobile phones for sale.... On the other hand, I would have gotten more things if I'd had more money (so its probably good that I didn't) and this amused me:
Look! It says "Quaker St.!" (For those who are wondering, Brick Lane has an amazing history. It has been the center of new (often poor) immigrant communities for centuries. The bagel stores are because it was once the center of the Jewish population (and there's lots of architecture to reflect that fact) and it now forms the heart of Bangla Town...so all the streets are labeled in both English & Bengali. I should ask Earlham's Quaker history expert why there's a Buxton St. leading into Quaker St.)
There are a few other new photos on Flickr. They're from wandering around London with Earlham/France person and from our attempt to tour Westminster Abbey. That didn't work out so well, but we did go to their Evensong. I loved the choir, but it all felt a little too institutional. If I had to pick a favorite service, after my "extensive" experience on this matter (ha!), I would have to say that St. Paul's is the best. Seriously, they gave me warm, cooshy feelings when they prayed for the UN. Awesome. I was put off by Notre Dame's insistance that only Catholics could fully take part. St. Paul's is very inclusive and all about people coming up for "blessings," even if they aren't taking/can't take communion and starts by welcoming people from all faith communities (or not). I'm an avowed secularist, so even I am amused by having an opinion on this topic. But, see, there's a big holiday coming up and I'm determined to go to some midnight services, mostly because it sounds cool! I had to pick and I think that St. Paul's is the answer. Also the closest for walking home, since the tube will probably be shut by the time services are over.
Right, back to the regional human rights bodies.
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