[Sundae]

So, as the actress said to the Bishop, "Wow, this is a long one."
Mum and I went to London yesterday. I was offered the choice of a number of gifts, and a trip to London would be the most expensive of all. But I honestly knew by the way she pitched it, that she really wanted us to go.

She missed out last year (because we had a huge row before my 40th and I couldn't even face it.) And she missed out on her theatre trip with Steven because she was ill and I ended up taking her place. And she has had a lot of worry and stress recently. And let's face it, a trip to London isn't exactly a hardship for me!

We'd actually got into town when she said she's always wanted to go to Camden Lock.
Now it was one of the places I had thought about, because it's one of the places you can walk and talk and meander through for hours without spending anything apart from a penny. Or 30p nowadays. But I didn't know if it would be her bag. And although it was "my" day, I'd always rather she was happy, because I enjoy myself much more when we are in synch.

So off to Camden we go!

Now, Camden Lock is denigrated by the uber-cool and trendy. It's a tacky tourist trap, everyone there looks the same and yet are pretending to be themselves and unique, it's over-priced and a rip-off. I don't give a stuff what the cool crowd think, I like seeing things I don't see at home. I like the food stalls and the jewellery and the tiny tiny beautiful clothes that only fit the hoardes of Asian princesses that descend on it every Sunday.

We had a great time, and we only really went round half of it.
Given the right budget even I, who am grossly over-sized for the clothes - could have spent hundreds. But it wasn't about buying. It was about looking and talking and showing and laughing. Job done.

1. Camden from just outside the station.

2. And there are still some traditional boozers alongside all the trendy places.