My chief recommendation to any visitor to my fair and feckless city (or resident for that matter) is to visit that tiny stretch of street in East London that blooms into one of the world's great flower markets every Sunday. Columbia Road is literally one of my favourite places to be - not only in the capital, but the entire planet. As a child, we used to make a pilgrimage there every December to purchase our Christmas tree. It wasn't quite the tourist attraction then that it is these days, but I don't love it any the less for its increasing popularity.
My most recent sojourn to E2 coincided with one of the most beautiful days of the year so far (as well as the London Marathon). Enthused with the joys of a warm spring, me and half of the city decided to head to Columbia Road and get some greenery on. It was gloriously sunny and the crowd was heaving. Yet everyone was in good spirits and the flora and fauna was resplendent!
Although there has been a degree of Disneyfication, there is still a pleasingly eccentric feel to the entire enterprise. This may be due to the Dickensian cobbled-streets and Victorian street lamps. Or the old-school bagel bakeries that manage to cling on despite the influx of ‘quaint’ boutiques (read hideously expensive and painfully aspirational...).The market stalls themselves are passed down through families for generations and the waiting list for a plot is pretty much eternity. The Traders certainly contribute greatly to the atmosphere – hawking their wares in an almost indecipherable series of shouts and bellows. But they seriously know their blooms, so are more than happy to impart some sage words of gardening advice (if you can cut through the accent). There are bargains to be had, but you need to hold your nerve and wait it out until the bitter end when the stalls are broken down. I personally prefer to go early doors – it may not be as cheap, but that’s when everything is at its plentiful best.
Plus there are the visitors, who certainly add their own colour to the occasion. And yes, that is a man with a parrot on his shoulder...
Probably my favourite spot of the day was the individual below. It deliciously sums up that quintessential East London eccentricity to a tee. He (I’m going to name him Marcos in honour of the shop he sat above) was perching comfortably on a window ledge. Embroidering. In an enormous and elaborate fox mask. No explanation supplied, but I guess that’s half the fun.
Boat drinks Columbia Road!
