Sunday Report

If you don't wanna hear about us going to church, skip the first paragraph (well, technically the second, I guess, since this is the first).

This morning we went into the city and went to a Baptist Church not far from Graeme's work. We chose to go in the morning because their website told us that the evening services were usually quieter, which didn't sound like it'd appeal to us. My best way to sum it up is that it reminded me of when we used to go with my grandparents to the church mum grew up in. A decent percentage of the congregation had white hair and it followed an obviously standard format - hymn, prayer, hymn, reading, sermon, hymn, type thing. The preaching was pretty good (and a woman) and the little bits they did for Christian Aid week were good too, but it was kinda boring. Not a lot of people in our age group, as far as we could tell and no modern music. We almost definitely won't go back - it wasn't worth the travel time - but it did help to convince us that we should "shop around for a church", as the guy we spoke to after the service put it.

After that, since we were already in the city, we finally went to Spitalfields market, which is something I've been wanting to do for about a year but never got around to. I'll probably end up going back on a weekday, because the place was packed and got a little claustrophobic before we managed to see everything. I'll also be aiming to search out some of the fabric shops I've heard about. It was good to get a feel for it and see some of the stuff that's only there on Sundays. We also wandered along some of Brick Lane, which was interesting, with all the people out flogging dodgy dvds and whatever junk they'd collected from their homes. We attempted to do some shopping on Oxford street, but didn't last long, again because of the crowds. So we made our way home.

See, the crazy thing about these English people is the dual lives they seem to live. For 6 months of the year, they all stay inside, coming out only to go to work or get food. But as soon as the "warm" weather hits, there are people EVERYWHERE - the shops are crazy, the parks are full, the tourist areas are packed and so is the public transport. Their willingness to wear shorts and a t-shirt when the high temp for the day is 17°C is amazing. If you're coming to visit, I highly recommend early Spring or late Autumn. Avoid May - October. That is all.