Hand rolled ice cream: who knew?

This is a back blip.

I took the long distance coach to London to meet my sister Kate and her daughter Jezzie, who were paying a brief visit to our cousin in the capital. Kate used to live in London, as did I, but that was in the 1980s, when things were very different. Jezzie, who is 11, had never visited before.

We took the Docklands Light Railway to the Emirates Airline cable car across the Thames. Unfortunately the weather was drizzly, but the view from 'up on high' is still impressive. Once on the North Greenwich side, we wandered around inside the O2, but it seemed much like a giant empty mall. We crossed the river again by public transport to get to Island Gardens, so that we could experience Docklands on foot, walk through the the historic Greenwich foot tunnel (designed by Marc Brunel, Isambard's father) and pop up opposite the Cutty Sark!

Once there, we explored Maritime Greenwich and the Conservatory for a while, then moseyed down to Greenwich market for street food lunch and some shopping at the stalls. I bought a paperweight for Steve, and some cards. Kate bought two scarves. Jezzy bought a pendant watch, and left her vintage handbag on a vintage stall! Fortunately, it hadn't been sold by the time she went back for it. We took tea in a quaint cafe, realised we were too late for the painted ceiling tour in the maritime area, and caught the last boat back to Westminster. The weather on deck was blustery, but we stuck it out, with scarves over our heads, looking not much like Grace Kelly! Last time I did that trip, with CleanSteve in May 2017, we were sizzling in a heatwave.

Back on the tube, we got caught in a mammoth delay, before taking a stroll around Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, mainly for Jezzie's benefit. In Trafalgar Square, I was surprised to see people climbing up the plinth of Nelson's column, and even sitting on the lions. Jezzie happily joined them. I reminisced
about the non-stop picket of the South African Embassy, where I used to protest in the 1980s, and Kate remembered our brother Ben standing in the Square with pigeons perched on his head.

All too soon we realised we were out of time, and had to catch the bus to Victoria coach station, where I began my return journey, and K and J continued South to Battersea. What a Grand Day Out! Shame we never saw the painted ceiling of Greenwich, nor succeeded in finding Jamaican street food for Kate, but we've left something for next time.

PS this is a young man in Greenwich market making hand rolled ice cream on a 'cold plate'. It's like an ice cream maker plate without the churning. Pieces of ice cream are shaved off the plate as the liquid freezes, and rolled up into fat cigars. Jezzie had Oreo cookies and cream, while Kate and I shared Eton Mess (strawberries and meringue). Making the ice cream in front of an audience is pure street theatre, even though, as Kate says, it'll soon be commonplace.