Camden fantasies

On arrival in Camden on Sunday, the street was bustling with activity. Evidently Sunday is the busiest day to visit... normally I am not a fan of crowds, but it added to the excitement and atmosphere on the day so I didn't mind. Also with so many other people around the stall holders were generally busy, so didn't bother me or push their wares on me. I prefer it that way.

There was a surge of people heading out the tube station and along the main street so I followed them - taking in all the amazing sensations around me. I saw, heard and smelled an extraordinary array of things. There were weird and wonderful people all over the place. Including some rather cringe-worthy Afrikaans in shocking accents.

Aside: I find myself becoming very critical of bad South African accents when I am away. I think I tend to over compensate as well because my well spoken Cambridge based colleague said I speak 'the Queen's English' and 'like I have a plum in my mouth' - doesn't sound like a compliment does it? But then I guess he hasn't heard how SOME Souf Efrikens speak, so I'll take it as a compliment!

However, I must point out that on the way to Camden there was a Jamaican sounding woman and a younger girl. The younger girl appeared to be speaking Hebrew or some other strange language, but I could understand the mother speaking an Island-accented English back to her. It was only after listening intently for quite a few minutes that I realised, OMG the younger girl was speaking in a totally unintelligible version of English. wtf?! Anyway I digress..
Jostling my way up the street I stopped to browse in small shops, side alleys and markets. The whole place is like a fractal, with alleys inside alleys inside alleays inside alleys - I don't think there really is a beginning or an end to it.

I was in awe of most of what I saw and was really having style-schizophrenia. I was drawn to one particular style but rather loved the boho, modern, rave-bunny, Gothic, S&M, fetish, Thai and island style wear - pretty much everything I saw *blushe*

Unfortunately shopping wasn't really much of an option for me, considering our very bad exchange rate (around R11 to a single British pound after converting), but I literally feasted my eyes on stuff. I probably looked quite a sight too, looking all normal and probably quite conservative and staring at corsets and stiletto-heeled ankle boots, and with my imagination running wild.

I also had quite a strong urge to do something weird and wonderful with my hair, many people had extensions or dyed highlights in bright colours, and some more extreme with not only the bright colours but odd punky hairstyles too. For me time and money limited that option.

Some really nice photos of the Camden stables market can be found here.
I went into one strange shop after hearing people chuckling outside saying 'That's place is REALLY dodgy', so I was all like yeah I got to go in there!

So in I go. The place is literally FULL of black t-shirts, from floor to ceiling, they are hanging everywhere and many have fallen and lie where they fell. There are also flags, pants, PVC clothing and other oddities. I paused to look at the latter when this weird short-round-eastern-European man with the strangest accent grumpily ordered me to continue through the one-way channel down the centre of the dingy store. Not wanting to speak I obliged, and then realised I was just getting trapped at the back in a mass of black t-shirts, and other strange foreign people. If it wasn't so funny it would have been scary. I waited for a gap in the queue and tried to make my way back to the middle section where the odd things were. I got there as another flood of people were ushered through by the grumpy brusque man. I stepped aside as well as I could and tried to manoeuvre my body into a small gap in the t-shirt pile chaos, to allow grumpy bastards customers to pass. What does the shit do? He yelled at me to move! That was it, I was officially affronted and not-impressed so I marched out. I heard him call me back, but couldn't be bothered so went on my way... thinking assholic-weirdo.

I moved on and took in the clothing market in the Electric Ballroom, the punks who hang out around the bridge, and various other stalls and markets. I spent quite some time looking at rings, as I have been wanting one for my right hand for some time and just haven't found anything I like. There wasn't anything that really spoke to me though so I gave up.

After a while I moved on to the food markets. Wow the selection of foods on offer lwas astounding. I walked for probably half an hour looking at everything and smelling the delicious smells on the air. I eventually chose a Thai chicken and rice dish, mostly because the serving lady was very friendly and held out a sample of the chicken to me, and also because she acted so thrilled to hear me say 'Korb khun ka' (Thank-you). hehe. I have strange selection criteria sometimes - read on.
After my lunch and looking at all the horrendously priced Thai and Bali artefacts - which could be bought by going on holiday to Thailand and fetching them yourself for around the same price - crazy prices really, it was almost time to go.

I ambled back down the road. I tired to take a photo of some of the punks but one came galloping over. I had visions of being beaten to a pulp, but the dude basically said I was welcome to take a photo, they even pose with me, but I'd need to pay them for the privilege. I declined and walked away - I got a surreptitious shot anyway ;)

As I neared the tube station I passed the weirdo's shop again. I was compelled to go in again so I did. I ducked past the weirdo to the back, and I could hear him arguing with a girl at the front. I soon realised it was an employee and she was cursing and yelling at him for kicking her bag and he was degrading her and saying various vile things about her. I was thinking to myself what a terrible miscreant he was, when a young girl arrived and wanted to exchange a pair of pants with him. He started insulting her, and she was smiling through it all. After observing for a while I realised that that's just the way it works there. he puts on an act of being obnoxious and grumpy and basically insults and degraded everyone and they smile at him and like it.

After a while he saw me and said, 'Ah YOU. Why you run away earlier?' I told him because he was rude and chased me away. He said, ' I not rude, you rude. You were standing in my office!' - the hole in the debris is his 'office'!?

We bantered a bit and then I said I had been trying to look at his odd garments.
He asked me if I wanted to try one on and was being all creepy and suggestive. I told him I would actually, but not with a creepy guy like him as an audience thanks.

All the while he was prodding people with a stick and telling them he would cane them because they 'know they like it' etc. He was actually hilarious in the end and I found the more badly I treated him the more lewd and animated he became.

In the end I did try something on and even bought it, after haggling a 30% price reduction. What did I buy? Wouldn't you love to know!? ;)

Camden was quite an experience and rather fun. Go there.