18 October 2007, Day 4

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Will edit the photos later. But for now, pics are all uploaded to flickr

“I’m your assigned stalker for the day!” exclaims the smiling, friendly, gorgeous red head, freckly face, lady. We had first bumped into her at Shipp’s Tearooms, just outside Borough Market where Allan had his first taste of clotted cream and scones, with farm made raspberry jam.

This second contact of the day with her was in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral just as we stepped out of Mark’s and Spencer’s Simply Food, prêt a manger/food supermarket. An offshoot of their business which is credited to saving the high street brand.

Sarah Vine it turned out, was a lawyer, who had a penchant for designing and creating cake art, much like we do. As we spoke with her in almost sheer bewilderment at the serendipity of the whole affair, we marveled at the sea change that has obviously swept Britain in the last 10 years.

People in Tubes and in the city were dour, stolid individuals who kept to themselves and did not make eye contact with any stranger.

Not anymore. Everyone we met has been brushed with the “relaxalatum” spell. It’s almost like Harry Potter waved a wand and people are now warm, friendly, with a new confidence in their step. It’s almost like the 80s and 90s were an era which allowed Brits to shed the shackles of their colonial past and really march into a globalised future. The faces that I see around are now more often than not, peppered with as many colours as the spice markets. Mediterannean, Eastern European, Gallic, Germanic, and of course, a plethora of the physiognomy of the ancient East; Chinese/Korean/Japanese and the South Asians, from the epicanthic fold of the Nepalese to the dark Aryans of South Asia, London is a stream of rainbow colours and a cacophony of various languages.

Highlights

Pilgrimage to Harrods.

Dinner at Mimosa with Prema & Viral.

Picked up the car; Seat Altea 2.0 TDI