Yesterday as I was on my way to a company party, I ran into BEA’S BEASTLIES in the Covent Garden Market. I really enjoy this market because of the fantastic crafts and homemade objects that are offered from time to time. Yesterday was a particularly productive visit, a real serendipity.
BEA’S BEASTLIES is an operation run by one lady BEA who makes and sells her children’s figures. They are enchanting. They are all beautifully made out of recycled sweaters and recycled buttons. I stood by the stall and watched people, particularly kindergarten children an older adults enjoying these wonderful dolls and animals.
I asked BEA if she had a card. So, here are her details and you can visit her in the COVENT GARDEN MARKET on SUNDAYS ONLY, or you can check out her website and email her.
info@beasbeastlies.co.uk www.beasbeastlies.co.uk Bea works very hard at this little enterprise because she loves it, but also because she is a single Mom putting her daughter through university. The daughter is Bea’s whole life, and the little animals are Bea’s way to help her daughter succeed.
I bought 200 pounds worth of dolls to take home for a fundraiser at a children’s museum in our community called TREEHOUSE where my wife serves on their governing board.
THESE WONDERFUL LITTLE DOLLARS–and larger ones as well–are wonderful gifts, fabulous Christmas ornaments, and wonderful decorative items in a child’s bedroom. I LOVE THEM. And they are only 10 pounds each–all handmade out of recycled materials–even the buttons.
Fabulous! LET’S SUPPORT BEA in her effort to have a successful business. I really liked this wonderful REAL person.
Nice.
Thomas Moore email: TMooreSr@me.com Telephone: 801.791.9918
I have written several posts about the new vitality in South London. The art galleries, restaurants, and clubs are thriving. Well, so is the church ALL SAINTS CHURCH, PECKHAM. The church started in 1867 when Peckham was a village on the edge of Camberwell and was a haven outside the intense bustle of Victorian London. Within a few years the church had grown from about 20 people to over 600 adults in the congregation, and there was even a children’s service for 800 children each Sunday afternoon.
ALL SAINTS HAS TWO SERVICES each Sunday, a morning service at 10:30 am and an evening service at 7pm. There is also a midweek service on Tuesdays at 11:00am. The services reflect the New Wine/SoulSurvivor style of worship. In 2005 the church released its first live worship CD YOUR FAVOR.
I realize that many of my readers stay on the north side of the Thames–probably because limited time allows visits only to the more famous church buildings like Westminster Abbey, Brompton Oratorio, and St. Paul’s. But for those who have a bit more time, start exploring South London. Great things are happening there. I have written about BOROUGH MARKET and the GLOBE, etc., but I think ALL SAINTS PECKHAM would be a wonderful experience. You would mingle with local Londoners and would be hearing accents which are so charming.
LONDON’S FISH MARKET IS ONE OF THIS CITY’S BEST FREE ACTIVITIES. The early-morning frenzy at BILLINGSGATE FISH MARKET near London’s Docklands provides fun and cheap entertainment–even if you don’t buy fish.
As visitors wade across the wet floor (it’s best to wear boots or waterproof shoes) busy porters push trolleys stacked with Styrofoam crates that are crammed with live eels, turbot, salmon, mackerel–virtually any fish in existence. ”Mind your back!” porters shout and if people don’t move quickly enough, porters might just push them out of the way. For while many people are here to sightsee, traders have a job to do and only about tree hours in which to do it.
ENJOY CLASSIC ENGLISH BREAKFAST RIGHT OFF THE MARKET FLOOR
The Billingsgate Seafood Training School offers cooking classes that include a tour with a seafood inspector and lots of tips on how to buy fresh fish and where to find the best deals. After the tour, students take their catch back to the kitchens above the trading floor and learn how to gut, clean, and fillet a whole fish followed by ways to stuff it, cook it, and present it.
Billingsgate is open to the public but the principal buyers are chefs, fish mongers and other food professionals who purchase large quantities of fish at wholesale prices. Even so, a surprising number of locals brave the early morning hours to purchase the freshest fish in town at the cheapest prices. There is no filleted fish for two here though. Domestic buyers must be prepared to buy large quantities and clean it themselves. Even though, fish is handed over in plastic bags, many regulars being large plastic gags or coolers to prevent leaks on the way home.
The original site was at lower Thames Street but in 1982 the market moved to its present site at Trafalgar Way near Canary Wharf in London, Docklands. Most fish arrives by road from ports around the UK, including Cornwall and Aberdeen. In recent years, there is a greater proportion of exotic and tropical fish in response to growing ethnic diversity in the area.
Wow! What an experience.
COLUMBIA FLOWER MARKET IS OPEN EVERY SUNDAY MORNING. The MARKET was established in 1869 as a covered food market by philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts for 400 stalls with flats above in a tall Gothic building. The market closed in 1886 because the traders preferred selling outdoors.
The MARKET is popular not only with plant and flower buyers but also with photographers and television companies who regularly film here.
Thanks,