Poor Man About Town

Transport for London fucked around with the buses yesterday. They were few and far between. So I walked it up to the West End, I went via Covent Garden; that was a bloody mistake! It was mobbed. Hundreds of people going for a sunday walk and looking in the various tut shops - whether they buy anything is debateable. I walked up the street with the painted human statues - they still manage to attract crowds, but they don't do anything apart from looking extremely silly. I guess one has to work extremely hard to feel entertained or amused by these street entertainers. I went through Long Acre - it was a nightmare, past tut shop after tut shop, I suppose they are great places into which to mooch around, but anything that is sold in these shops immediately turns into clutter once got home. Their future is uncertain, they may turn into future Christmas presents, find their way into the room where all the useless now (but may come in handy at some point in the future) objects are stored or end up in a car boot sale. We used to rag and bone men who'd relieve of such trash, but not any more. Then we have Tumi, a shop selling what I could only describe as modern Japonoiserie - the range is from plastic beakers to handbags - basically crap. Yet people buy from this shop, I guess some people consider it a little chic to carry around one of their bags.

I returned via the South Bank - they have ruined the area around the Royal Festival Hall - built a parade of shops at the basement level in front of the hall and have done likewise to the west side on the opposing side. These shops, in the main, sell, you've guessed it - Tut! It is as if Central London is turning into one vast novelty retail park.