one night in london.

one night in london.

"i've never gone clubbing with my sister before" i stated, almost in disbelief myself.

.... the day started off relatively normal, with us having lunch at wagamamas [a japanese-thai fusion eatery]; virginia, kris, my mother, aunty lilian and myself. lunch was lovely.

i'm skimming through the events that took place during the day as briefly as possible so as to avoid spending hours getting to the finale, the highlight of the day, or night, however you see fit.

after a stomach-stuffing lunch, we all made the excruciatingly hot journey down to portobello for some flea-market sightseeing. i was on the lookout for vintage dresses and jewellery/great buys, i wasn't amply rewarded for half part though. i saw things that were absolutely gorgeous, but the same can't be said for the prices they were up for.

i saw ancient-looking jewellery being sold by a boisterious lady calling out, everything for 5 pounds! and then we came across an up-and-coming label with the most delicate chiffon satin confections in every colour of the rainbow. light as air and smooth as... AHHH it made me yearn for more money. oh to be rich. sigh.

halfway through the market, aunty lilian and my mother surrended to the heat and settled down in one of the million cafes by the street. it was our temporary escape from the blistering heat outside. as i ordered a ice-blended berry tea and carefully climbed down the stairs to the basement of the cafe, i took solace in the airconditioning and shelter from the sun.

we continued our walk down portobello sans the two grown ups. through it all, i had on a printed dress, tights, virginia's black patent belt waist-high and flimsy gold thongs. in the midst of trying on shoes on sale (read: wedges for 5 pounds!), i stripped off my tights and tied them to my bag. SO HOT!

while looking at all the random things, we came across buckets of flowers on the ground and virgi commented that she would like to buy some for mummy. right next was a vegetable stall, and the old man there asked us where we were from. when we replied "singapore." he said that he was there as part of the british army back in 1950something, well before we were born. we talked for abit, and i marvelled at it all. i can't explain it, i think it has something to do with the fact that over here, you meet complete strangers some who readily let you in on little pieces of their lives, and suddenly you're not strangers anymore.

at the end of our conversation, he quickly offered to introduce his son to us, haha, and even said that he would be happy if his son could find such nice girls like us :) he seemed quite pleased.

another thoroughly interesting character we had the pleasure of chancing upon was a lady named maria. maria from spain. she had laid out her goods on some sheets; virgi and kris were trying to bargain with her regarding the prices of a lovely pearl and gold necklace and another one in the most brilliant shades of emerald. maria drove a hard bargain though, heh, neither got away with it any cheaper.

she was highly amusing too; teaching us the secret of attracting attention to your bosum by strategically placing your necklace there, confessing that she did so herself in her younger days. haha. as we were about to leave, she stated simply that i didn't have a necklace, and presented one made out of wooden beads to me, as a gift, she said. i was very touched. we promised to cross paths again, at brick lane. i do hope we meet again someday. as i looked at her, i thought: she was beautiful, age had simply amplified her inner spark, not stolen it away like so many others, i could tell that in her younger days she must've broken many hearts. amazing woman.

as we made our back home, we bumped into a friend of my sister's friend (confusing i know), ice. she was excitedly telling us that we had come at 'the right time', that 'yellow fever' was all the rage. if you know what i mean. hahaha. something to do with the boys of LSE starting it... etc. as if to prove her point, at that exact moment, we heard a whistle from across the street, directed at us. we turned around simultaneously, caught by surprise, and saw the bunch of guys waving and smiling. tsk. it was quite funny though.

to be continued...