Off to a good start by spotting, the first time for a long time, a bicycle fitted with the same model (and same colour) carriers from Karrimor that I have on my own bike, once a leading brand for such things, now, I am told, dropped down a bit in the league table. I forget whether this is because their quality has fallen off or because they have simply fallen victim to some movement of fashion in the fast moving world of cycling. Quality of my old bags good: I have had them for around 30 years and their only weakness is in the large size rubber bands which attach the bottoms of the bags to the hub, to stop them flapping around. Perhaps I forgot to get the frame which ought to have come with the bags and with which the rubber bands would not have been a problem. (It looks as if the owner of this bike might be having a frame problem too). And it remains a puzzle why so few younger cyclists use carriers and prefer small back packs: to my mind carriers are far superior, and thinking of carnage, far safer. Perhaps I ought to tell Boris.
Then over the river to take a walk along the bank towards Hampton Court. Interested to see, tied up abreast under the small block of flats which has been built next to the north eastern corner of the bridge, three identical houseboats, made out of steel barges and managing to look both ugly and expensive. Why would anyone want all the bother of living in such a thing? A lot of the bother without the fun of a proper boat which you might actually move around occasionally when you fall out with your neighbours. Or get fed up with the view. And what about the people in the ground floor flats, with their view out of the their windows blocked by blue and grey steel?
Along the path to admire the cold, mirror like quality of the expanse of still winter water. And to be reminded - it being a while since we took this walk - of the odd houses there, one of two of them very big indeed. Who lives in such places? And then there was rather an odd house, more a pavilion, which had been built to replace a burnt out pavilion, a pavilion which I imagine had been built a little before the First World War and which had been derelict for some time. Something else which managed to look both ugly and expensive, not helped by some rather dingy green netting stuff strapped to the long, path-side fence, presumably to stop prying eyes. Odd how some people who live in beautiful, reasonably secluded parts of the world get a thing on about privacy, a thing which one might think is out of all proportion to any likely intrusion. Odd, but, as I have noticed before, common enough in Surrey.
Back to the John Lewis canteen on the river, where we took our National Trust style lunch at a table overlooking the river. Not a bad place at all: I am not usually a fan of eating in shops but this was one of the better experiences. But startled on the way out by the amount of space given over to coffee makers and their prices, a lot of them being £1,299, which to me, a near non-drinker of coffee, is an extraordinary amount to pay for a machine to make coffee at home. Although, reflecting now, is it so unreasonable to pay about as much for one's coffee as I paid for my hifi; the amount of time and pleasure is perhaps not that out of line? Some people are keen on coffee.
We also came across an interesting gadget for making bread: a mixing ceramic/earthenware/? bowl with a fitted lid which doubles as a baking stone. Quite a neat gadget, but slightly too small for present cooking requirements, slightly too large for current storage facilities and rather dear at £35 a pop. I need two. Perhaps I can come up with some DIY alternative. Maybe some sheet steel from Sparrowhawks to serve both as lids to our existing stainless steel bowls and baking trays?
Then visited the various shops in Old London Road, which is showing signs of redevelopment, a pity as the rag-tag of shops there now is a pleasant change from the chain stores of the shopping centre proper. But after a tour of the antique market decided that when it came to it, I was not that keen on a florid replacement to the demure and decent cheese dish (from Poole Pottery) which got broken recently. Funny how one is attracted to something, maybe mull over it for a while, but when it actually comes to it, when the thing becomes possible, one backs right off, back to where one started out from.
And so back to Chessington World of Adventures to recover our car from the park and ride.
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