London Shopping at Selfridges

A wet Wednesday in the West End of London. Now I am not one of those people for whom shopping is a pleasure or a leisure activity. However, there was a good heavy downpour of London rain that day and I had to shop simply because there was stuff I needed urgently. Under the circumstances I decided to head for Selfridges. They have never let me down yet when I have dashed in there for a last minute present for somebody, or even an impulsive luxury for myself. It is probably the one department store in London where even a reluctant shopper like me can enjoy the retail experience. And it wasn’t raining inside.

Selfridges was opened in 1909 by an American, Henry Gordon Selfridge, who brought amazing innovations to London shopping after having done the same in Chicago (but there he was working for somebody else). He said that Selfridges would sell anything “from an aeroplane to a cigar” and who knows, that may still be true. I only went in for some Turkish delight. There is a superb confectionary department just next to the food hall.

London’s weather permitting, the outside of the Selfridges is as delightful as the inside. Look out for the lovely Art Deco clock and statue affair on the front of the building over the main entrance.

Leather Lane Market

London, like any city throughout history anywhere in the world, was once full of busy bustling markets. While the bigger “trade” markets such as Covent Garden (fruits and vegetables) and Billingsgate (fish) have moved out of their traditional city locations, you can still find some traditional street traders in quieter back street markets. Perhaps London’s finest surviving example of such a market is to be found in Leather Lane. It is strangely comforting to find such a market in the heart of London. Markets like this are so immediate, so “in the moment” and yet they are also quite timeless.

Leather Lane market has a long history, stretching back 300 years or more. Here, intermingled with the diamond merchants of Hatton Garden, you can find London at it’s traditional and historic best; a throng of market stalls selling everything from fruit to mobile phones, clothing, shoes, hats and hardware. Here at one of London’s last surviving traditional markets it is the food above all else that really assaults your senses. A multi-cultural fusion of delicious smells; Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, tea shops, cafes, all day breakfast, wafts all day from the market stalls and the restaurants behind them. A walk on Leather Lane is bound to make your mouth water. For the more conservative diner there is also a Greggs bakery near the top of Leather Lane and a Pret a Manger at the bottom (Chancery Lane) end. So be sure to take your appetite to London's Leather Lane!
Go on a fine day though, because when it starts to rain it can be less fun and some of the traders very sensibly pack up and go home.

PS Last week I walked down Leather Lane and a youth in Subway uniform was handing out vouchers. Strangely these sandwich offers were over a year out of date. Let's hope the sandwiches are a bit fresher...