A convinced L to stay a bit longer in bed in the morning (even though she was initially unwilling). They then headed to Borough market, they grabbed some Boris Bikes and on the way found themselves outside Catalyst, where L spotted the owner, Alex, inside. They both stopped and L chatted with Alex about how he’s dealing with lockdown, when they plan to open (September) and what has happed to the staff (taking a break and travelling, mainly to Greece). They the two of them hit borough and L was immediately super happy. It was lively but not crowded and better than any other time they’d been to Borough market. They queued for Monmouth coffee and spent ages at the front of the queue choosing beans (Ethiopian and Guettemalan).
They walked around the full market trying to decide what they wanted to eat. The coffee was amazing and L was super upset they didn’t buy some of the Espresso blend for themselves (even small). L hung out at 26 grains, and they super nice, finding her spelt soda bread from the back and letting her try the rhubarb compot. Alex found a pork and focaccia place, initially stopped but L convinced that given it was good quality pork, he should eat it. L recognised someone who was selling Granola and it was Chloe who she’d met while helping Pri at the speciality food festival – so they bought some granola and also a ginger shot, which L downed. L got a salmon burger but the lady was super rude. It worked out in the end because she accidentally gave them an extra pork burger which Alex ate (and they felt it was karma). They also ate two oysters with a mini tabasco and they were yummy. It was the first time they’d seen people sitting outside and eating (until now its been takeaway only).
While sitting, L also recognised her Pilates teacher from GS. They also went to Flor to pick up one brown butter cake which L had read about on a food blog. They also got some cheese from a little man who let them try the cheeses and the cows are in Sevenoaks and the dairy factory is in Streatham. They got 2 slabs – one for home and one for L’s dad. were really happy and chilled and A wondered why he doesnt go to Borough Market that much given he lives so close. They cycled home and on arrival, L started writing the blogs whilst A sorted himself out to leave to go to Victoria Park. He cycled there are met all his home friends.
It was a long 40 minute cycle but he now knows the route without having to look. It was super nice, but quite busy. He picked up some beers on the way and it was Sam, Ali, Umar, Rasmus and Jamie there when he arrived, later joined by Anna one of Cara’s friends. They sat and chatted in a circle, about everything from ‘Don’t tell the Bride’ to what everyone’s been up to (gaming or gardening). They had some Buckfast which Jamie sourced from an off-licence and had a super nice time, before heading home around 8ish . Meanwhile, as soon as A left, L put her gloves on and did what she had wanted to do for the entire week – clean the shower, sinks and toilets. She listened to music and got scrubbing and felt so much better once it was done. She then walked around Coal Drops Yard and picked up some things for her family from Lina Stores and checked out some of the shops that had just opened. She was impressed by the social distancing measures in place in the shops, and that all the shops had hand sanitizer on entry and exit. She took the Thameslink 17mins to Mill Hill where her mum picked her up, the train was empty and also very safe. At home she went for a walk with the family in the woods and Ruchi came over, who she hadn’t seen since December (pre NY). They sat in the garden and chatted about boyfriends, working from home, saving money for a house and transgender people. L decided she does not know enough about it and wants to get educated. She then had dinner with her family – Iman made nice salad, prawns and olive bread and Liyana made cupcakes. They also had the cheese from Borough market which the family loved. Her dad dropped her home and they chatted about what the Ismaili council can do about Black Lives Matter.
On arrival home, L smelled something great and ran upstairs to eat Alex’s huge dinner of spaghetti, mushrooms and broccoli even though she wasn’t hungry. They were both really tired and Alex’s voice was unrecognisably low but they chatted quite a lot and then realised they were social’ed out so L went upstairs to read A’s Burmese cookbook and learnt a bit about the country’s history and geography. Meanwhile, A watched MOTD and then came up. It was quite late but L was still really awake because her brain was active so they chatted a bit and A told her a story which she was actually awake for (for once), about De-tastive Leila. Then, quite late by this point, they fell asleep quickly to L’s surprise.
Coffee, Wine and Isolation 