Marathon – Park – Balcony - Aahhhh....

Yesterday we took a little trip to Canary Wharf to watch the marathon, cheer on some (mental) friends who were taking part and support someone running for a friend’s social enterprise, the DoNation by wearing some fetching t-shirts.

There were some interesting outfits on show in amongst all the black leggings/ vest combos.

Cops and robbers seemed to be a popular theme.

As did outfits that, seriously, cannot have been comfortable to run in.  We saw rhinos, Mr Men and a BUS, but I was particularly taken by this Rubik’s cube ensemble.

And, erm….yep, all for a good cause….

We were stood at a prime spot, where the runners have to double-back on themselves but wound up watching the Mile 18 side most, as opposed to the Mile 15 side, and not entirely because of the added drama of the St John’s Ambulance stand.  Honest!

There was a great steel band keeping the mood positive and happy and this fabulous sculpture, I think it's called the Traffic Light Tree.  I last saw a picture of it on a noticeboard when I was temping at a government agency, tagged as 'TfL's answer to traffic congestion'...

It was such a lovely day we decided to head away from the crowds to the park, exhausted after all that watching to lie on the Common and relax in some dappled shade.  

I also had a crash course in the complexities of board slides, following on from last week’s lesson on kick-flips.  I’m still not sure I can tell the difference as they go too quickly, but I can identify the general area of ‘trickery’.  If none of the above is making sense you are clearly not involved, nor have you ever been involved, with a skateboarder.

We had a lovely dinner at the Fish Club on Clapham High Street, which is a very cool, relaxed and small little restaurant selling fresh fish in a number of ways.  I particularly like the potted crab…mmmm…  Then we watched Submarine.  If you haven’t seen it then you MUST.  It’s lovely, very British and awkward, but lovely.  The idea of a teenager seeing their entire existence as a series of film scenes rang some bells…

The last stop of the day was Sam's balcony (the subject of much painting, carrying and planting of plants, arrangement of astro turf and agonising over deck chairs vs hammock discussions) for a cup of tea as the sun set.  If the weather carries on like this for the rest of the year I figure this picture may be repeated most evenings.  It pretty much kicks my ‘Juliet’ balcony into touch.  Bah.