Columbia Road Market 14

As I came round the corner into Columbia Rd early this morning, my heart leapt to see the first Christmas trees of the season on sale in the market. I walked up and down, savouring the fragrance of pine in the empty market beneath a sky heavy with rain. Then one of the stallholders yelled “Here we go!” and the sleet came down heavily upon us. The half-dozen other hardy customers and I huddled with some of the traders under a huge green and white stripe umbrella, gaping at the torrent.

Once it eased off, I bought myself a stripy Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) for £3.50 and ran home to make porridge. Although I am uncertain about the aesthetics of these strangely artificial plants with their enormous single flowers, like gramophone horns on sticks, I always buy one each year because I am inspired by their phenomenal will to life. Below you can see the red monster I had last year.

For the rest of today, weather permitting, I shall be out on Brick Lane giving away free copies of the first Spitalfields Life print digest edition. If you want to pick one up, copies can be collected from Sandra at the Golden Heart on Commercial St, or Labour & Wait, Shelf and The Carpenters’ Arms on Cheshire St, or Ryantown on Columbia Rd, or The Book Art Bookshop  on Pitfield St.