Christmas markets and frozen toes

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good market - flea market, antique market, food market, craft market - I love them all. Mostly because they encourage my unadulterated love of treasure hunting, or "looking for tat" as my lovely husband calls it.

The chance then to re-visit my old (and still favourite) neighbourhood on Wednesday night AND to pay a visit to the Columbia Rd Christmas markets while I was there was too good an opportunity to pass up...




I just love Columbia Rd - small, original shops selling all kinds of non-high street goods, in a convivial neighbourhood that's over-run with flower sellers when it's not over-run with ironic hipsters.

For several weeks leading up to Christmas, all the shops along Columbia Rd are open late each Wednesday and you can make your way along the road, have some mulled wine, buy a tree, watch a puppet show, look for presents - whatever takes your festive fancy.

I probably would have felt more festive if I hadn't been distracted by feeling so fucking frozen but that's what you get in December in London I suppose.

Lovely Boy ended up bunking off to the pub - treasure hunting has never been his thing, even when the temperature is above zero - so a pal and I had a girly wander and gossip before joining our other halves for dinner at Brawn.

As the name suggests, the emphasis here is on meat and while the food was rich and overwhelmingly delicious (and occasionally just plain overwhelming) it wasn't all boy food and the restaurant itself is totally charming. It was a really lovely night, despite the lack of treasure found.

Tonight we're off to Carols at St Martin-in-the-Fields, which I am VERY excited about. I'm trying not to focus on the stomach bug I've had since Thursday. The last time I went to carols here I was 19 and it was my second to last night in the UK at the end of my gap year. Kirsten and I made the trek up from Brighton for the concert and it was such a perfect way to end the year. I remain a sucker for those quintessentially British "Look at me I live in LONDON" moments.

This year our carol pilgrimage is marking the start of something - Lovely Boy's and my first UK Christmas together. Which will be totally official once we get our tree later today. Baubles and lights and sparkly things. Oh my!