London, England

We decide to head up to Camden Markets today. The tube ride is a long one and when we get out of the station, I’m amazed by how many people are around.

We decide to meet up at 2.30 pm, so we can go our own ways.

The markets are shops either side of Camden High Street and then two lots of stalls – one behind the pub (which is massive) and a smaller bunch next to the canal. It took me an hour and a half just to walk up one side of the street, having stopped in heaps of record, book and clothing stalls. By the time we had all met up, it was decided that we all needed time looking around. It was here that I bumped into Helen and Sarah, who we met through Eurobus in La Rochelle. They did both the southern and northern circuits before coming back to London, where they are now working.

After a good chat with them I kept walking though the markets as it was decided we’d meet up again at Dingwall’s (the pub where Benno works) at four pm.

A chicken curry lunch kept me going while I wished I had more money for the million things I wanted. There were some great t-shirts, and CD and video bootlegs that I would’ve killed for. In the end I settled for a Melvins shirt and Nick Cave’s biography.

Before I knew it, it was four pm, so I went and met everyone at the pub, including Jane and Benno, who I haven’t seen in nearly a year. Benno has to work tonight, but he has organized for us to come back to his pub tonight to see a comedy show for free.

After a couple of drinks, a few people decided to head home. Cam and I go back with Jane to suss out her and Benno’s new place.

We were there for about an hour and met up with Creany before going back to Dingwalls at seven pm. Our names were on the door, so we saved £10, walked in and saw Benno hard at work.

The show was great. There were five acts and a compare, and all were hilarious. The show ended at around 10.30pm and while the others prepared for a night of clubbing, I headed back to the Castle with my free Guinness and glass that were given as we walked out the door.