There is a pub, in Chislehurst, Kent, which has no fewer than six Jam songs on its jukebox. But how do I know this, and how did half the bar end up singing along when I stuck 50p in the slot? Let's start at the beginning.
First event this morning was a mad dash to Warwick Avenue in "Little Venice" to get to the 12.30 cruise at Jason's Canal Boat Trip on Blomfield Road. Twice 45 minutes' serene cruising along Regent's Canal from Blomfield Road round to Camden Lock and back again in a 100-year-old narrow boat (NOT a barge!). The original plan was to get off at Camden Town and walk through the markets (at their peak on Sundays) to Camden Town tube and thence to Charing Cross down the Northern Line to carry on with the rest of the day, but the Lock end of the markets looked far too crowded to be bothered with once we got there, especially as the cruise so far had been so nice, and the ol' London Pass gave me the option of a return trip. And I'd seen Camden markets before. Hope that does me, though, because this was my last opportunity to see the markets in Sunday mode. The route took us past the Snowdon Aviary in the middle of London Zoo, down Regent's Canal and also through the Pool of Little Venice, where the annual event known as the Inland Waterways Association Canalway Cavalcade was in full swing for the May Day long weekend; legions of narrow boats from all over England had gathered and were parked in the Pool area. Tonight's 9.30 event at the Pool was a parade of illuminated boats, which I'm sorry I missed, but the rest of the day and the resulting exhaustion got in the way...At Camden Lock we picked up a theatre group who were performing at the IWA Cavalcade, and they were all in costume, so much spice and flavour was added to the return voyage. It is indeed a very serene and pleasant experience chugging down Regent's Canal in one of those boats, but also through an obscenely expensive part of London for houses, and purchasing a narrow boat to live in (which many do) would set you back between £20,000 and £100,000 depending on the age and condition of the boat. Then there are the mooring fees, if you can get a mooring. Saw some gorgeous houses along the canal, owned on leasehold from the Crown, mainly by Sultans and rock stars. Some of them were worth up to £20 million. Bizarre. Managed to get the whole cruise on video too, so that's one more thing I can bore people rigid with when I get home. Loved it, me.
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