Brick Lane

I tried cycling to Brick Lane with Fred today, but Fred's tyre suffered a puncture. Luckily this occurred outside a cafe in Dulwich so we stopped for a cuppa and caught the train back home.

Second-time lucky, we reached Brick Lane via train and foot. I noticed this heron on the side of a wall - it's very striking. Here's a video about its creation. Brick Lane has pockets of graffiti/street art (whichever you prefer to call it). Some of it looks rubbish to my eye, but some, like this heron, I really admire.

My reason to go to Brick Lane today was the Renegade craft fair at Truman's Brewery. I had a great time browsing through lots of trinkets and treasures. It was a case of one present bought for a friend and one for me. However, I don't feel guilty about it in the slightest considering all the folks there are small businesses and some had come all the way from the US. (That's my excuse, anyway.)

Tearing myself away from the wonderful crafty items, we walked to the Barbican to see if there were any tickets left for the Urban Bike Shorts at the Bicycle Film Festival. We were lucky! There were 14 short films in all. I particularly liked the Wolfpack Marathon Crash Race, where cyclists gather to race on the LA Marathon course at 4am on the day of the marathon. It's the only time when cars are off the road and cyclists can claim the LA streets. What fun! I'm not one for gawping at BMX antics, but The Pool contains some fantastic acrobatic antics.