Lewisham and Catford

Yesterday I took a long walk from Lewisham, in South London, through Catford and Dulwich. These are areas I don't get to much because they're so far from where I live, and I'm always concerned that I don't adequately represent South London in my photography. So with a full day free, and relatively good weather, I hopped on the tube!

(Doesn't it seem like a place called Coffee Addict should always be open? How's a person supposed to get their fix?)

No one warned me that in Catford I would find a monstrous cat.

I also didn't expect to find "Ferfect" fried chicken. (My guess -- they had to change the name for legal reasons and they had a spare "F" lying around...?)

In fact I found lots of amazing old shopfronts, both functioning and not. I was very happy with most of my photos. A good haul!

I stopped for lunch (a vegetarian English breakfast, actually) at a cafe in Perry Vale, east of Catford. I perplexed the waitress by ordering an Americano, like a spoiled yuppie. "We only have instant coffee," she said. That would be fine, I replied, and I ate at a sidewalk table, watching the after-church crowd as they made their way home.

I also stopped at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, where I had a nice view of the London skyline from the south. I thought the Horniman was an art museum, but it turns out it's more natural history and anthropology. I breezed through an exhibit of African art and photography, as well as a photo show focused on South London and a roomful of taxidermied critters. I didn't stay long, though, because my feet were sore and I wanted to head home.

I walked a bit farther but caught the bus before too long -- and that wound up being an odyssey. Not only was the bus incredibly slow to arrive, but then I got off twice to take photos in Camberwell. I don't even know how long it took me to get home. Certainly more than an hour.

Meanwhile, Dave took Olga to Fortune Green, so she got her outing as well. Today, back to work!