I love going to Columbia Road flower market. It’s the closest London market to me after Petticoat Lane and I’ve now mastered the art of getting there without getting lost or the need for an A-Z. It was pretty cold and some hot marketeers were promoting a digital TV channel (I think) by handing out branded hand-warmers – two to each person. Each warmer was a kind of bendable plastic pod that fits into the palm of your hand and is activated by bending a piece of enclosed metal backwards and forwards a few times. It then glows with heat for a good 15 mins and can be recharged by putting into boiling water. It just hit the spot!
On the way there, I was struck by the repetition of posters on the wall and their message (STYLE STYLE STYLE FASHION FASHION FASHION) in the somewhat eclectic and “up and coming” area of Shoreditch.
I’m not a massive fan of graffiti, but this was in some of my favourite colours, so I photographed it, imagining a graffiti series of square images.

On a completely different topic, another wedding photographer on an on-line forum suggested listening to Pandora – a customisable radio station based around your tastes. I put in my favourite group to start it – Pink Martini – and it’s found all kinds of Latin and ambient music. You can fine tune it by approving or disapproving songs it plays. Some of the tracks have seemed like real duds, but Robert Downey Jr singing Smile and Cyndia Lauper with Stay are fabulous finds. The station also does “quirky”. A band called Senor Coconut & His Orchestra have added their own particular Latin speed flair to Riders on the Storm and Beat It (yes, the Michael Jackson song). They probably could be filed under the category “very special”.