Things

This blog is entitled 'on cartoons and things', and this entry is more to do with 'things' than cartoons, but there will be the occasional reference to the world of scribbling.

Yesterday was a trip to London, with the intention of visiting one of my favourite art shops for supplies. First off however was a detour to Portobello Market. I prefer to avoid the scrum near Notting Hill, so I arrive at Ladbroke Grove and wander along the market that is under the Westway flyover. Should you ever find yourself in this part of the market I'd advise heading north up Portobello Road, away from the crowds. Here you'll find the cheaper dealers, and you might come across something interesting amongst the single ice skating boot and the packets of chewing gum on sale.

You also get to see the Trellick Tower on Golborne Road- designed by Bond villain Erno Goldfinger.

It's not everyone's cup of architectural tea, but I like it.
Didn't buy anything in the end- I ummd and ahhd over some old Punch magazines from the 1950's, but decided that they'd just end up in a box somewhere, so decided against buying them.

I eventually had to head back to the crowds at the Notting Hill gate side of the market, as that's where all the good food stalls are. Here you can find delicious healthy foods from across the globe- I avoid this and have a spicy bavarian hotdog of indeterminate meat (delicious!).
Entertainment was provided by this removal company...

Just next to Notting Hill Gate tube is this 2nd hand book/magazine shop.

Full of old graphic novels and comics it's a great place for fans of this sort of stuff to browse. Here I have to make a confession that will no doubt have me expelled from the cartoonist fraternity: I don't get graphic novels, and comics are things I haven't looked at since the 1970's (Saturday morning- Space 1999 on telly- new copy of 'Cheeky' comic in hand).
I've had a look at them, but can't see the appeal. I expect I'll be told otherwise, but they always seem to consist of the following subjects- dystopian cityscapes inhabited by psychologically damaged people (in the rain); angst ridden teenagers with issues (in the rain); werewolves and vampires, with issues probably (in the rain); oh, and sci-fi, which for me is just soap opera in space (unlikely to have rain in space, but i'm sure it can be included somehow).
I'll get me coat...

So, eventually I navigate a route through the tube system and emerge into Tottenham Court Road. A couple of minutes stroll into Bloomsbury and I get to my final destination- Cornelissen and Son is an art supplies shop that seems to have escaped from Harry Potter. Inside it's all creaky floor boards, wooden cabinets and drawers, multicoloured jars of strange pigments. You'd expect to find magic wands for sale amongst the art materials. They let me take a few pics.

After all that, didn't buy anything.
Nice day out though