M. Ismail is one of NewsFlashMedia’s team members. Since late October 2011 she has been living in London and France before making her way home again in mid May. In this post she tells of an afternoon spent on the High Street of Muswell Hill, a suburb of North London.
THERE was quite a bit of sun yesterday and the temperature was 15°C. It is still chilly for the average Asian who has not adapted to cold weather but a good enough reason for me to leave the winter coat behind when I step out of the house.
Yesterday’s little ‘adventure’ was to walk the High Streets of Muswell Hill, a 25-minute bus ride from where I live. If I was looking for the more up-market fashion label outlets here I would be disappointed because there was none. But I wasn’t. I enjoy going to the smaller towns because they have a different feel and energy altogether.
I came across several fashion outlets that have quite an interesting selection of affordable items. But there are also the more pricey pieces that wouldn’t hurt sitting in my wardrobe. And with most High Streets in England, charity shops like Cancer Research and Oxfam are easily found. If you are not paranoid about wearing second-hand items you might find some great buys from these outlets. I saw two beautiful leather jackets in mint condition today at these outlets. I didn’t get them but I hope they will bring in good money for the charitable organizations that are doing so much for a good cause.
They say the best bargains in clothes can be found on the High Streets of England. For me it isn’t so much the clothes but arty home décor stuffs life framed pictures, greeting cards, wall hangers and uniquely designed teapots and rugs that I love browsing through. And I found plenty of these in Muswell Hill, some of which I have not even seen in the big stores on Oxford Street.
One of the things I love doing when I go shopping is to go into stationary stores, art shops and antique dealers. There are so many interesting finds from these stores, some of which you can’t find back home or if you can are much cheaper despite the exchange rates. You just need to know how to nose for a good buy.
All in all I spent about four hours in Muswell Hill. I think it’s a great place to spend a sunny afternoon in as there are a few interesting cafes and bakeries you can just chill at. I did shoot a few photos using an instamatic but I might return to do a proper shoot on another sunny day. It would be fun just to hang out at some cafés and watch the locals go about their business. And I will surely stop by Crocodile Antiques again, a gift store that sells some of the best collection of greeting cards, wrappers, notebooks and crazy gift items. According to one of the staffs (not sure if she is the owner) the store has been there for 22 years, meaning it opened in 1990. I love crafting so this store has a lot of things I’d like to take home. And before I forget, just at the side of Crocodile Antiques is a lovely café tucked in between the two buildings. The outdoor seating area is so charming and English-country like. I wouldn’t mind spending a bit of time here as well.
It was almost tea time by the time I was making my way home so I stopped by Starbucks for my daily dose of coffee. My question is how come the coffee at Starbucks back home doesn’t taste as good as the ones here? My Flat White was simply refreshing and I have to admit that I sneaked my Lamb Kebab in so I can enjoy it with the coffee. I didn’t get kicked out although I know the CCTV was just above my head. Yikes! 
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