When you’re sitting opposite each other on the train it can be difficult to point out interesting fellow passengers. The man and I have developed our own sign language. One of the characters on this morning’s train was a dark chappie kitted out in sports gear reading some loose leaf documents and obviously practicing his karate moves. Left hand up and crossed over the right, then right hand sweeping in a circular motion with the left hand following. We were disappointed to see him get off because he was so entertaining. Not so the Asian women who sat down next to me and started reading her kindle. It does annoy me when people sniff, sniff, sniff. Thankfully she didn’t stay long.

So where did we go today then? Well I’d found the directions for several walks all based out of tube stations. So, down to our regular station to catch the train to Canada Water, which is the  way I go to work every day. Change there to the Jubilee line heading towards our old stamping ground of Willesden Green. No we aren’t going there, but several stops further on to Kingsbury. We went there to see some really quirky buildings and then to walk through Fryent Country park. On the way we couldn’t resist wandering through an area of allotments. Most were very well tended, soil turned and edges trimmed ready for planting, others marked out with neat rows. Some of them had modest sheds, others more elaborate structures.

The building certainly lived up to the descriptions. Some pretending to be castles, others topped with thick thatches, some with arched doorways and still others with arrow slit windows,

Some of these buildings were by a famous architect, even I had heard of, Earnest George Trobridge. Following our directions we walked down several residential streets, taking photographs as we went. I hope the people who lived there didn’t mind too much. 

We retraced our steps and took a public footpath between two pretty schools to get to Fryent Country Park. This is medieval meadowland still divided into fields as it was in earlier times. The park has meadows and native woodlands as well as ponds. It was very pretty.

We did see a little bit of wildlife. Squirrels of course, and lots of crows. Walking beside a huge tree we heard an odd noise like branches rubbing together, but there was no wind. And what do you know; we had spotted our very first woodpecker.  Further along we heard then saw robins and I am sure there were a couple of blue tits too.

Out of the park we looked for the nearest bus stop and hopped on the first one that came along.  Getting around here is so easy. We got off at the next big supermarket, not to shop but to use their restrooms, and then got on another bus heading towards Wembley Park tube station. From the top deck we looked down on the Saturday afternoon shoppers, and for  a while we felt that we could have been in an Asian country, ethnic stores displaying food and furnishings and beautiful sari’ and silks. There was even a temple.