Saturday May 3, 2025.
Today I was joined on my London trip by Erin, who wanted to visit Liberty London, to explore the entire shop.
So, we headed off by catching a taxi to Watford Underground station, where we boarded a train to Baker Street. I then gave Erin the choice of catching a Bakerloo line train to Oxford Circus, or we could walk there. Erin decided we should walk.
We crossed Marylebone Road and headed east to Park Crescent and onto Portland Place, Langham Place and then Regent Street. For a Saturday afternoon the pavements were quite empty, making our walk a little easier. At Oxford Circus we turned onto Argyll Street, where we stopped for lunch at Wok to Walk. Erin is fond of noodles.
Once we had eaten we continued along Argyll Street and entered Liberty London, with Erin heading straight for the makeup and perfume departments. Then it was down into the basement where more perfumes and scents could be found. Various testing strips were sprayed and then wafted beneath our noses, before we made our way up the stairs to the clothing departments.
Erin checked out some of the dresses and outfits, inspecting the designs and quality, obviously deciding which designs she could use in her own designs. Every floor was investigated. Books and stationery, housewares and linen, and everything in between. Then it was back to the ground floor and the small shop, where, even the sale items, had eye-watering prices.
We exited the shop onto Carnaby Street, where around thirty to forty mopeds, including Lambrettas and Vespas, were preparing to embark on a road trip. The Mods were all dressed in period clothing, from Parkas to Italian-cut suits, while the scooters were customised with foxtails and extra mirrors, with some supporting custom paint jobs. The noise was deafening, while the smell of petrol filled the small area. I decided it was best to move onto Great Marlborough Street, where the area was more spacious and would allow for a better vantage point. Sure enough all of the scooters made their way off Carnaby Street and, as soon as the traffic allowed, took off along the road.
A short video of the scooters and their departure.
We then continued our walk along Great Marlborough Street, spotting a 1948 Cadillac, before continuing onto Noel Road, where we turned south along Berwick Street, spotting a street market ahead of us. One stall, in particular, that caught Erin's eye was 'Crochets by Amy', where hand-made crocheted items were for sale. After scanning the various items Erin decided that she wanted a small pink whale, which I purchased for her. After looking at a few more stalls, chatting with the friendly vendors, we ended up going back to 'Crochets by Amy', where Erin purchased a crochet duck.
We then turned along Peter Street and onto Meard Street, up Dean Street, along Bateman Street and onto Frith Street, finally reaching Soho Square, where we sat in the dappled shade to have drink and rest. This small square was filled with people enjoying the afternoon sun. Children were running around, while others were playing table tennis. Young people were lying on the grass, while others were sitting on the countless benches. It is a wonderful little oasis, with a faux Tudor building at its centre.
Suitably rested we made our way out of Soho Square along Sutton Row to Soho Place and across Charing Cross Road to Outernet Place. A massive screen affixed to the building advertised 'Kleenex x Mr Doodle!', so we headed inside, where we were confronted by a large glass box, made to look like a tissue box, with half a dozen people inside of it, busily cleaning the glass. Intriguing. After listening to some of the other visitors and talking with one of the security personnel we discovered that Mr Doodle had teamed up with Kleenex to promote their products, for one day only. Today!
