Sunday, July 13, 2008

Tiny lines, salvage and very big meringue.

Today we took a walk out of Time Out London Walks, Volume 2.

1. When I first wake, there are tiny hyphens of light on the ceiling where the sun has come through the blind.

2. At John Soane's Museum we pick our way through the architect's townhouse. Every room has wonders in every corner, and the place is a cross between a museum and a salvage yard. Classical marbles -- complete statues stand and shards of decoration -- are displayed so closely that
it is almost impossible to move without touching them. I can look unobstructed at the intricate vines and curlicues carved on a freize.

3. In the depths of the house lies a limestone sarcophagus decorated in and out with heiroglyphics.

4. Spotting a vast cake in a shop windown, we cross Theobald's Road to take a closer look. Bea's of Bloomsbury also has plates of meringues, some chocolate-swirled and some splashed with bright crimson raspberry juice. As the shop assistant packs one for us, she says: 'We had a little girl in here yesterday, and I think it was bigger than her head. Her eyes went so wide when she saw it.'

5. We sit in a park before a bed full of wild pink geraniums. A small wiry dog passes carrying a red ball and grinning to itself.

6. Where two roads meet outside King's Cross Station, the wedge-shaped building is topped with a lighthouse.

Book treasure, worn and speaker.

1. Finding treasure in the Oxfam bookshop. I only popped in to look for a card. 2. Bettany doesn't wear makeup out and about, but noneth...