Surrey Farms and Shoreditch

Phase 10 -- Phases of living in London - Experiences

Surrey Farms is a darling little city farm right in town.  City farms are evidently quite a thing in London.  What a great idea!  Residents there included donkeys, pigs, sheep, goats, cows, chickens, lambs, guinea pigs and a ferret.  Their pens are surrounded by gardens of herbs, vegetables and flowers, in view of skyscrapers just beyond them.  Jackson was delighted to see all and pet many of the animals – including poking a goat in the eye and putting a finger up a donkey’s nose.  Pretty funny (especially since they didn’t seem to mind.  Guess they knew he was just being a curious toddler with a good heart)!   Classes are offered at the farm during the week to learn skills like paper making, gardening, and herbal medicine use.  A blacksmith hammered away at creating a fire poker beckoning onlookers to join the blacksmith classes which are also offered.  (Mike's soon-to-be new hobby?!?).  Ashley, Jax and I noshed at their quaint little café that served up delicious fare such as Eggs Benedict, stuffed sausage rolls and fruit-topped waffles to name a few.  Gives the phrase "farm-to-table" a whole new spin!

Hipster Heaven hit home as Mike, Ashley and I wandered through neighborhoods replete with funky shops, restaurants, food trucks of delicious offerings, pop-up markets full of trendy art, clothes and miscellanea.  The vibe was palpable and fascinating.  One of the craziest things we saw was the “Cereal Killers” eatery with a line clear down the block.  It is, in fact, a cold cereal serving restaurant with 120 kinds of boxed cereal (American, British and Global brands), 30 kinds of milk and add-ins like chocolate chips, marshmallows and meringue.  They also feature Pop Tarts, toast and cereal cocktails.  Kinda crazy.  Can’t wait to try it!

A pop-up marketing event for Pepsi took over an unoccupied retail space for the weekend and it was quite something!  Let me see if I can remotely recreate the zaniness. . . Called “The Cherry  Rooms” it was akin to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in some ways.  Upon entry into a small room, a group of us were ushered through a hole in a brick wall (supposedly caused by their DIY hang-a-picture efforts resulting in discovery of a wonderland of stuff!) to a weirdly lit room festooned with clear umbrellas, ponchos and goggles.  We donned those and, with umbrellas in full bloom, walked through a rain shower into an area with a giant, chocolate-barked tree sporting clear balls full of marshmallows and cherries.  Treats for all.  A tree swing, Pepsi-scented misting tubes and musical accompaniment rounded out the room.  We tasted the cherry Pepsi from cups complete with liquid nitrogen blasted cherries.  It was a trip and a half!  Fun and funky for sure!  Again, the line was down the block and they said they’d been swarmed with guests all day.  Truly a Hipster Saturday in London!  Now where did I put my lens-less glasses? ;)