Bloomsbury bookshops & last-minute theatre in London

I might have a problem.

I was going a little stir crazy at home, so I decided to go on a(nother) spontaneous trip to London. I booked a lovely apartment near Russell Square for two nights and tickets to see The Duchess of Malfi at the Trafalgar Theatre on Tuesday night.

I took my film camera and two rolls of Kodak Gold with me because I wanted to take lots of autumnal/wintry snaps around the Bloomsbury area. I'd never stayed in that area or even visited it before and I loved it. The architecture is beautiful and the bookshops, oh, the bookshops...

I arrived on Monday at 11am and walked from King's Cross to my apartment to drop my luggage off. After that, I headed to Covent Garden for lunch at Honest Burgers (standard) then to their Monday antiques market. I picked up three printing blocks - two K's from The Old Printing Shop in the Apple Market and a vase of flowers from another stall (the name escapes me) in the Jubilee Market.

I bought a large wooden letter from The Old Printing Shop last year which sits on my bookshelf as decoration, but these ones I'm planning on using in my junk journal.

I do appreciate how much Covent Garden really pushes the boat out at Christmas.

I wandered around the Covent Garden/Leicester Square/Trafalgar Square areas just soaking up the atmosphere and taking pictures. 

An underrated sight around Trafalgar Square is the East Window of St Martin-in-the-Fields. It was designed by Shirazeh Houshiary in collaboration with architect Pip Horne and installed in 2008.

Photo from Modus Operandi.

Modus Operandi, the developers and curators of the St Martin-in-the-Fields Art Programme, write on their website:

The glass, held within a stainless steel framework, is made of mouth-blown clear glass panels etched on both sides with a subtle, feathery pattern, a recognisable hallmark of Houshiary’s paintings. The glass panels graduate from a periphery of more transparent glass to a denser, whiter centre. The central ellipse itself is lightly etched, and lit in such a way as to form a focal point of light visible internally and externally.

I stumbled upon the window by accident while aimlessly wandering around. I remember reading about it years ago online so I'm happy to have finally seen it in person. It's very neat. I did photograph it with my film camera, but I've yet to have the film developed.

By around 4pm I was getting a bit fed up with the constant drizzle so I jumped in a taxi and headed back to my apartment. I picked up some sushi from around the corner for dinner, got into my pyjamas, and watched Rivals in a nice big bed. Truly living the dream.

❦

Tuesday was my longest day, so I got up early to make the most of the daylight. At around 9:30am I set off towards Waterstones on Gower Street. It's Europe's largest new and second-hand bookshop with a record shop and art shop in the basement. It is basically my dream store. Everything I love in one building!

I picked up two playscripts, Don Juan in Soho and Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of), a very vintage Penguin copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover, and two Derwent graphite pencils from the art shop.

I spent a good hour here just browsing the playscripts and the Shakespeare section.

After Waterstones I wandered south towards Bury Place which is home to the London Review Bookshop and Present & Correct.

From the London Review Bookshop, I picked up a book that's been on my wish list for over a year now - At the Pond, a collection of essays from writers sharing their stories of swimming in the Kenwood Ladies' Bathing Pond in Hampstead Heath. From Present & Correct, I picked up an assortment of ephemera and a few more pencils because I clearly don't have enough.

I had lunch at My Old Dutch on High Holborn then went back to my apartment for a shower and a nap. I wanted to get in a quick snooze before leaving again and heading to the theatre.

I don't tend to go out into London at night so I found it weird getting dressed and leaving the apartment at 6pm when it was pitch-black. It felt a little bit exhilarating.

I jumped on the tube to Leicester Square and killed some time around the Trafalgar Square Christmas market again. I bought two very cute sparkly rings because reasons. I then decided to walk the length of Whitehall and go see Big Ben.

It was extremely crowded in this area, so I didn't hang about for long. Although Big Ben does look rather pretty at night.

I walked back up Whitehall and towards the Trafalgar Theatre.

Not a bad view for last minute tickets! Only cost me £25, too. I was chuffed.

I give The Duchess (of Malfi) a solid 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Very funny, the whole cast was brilliant. I especially liked Paul Ready as The Cardinal. Joel Fry was absent as Antonio that night, so his understudy Kerill Kelly performed instead and I think he did wonderfully. I went in knowing nothing about this story, but now I am so intrigued to read the original text.

I walked back to Leicester Square tube station and headed home. I love how busy London is at night, it made me feel safe while being alone. Big crowds and bustling city centres are brilliant at mitigating that solo traveller anxiety.

❦

My train home was at 3:48pm, so I had a solid 5 hours of free time to kill. I wanted to go to the London Graphic Centre near Covent Garden so I found myself there again. Luckily, the weather was a lot brighter.

Makes a change from the dull grey.

I spent a long while in the London Graphic Centre. There was so much to take in. I left with even more graphite pencils, a Kleid memo notebook, a Möbius and Ruppert beechwood sharpener, a dust-free Faber-Castell eraser, and a Rhodia pencil case. I wanted a nice small pencil case to take with me when I go life drawing, something with just enough space to hold my pencils, a sharpener, and an eraser, and the Rhodia one is perfect. I got it in classic Rhodia orange.

I wandered west to Piccadilly Circus and thought I might as well visit Waterstones! Again!

So I picked up more books. I got Into the Woods (a guide on screenwriting I've wanted for a long time), two No Fear Shakespeare books (The Taming of the Shrew and Sonnets), This is Shakespeare, and Delta of Venus.

Someone has to ban me from stationery/art/book shops.

I had lunch at Prezzo, did some more wandering, then headed to King's Cross.

Also, why is King's Cross station so cold all the time? I was so cold my teeth were chattering waiting for my train (which was, of course, extremely delayed). I felt that cold in my bones a whole day later. But despite the plummeting temperatures (and snow!), I had a great time in my favourite city. I'll be back again in March.