Two weeks in London: Day 5

Middlesex Street

Today was curtain day with Tania.  I went on the bus from the Barbican to their flat in Stoke Newington and we had coffee and remeasured for the floor to ceiling wall to wall curtains for the living room.  Nearly 3m high and over 7m wide.  Then some calculations on the amount of fabric needed, both of us scratching our heads over the mathematics and coming out with a different answer each time!   Finally we thought we had nailed it...except for the question of the pattern repeat!   Then off to Middlesex Street to look at the African fabric shops.  Tania and Simon wanted an African print to pick up the theme in the living room and reflect Tania's origins.    Lots to choose from!

A small selection!

We went from shop to shop, meeting some rather strange customer service practices!  These lengths of fabric, mainly 6m long, are neatly folded and taped together.  Opening out a piece of fabric was often much too much to ask and getting something from further down the pile ellicited deep sighs!   Still there were some jolly people too.  Tania took photos of the pieces she liked and sent them to Simon who dashed out from work in his lunch hour and came for a consultation.   In the end they decided on a green, red, brown combination which will pick up colours already in the room. 

The final choice

Interestingly most, but not all the front of house staff in the shops were African, but the owners were clearly Jewish.   Tania also commented on a shop for African hair products she knows which is run solely by Asians.   So it's the entrepreneurial people who cater for whatever the market is. 

By the time we had made the fabric purchase we were ready for lunch - grilled fish and lemon tea in what was probably a Turkish run cafe - sitting opposite a stall run by Chinese selling halal Chinese chicken wraps.   Again, know your customers.

Then it was back on the bus to Dalston to a curtain shop (run by an Asian family)  for curtain tape, track and fixings and on the bus again to Stoke Newington and into the haberdashers where we purchased cotton and curtain hooks from a Sikh family.  

Back at the flat for a restoring cup of tea and then a panic about whether we had enough fabric!  I'd forgotten that my calculations were based on the notion of a continuous piece of fabric, whereas we had actually bought lengths of 6m each!   Anyway, Peter came to the rescue with his superior mathematical abilities and Simon came home and we all had an excellent supper.  Though Simon clearly thought we were drinking too much wine!   It's a bit much when you own child clicks their tongue when you refill your glass!