Last week we had some beautiful summery weather, and luckily for me I had a week off work so that I could spend some time with writing and getting reacquainted with my city. On the sunniest day, I took a walk in Holland Park.

I had never been there before and I made the mistake of entering Holland Park through the tube station of the same name (it seemed logical at the time) and ended up walking through and getting lost in some empty woodland where I was thinking things like "this is how crime dramas get started". Seriously, I saw nobody for miles. But once I actually found the nicer part of the park, it was worth it. So now I will be sharing some photos with you all. I may not know what all parts of the park are, but I hope you enjoy the pictures all the same.


This section was a beautiful area with a fountain on one side and a mural across a wall on the other, which was just too big to take a photo of.

I came back later on to find people sunbathing nearby (who needs a beach anyway?)

Giant chess board. I watched as two families' kids decided to play chess and their parents helped them to set up the board only to have the whole thing demolished by a third child.









 

The Kyoto Garden where I just sat and got lost listening to the waterfall in the background. There is a sign that asks people to respect the area and use it for contemplation. Even if you planned to be a bit of a tourist and take photos, you find yourself just drawn to the benches and relaxing. And below is another photo from the garden.

















So there was my day out in the sun. I didn't even have the opportunity to look at the whole park, but that's one of the things I love about London - somewhere inside all the hustle and bustle we have areas like this.

After that I went to Oxford Street for a bit of shopping where I walked past someone who looked a lot like a member of the Royal family (What would the real one be doing shopping on Oxford Street?). Not one of the next few in line to the throne, but it was still quite weird.

An update on the eFestival of Words nomination: First, thank you for the support, and secondly, the finalists will be announced on the 1st July - not June like I had initially said.