Columbia Road Flower Market

On Sunday, there was a brief pause to the seemingly unremitting conveyor belt of low pressure systems that is summer 2012.  Grabbing the opportunity that a single day of half decent weather offered, I headed into London to visit a couple of the East End Sunday markets.  First stop was Columbia Road Flower Market.  In one tightly packed street, dozens of stalls offered a rainbow assortment of plants and cut flowers, in a variety of lots, all seemingly priced at £5.  'Twenty roses a fiver', '2 bunches of lilies a fiver', 'a tray of bedding plants'...well you get the drift.  Flanking these were an array of chichi little shops, selling all manner of things you might want but not actually need.  There is clearly money in some parts of the East End these days.

The market offered a lot of photo opportunities, particularly for candid people shots, which was clear from the number of other photographers there.  Despite the fact that area appears to be a honey-pot for 'togs, the traders seemed quite forgiving of photographs.  More so than they are at Borough market these days.  The trouble was that it was difficult to pick out an image without someone else getting in the way.  It took a certain amount of patience and perseverance and more than a  little luck.  After that it was a matter of 'spray and pray'.