Pret At Camden
I actually didn't go to Camden on purpose. I was in Islington, but had about three hours to burn and was within 20 minutes by foot from Camden Market and the weather was nice. It was a no-brainer, especially since I hadn't been to Camden in over a year and a half since this photography trip with a friend of mine.
Camden was a place I visited almost every Saturday. It was were my YouTube community met up weekly. After the meeting some of us would head to a pub, while others to a cafe, if we didn't go straight home. The cafe of choice was Pret. There was one conveniently located across the road from where we held the meeting. It's a very large one with a lot of sitting pace on two levels, so it could contain all of us without us holding up sitting space for other customers.
Being very loud and crowded, it was always somehow quiet upstairs. I don't know how it works - it's as though the sound knows not to come up the stairs. The windows, which are quite large and vintage, also don't look like they're double glazed, so the noise should come through them. Perhaps it's phycological.
There are always people working on their computers upstairs while down stairs is usually full of people sitting there chatting, or taking advantage of the seats without actually buying anything from the store, or worse still, consuming food and drinks from other shops.
I picked Pret for nostalgic reasons. The Camden area is awash with hundreds of coffee shop options, including mobile kiosks, that serve exceptional coffee. The coffee in Pret isn't what you'd call "amazing" or "exceptional" in any way or form. It's on par with the generic stuff you get in MacCafe (MacDonalds) and high streets restaurants and bars that serve coffee. They have an espresso machine, and they feed it with whatever beans, ground or not, that they've been given. There's nothing much to it.
I went for the classic black Americano or "Black Amo" as it's known in Pret, which always makes me laugh, and it was prepared in seconds. Pret has to have the fastest Americano preparation I've ever experienced. I guess they live up to their name "Pret" which means "Ready" in French 😂
I said earlier that I picked this spot for nostalgic reasons. I sat roughly where we would normally sit, next to the wall with the big windows so we could still see the world go by outside. It was the most empty I'd ever seen the place. I felt a slight hint of melancholy and wondered how all those people I used to meet up with are doing and how the pando has affected their lives. I follow some of them on social media, but many of them don't post anymore.
I decided to take a quick walk around the market, including the central bit with all the food kiosks after my coffee. It was quite cold so I didn't linger on too long before heading back to Islington on foot. I managed to lose the lens cap of my camera. I think I left it on the sofa at Pret. Just when I was about to upgrade my camera, which involves selling this one, this happens 🙄
Camden too has changed since I was last here. Not as much as Stratford or Hackney Wick, but it has changed. The building right opposite where we used to meet up as been completely demolished and replaced with those metallic shipping container type boxes. That's becoming a trend in London I see. Those things are usually temporary installations, but they're persisting in many areas of London these days.
When I'm back in London, I'll take a walk on Oxford Street. I can only imagine the changes that have occurred on that iconic street, and what exciting coffee shops await.☕️
Peace & Love,
Adé