Pip Green shopping

Green Shopping in London: Earth Natural Foods 


Earth Natural Foods, 200 Kentish Town Road, London, NW5 2AE

Open 8.30am – 7pm, Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays
Welcome to the very first in a series that I plan will take me all over London, finding places to shop zero and low waste, local, organic, environmentally friendly and also friendly in general. I’m starting on home turf in north London, but I plan to bravely venture into the centre, east, west and even…south of the river! Exciting times 🙂

My first venue is also the one I visit the most, and have a huge soft spot for. Earth is an amazing place for loose staples – dried herbs and spices, teas, nuts, seeds, rice, beans, lentils, couscous and even eggs. They also have a huuuuuge cheese selection, served up in greaseproof paper (or popped in your own tub if you ask nicely, I’ve found). If you’ve never tried the Godminster Cheddar, you may well be missing out on the most delicious cheddar in existence.

Loose fruit and veg is also a great buy here, with more reasonable prices than many other organic places I’ve found. Continue reading “Green Shopping in London: Earth Natural Foods “ →

Pip Swimming

Kenwood Ladies’ Pond: a love letter

I have been fortunate to swim in some wonderful places, but nowhere compares to the chilly, slightly muddy patch of water found on Hampstead Heath, known as Kenwood Ladies’ Pond. It’s the place where the inner drone of everyday worries and grumbles magically disappear and where you emerge shivering, full of happiness, back into a world that always seems a bit more wonderful than it did before.

Kenwood Ladies’ Pond is 89 years old, being opened to the public in 1926. Until then, women had only limited access to the other swimming ponds of the Heath, which were open to male swimmers only for most of the week.

A number of people ask “why do you need a pond for women only?”, and I suppose my answer would be that for many women, perhaps it isn’t considered strictly necessary. But it is a place where we dress and undress together, laugh, share ideas, debate, dance, celebrate the seasons, bring food to share, pin articles, swap books…and sometimes even swim! Continue reading “Kenwood Ladies’ Pond: a love letter” →

Pip Swimming

Why not have a swim in a building site?

Kingscross1

Yesterday, N and I went to try out ‘Of Soil and Water’, an art installation/swimming pond sitting in the middle of the giant mass of building work happening around King’s Cross station.

I must admit to being a little sceptical about how nice swimming in a building site could be, but it was surprisingly pretty! The edges up to the pool have been turned into little grassy slopes, ideal for lazing about and warming up, and watching people walk past look slightly surprised at the emergence of people in bathing suits. They’ve also planted up some wild flowers and decked it all out in a rather cute red and white striped theme. The striking difference between the pond area and the surrounding blocks of flats and piles of concrete means that the overall effect is less ‘pond made in a building site’ and more ‘pond unexpectedly teleported into a building site’.

But what about the swim itself? Continue reading “Why not have a swim in a building site?” →