Oh today has started in the most disappointing vein. I’ve just found out my wonderful holiday home manager is leaving the island and so after over a decade of trusted management I have to find somebody new. I am not very happy about this, however, I have to accept life goes on and will have to find somebody else 🙁
After that disappointment I then got to deal with a multitude of petty tenant things which I cannot even bear to repeat for fear of my fingers dropping off in boredom. Such is the life of a landlord – aka glorified customer service representative.
Anyway, as I am on a mission to “find more happy” I decided to make the most of the sun shining and me being contactable outside the confines of my desk, and headed off two hours early for my scheduled East End coffee and cake appointment with my auctioneer friend.
I haven’t been to Leytonstone for years and so I decided to take a look around the High Street. Truth be told, there’s not much to see or report. In all honesty, I thought it felt very quiet and not really very interesting. However, I was very impressed by the mosaic art in the tube…
Anyway, while scuffing up the tarmac, I remembered reading about this “emerging” and “upcoming” area called Francis Road (which is more Leyton than Leytonstone) and thought I’d head over there by foot (further than what I realised). I even went via this bridge which I wasn’t especially keen on.
Timeout says: “lately there’s been a bit of a buzz around the neighbourhood: a leafy, largely residential street lined with newly opened bars and eateries, which are turning ‘Leyton Village’ into something of a hip destination.”
Perhaps I went at the wrong time of day, or maybe I was on the wrong street, but I didn’t find this alleged “hip” destination with a “buzz.”
Forgive me for being unkind, but this sort of geographical huffed-up-hyperbole really gets my goat.
Anyway, having sacked off any sort of idea of finding a “buzzy village” I headed back into Leytonstone for my coffee and cake appointment. I don’t what possessed me, especially given I am meant to be a pro, but I even admitted to watching Homes Under The Hammer when I was ill last week.
Heavens. Somebody. Pass. Me. A. Bucket. (I have no pride, must try harder!)
Sitting on the tube on the way home, I felt a small twinge of guilt about the incredibly large slice of cake I’d consumed (especially given I haven’t been to the gym for ages), but then I remembered the health app on my phone.
I quickly open it to burn more calories (so I say to my brain). 11,982 steps. Fine. I think that deserves a healthy slice of cake.
But then my finger pauses as I hover over my day. I see my photos.
There’s Iceland. In Leytonstone.
I think me and Iceland may now have a “thing!”