Love Kilburn High Road. Vibrant, multi-ethnic, All colour and movement. Babies in push chairs; old people with canes; children in school uniforms, ties hanging loose at the end of the day. Street corner markets; shop goods spilling out onto the pavements; scent of coffee and Middle East cooking; sim sales and mobile unlocking; a man handing out appetizer size bits of deep fried shrimp; golden chickens turning on rotisseries.
We pick up seeded bread, yoghurt, peanut butter, wine. Then stop at Roses, unable to resist the last lamb kleftiko of the season. The owner, a Turkish Kurd who has known us for years, comes over to shake hands. Are we coming or going? Coming back this time. Business was very difficult during Covid, but this is the most serious we’ve seen him. Save your money, he says. Times may be bad.
Check online re the current verboten list for foods coming into Canada with snacks in a carry on in mind. Meat - no. Cheese - OK. Walnuts? Refer to AIRS, i.e. ‘Automated Import Reference System - Canadian Food Inspection Agency’. So dutifully google “AIRS” and “nuts”. And hit “Mexican TV outlet accidentally airs man’s testicles during solar eclipse coverage”. Well, fair enough, I guess.
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