Lyn and I may have found somewhere new to hang out: the problem is, it’s not the best place to get around in if you use a wheelchair. Yesterday we decided to check out the Westfield Centre in Stratford, a new shopping centre which is apparently the biggest in Europe. It was easy enough for us to get to, and I was certainly impressed at first glance. For my northern readers, just think of the Trafford Centre, pump if full of steroids, remove some of the aesthetics and you will get some idea of what this place is like. It is huge – in fact, I found it too big. I felt constantly lost but thankfully I was following Marta around so I didn’t have to worry about navigation. However, as the day wore on, the place grew busier and busier, so it became harder and harder to keep up with Marta and Lyn as people kept barging in front of me. I usually like such places, but yesterday it seemed half of London had converged in one place and navigating my chair became very, very stressful. I must admit that, tellingly, I didn’t feel my usual childlike pang of regret and disappointment when the time came to come home.

Having said all that, I think we will be going again. Part of me, the masochistic part perhaps, kind of liked he place. As I said, it is easy enough to get to, and it would be a great place to do our Christmas shopping. It lacks some of the aesthetics of it’s northern counterpart – the roman-style columns ad so on – and could do with being just a little smaller, but the place itself is okay. The problem is, I just think it would be even better if we were the only people there.