We wore the leather off our soles and the skin off our feet with our trip yesterday..I thought it was such a cunning and devious plan to link the Mexican shop and the Tower of London together – they’re both on the same side of the river after all – but sadly there’s no transport link between them..we ended up pounding the streets of London.  Although, having said that – it’s a good place to pound.  First stop was Milagros in Columbia Road – at the weekend this is a bustling, heaving flower market with much more besides (well worth a visit – there’s a Spanish restaurant at one end that does the best breakfast ever..) but during the week all the old shop fronts literally close their shutters – we were very lucky our destination was one of the few that was open..

We indulged..Frida Kahlo is my favourite..

It’s a fascinating area bridging hip Shoreditch and lively Brick Lane.

The kids took pictures of each other..

With varying degrees of success…

The Tower was magnificent.  It’s such an iconic part of London with it’s foreboding stance against the march of time, combine that with the pure brilliance of this installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ to commemorate the allied fallen in the First World War and it’s a combination made in heaven.  Tom Piper is the designer, Paul Cummins the ceramicist, both have captured something utterly unique: Is it Art..or is it theatre?

Each handmade ceramic flower represents a fallen soldier.

It’s as if the very stones of the Tower are bleeding.

It was a brilliant decision to allow the planting to happen gradually in waves.  It started in August and by the 11 November, Remembrance Day, 888,246 poppies will proudly stand, filling the moat –  it has made this edifice to death into a living, breathing structure both celebrating and mourning loss.

At 4.55 every day – dusk –  a solitary trumpet plays the Last Post and a roll call of 180 of the dead are read out.

I so wanted to hear the trumpet …but there’s always a limit with children and mine – after a long day and with 25 minutes to wait – had reached theirs..

We headed home..

But if you think my two are always angels..

Think again…

Laters, Kate x