Its a very diverse area here with a strong sense of community and it was great to see so many culturally diverse family groups out enjoying their kids getting into football.
We had a fun hour watching Vincent's group of 5 year old boys ripping up the field. They were so enthusiastic and Vincent plays like he was born to it. It's 45 minutes of skill development and the last 15 minutes is played as a game. Today the Dads played (with restrictions) against the kids. The kids won!
Playing soccer (sorry, football) makes Vincent happy!
From Shepherd's Bush we caught the train into Kings Cross Station - ready for our (late) lunch date with Rob's niece Bec and her Chris (Brownie). It was an eventful trip for us as the last minute closure of Kings Cross Station (fire alarm) and the painful presence of hundreds of obnoxious and loud Leeds FC fans on the trains and the streets made for uncomfortable travel and a lot of extra walking.
Lunch was booked at the Coal Office Restaurant at the historic Coal Drops Yard near St Pancras Station. Before meeting up with Bec and Brownie we had time to look around this amazing precinct. The original Victorian era coal drop sheds were used to receive coal from Yorkshire and ship it to narrow boats on the Regents Canal (and on to horse drawn carts). The whole precinct was falling into decay until its rebirth in 2018 as an upmarket retail, restaurant and cultural venue, housed in the restored and upgraded coal sheds and office buildings.
And the Regents Canal is still there alongside the old drop sheds - and so are the narrow boats - but they're leisure crafts now, not coal carriers.
We enjoyed our very long lunch with Bec and Brownie at the Coal Office Restaurant. The wonderful food (a modern take on Middle Eastern), the conversation and shared memories made this a very special reunion. Bec and Brownie have lived in London over 7 years now so its been a long time since we last saw them.
The Coal Drop Yards look very festive on a Sunday afternoon!
We went back to Joel and Kay's apartment afterwards - for one last playtime with these special people.
How can you say goodbye after a week of wonderful times together and getting to know these beautiful kids? It was s-o hard.
And our last view of sunset over the Hammersmith Bridge as we walked home tonight.
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