Living history

Borough Market celebrated its 250th anniversary today. As a result, this London institution was busier than usual when Garry and I dropped by this afternoon. People were everywhere including dozens of actors in period costumes from the 18th Century.

You'll recall that we last visited the markets in early Summer. At the time we were fascinated by the assortment of unusual market produce. Today's visit was no different. Highlights this time included a wall of freshly killed pheasants and fresh pig's heads presented in all manner of displays.

During our last visit Garry and I noticed a popular seafood restaurant, fish!. We made plans to visit but never did. This time we decided to escape the thronging crowd and grab a late lunch. I had the Halibut, Garry, and the Sea Bream. The fish was fresh and well prepared. Sadly, the service was as close to appalling as one can get without having any service at all. The comedy of errors continued unabated throughout our meal.

Tables next to ours were served before us despite being seated much later. Drinks were ordered but never appeared. Empty tables were cleared and relaid around us while our first course dishes sat forlornly for 20 minutes. In a final insult, a 12.5% service charge was automatically added to our bill, along with charges for the drinks that never appeared. All this for £60, excluding any tip.

I boldly decided to confront the restaurant manager. I was absolutely stunned when he looked me in the eye, apologised and immediately ordered that our meal be refunded in full. This single act transformed an appalling experience into one that's made me willing to give fish! another try. If only other restaurant managers were as savvy as this one!

The markets were beginning to wind down as we left the restaurant. 250 years of history was finishing as if it were any other day. However, this wasn't to be our last piece of history for the day. We wandered across London Bridge to Monument. For more than 15 years I've been promising myself I'd climb this 17th Century memorial.

311 spiral steps later and my ambition was finally realised. The view across the Thames towards London Tower Bridge was wonderful, as were the views of the Gherkin and Lloyds in the City. At 202 feet (62 metres) this is the tallest free-standing Doric column in the world.

The column is topped by a drum and copper urn from which gilded flames emerge, symbolising the Great Fire that it immortalizes. While Monument dominated the city at the time of its completion, today you can see that it pales almost into insignificance when surrounded by so many taller, modern buildings.

As another rain shower began to threaten us, we made our way back down the column's stone stairway and off to the tube station for a train home. It's days like this that make London such a remarkable place. In a single afternoon, we'd experienced more than three centuries of living history.