Over Easter Weekend, I ignored all misgivings about England weather in early April to visit a dear Pomona friend studying at Cambridge. The low-lying clouds on the train into Cambridge sent my imagination and sooner than you could say Heathcliff my train had arrived. We walked among the charming boutiques, bookshops and alleyways, one of the very first college towns indeed. The beautiful campus was a joy to tour. It put me in a mind to reread the opening chapters of Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass. Crossing campus we came upon several boats of hardy punters on the River Cam. 
The next day Sarah and I headed to London to take advantage of a free room in her sister’s house. With the sun obliging, we first stopped off in Camden Market. Holy Doc Martens, Batman! Camden is famous for being a center of punk culture, but there were now plenty of tourists and food stalls filling the streets. Afterwards, in Soho, we feasted on dim sum, some of the first Asian food I had had in months.
Fearing there would be nothing to do on Easter Sunday, we were thrilled to make our way to Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane to find dozens of international food vendors and vintage shops teeming with skinny-jeaned, oversize-sweater sporting East Enders. Look at this flipping hipster. One store even had a line stretching half a city block policed by security. Maybe the bobbies had closed down the store so Kate Moss could come search for the perfect vintage fedora?
