lots to do in Soho on Saturday

There were a number of things I had planned to do in Soho on Saturday. I wanted to visit the new food market that had opened the previous Saturday in Rupert Street and Winnett Street. It's only open on Saturdays.

I also wanted to participate in the Soho Street Food Fair on over the weekend. I needed to buy a voucher from Hummus Bros in Wardour Street as I hadn't bought one over the internet. Once I had bought my voucher I would be able to go to the eight different food outlets and sample their delights. Hummus Bros didn't open till midday though so I had time for a coffee and something to eat, visit the market, and visit Nina.

Having had a coffee and seen the market I headed for Chinatown. When I got to Little Newport Street there was a woman I hadn't seen before standing in the doorway of the Chinese Medical Centre at number 7. She wanted to give me a leaflet and to invite me in.

I asked her if Coco was there that day. I didn't expect her to turn around and tell Coco I was asking for her. Although I have been tempted to see Coco again for a massage with a 'happy ending', I didn't want that today. I had to say something to her so I said I might come and see her later.

A few doorways along the street was the doorway to the walk up. I could see that today it was an oriental girl and so I went up the stairs and rang the bell. The maid opened the door and asked me to go into the bedroom.

I had not been in that flat before. The bedroom was small but nice, with a basin and a bidet. Looked quite clean. The girl came into the room and introduced herself. She wasn't Nina but a different oriental girl called Nicky.

When I knew that it wasn't Nina, and also that the minimum price was £25 and not £20 as at most places, I could have left. However, this girl was reasonably pretty and had a nice smile. I asked her if she could give me a hand job and she said yes.

We only had 10 minutes so I didn't try for a 'happy ending'. We lay on the bed together and I flirted with her, telling her how pretty she was (she had lovely big eyes), holding her in my arms and touching her all over including her pussy. She smiled and giggled a lot and pulled on my erect cock.

When my time was nearly up I knelt between her legs and held open her pussy and had a good look. We got off the bed and she gave me a big hug and said I should come back another time for longer.

I had wanted to ask the maid what days Nina was there, but I didn't get a chance. As I went out the doorway back onto the street I looked around and the Chinese woman was still standing outside the medical centre. She was looking at me so she must have known what I had been up to. Maybe she told Coco what she had seen.

Back at Hummus Bros I bought my voucher for £12, and got some takeaway food. Next stop was Moolis where I picked up an Indian wrap. I sat in Soho Square and ate both. The map that we were given with the voucher wasn't that accurate, but I managed to find the hummingbird bakery for my vanilla cupcake. The next place was somewhere I had not seen before. They gave me some mini meringues.

The whole point of the Soho Street Food Fair was that people would come to know some of the smaller food outlets in Soho and what they have to offer. Also to raise money for charity. I won't be going back for more meringues, though. The map led me off in the wrong direction and, after some confusion, I returned to Rupert Street and the new market. I hadn't realised that the next two items were from market stalls. I had a pork sandwich and then some strange meatballs.

Finally an ice cream cone in Old Compton Street and a coffee from the well-recommended cafe in Winnett Street. It was when I was in Old Compton Street that I noticed a short middle-aged woman with cropped hair. I thought she might be Pam the fag lady as mentioned in Clayton Littlewood's book Dirty White Boy: Tales of Soho. I have mentioned this book in previous postings. I watched her and she was asking people for money outside the French House and another pub.

I asked her if her name was Pam and she said it was. I told her I had heard about her in Clayton's book. She asked me if I could give her some change and I gave her some. I can't remember if Clayton said that Pam lives in the hostel at the northern end of Dean Street. I used to think that there is a hostel at the northern end of Greek Street but there isn't. I thought maybe the woman I met a while ago in Greek Street lived there. The building in Greek Street I was thinking of is the House of St Barnabas, which was a hostel at one time: it is marked as such in my street atlas.

I like the new market in Soho but I hope it isn't the beginning of gentrification of the area. Rupert Street is right next to Tisbury Court and Walkers Court.

Tisbury Court must be the seediest alleyway in Soho. It has the only peep show in Soho that I know of, and a couple of walk ups, and a porn DVD shop. It also has a couple of establishments that I suspect are clip joints, and there are women in the doorways trying to tempt men in.

At the junction of Tisbury Court and Rupert Street are diverse people hanging around asking tourists if they are looking for a girl. These people are called pimps but really they are trying to get money for nothing.

Walkers Court is an alleyway leading to Berwick Street and the established street market there. It has two or three sex shops.

I can imagine that the authorities might think that the new market is part of their vision the future of Soho, and that the sleazy side of Soho is incompatible with this. However, food and sex have always lived side by side in Soho, and I hope they always will. Soho is about the pleasures of life.

I hope that the new market continues to be what it is. It provides seasonal local produce (local to South East England) for a reasonable price. I bought a punnet of English cherries and some free-range eggs. I hope that the rents for stalls are kept reasonable so that we don't end up with something only tourists and the more affluent appreciate. Expensive meats and cheeses, olives and olive oil are good, but we need fresh, local and seasonal produce too.

If the authorities wanted to get rid of the seediest of the walk ups in Soho, that might not be a bad thing. As long as it isn't the the thin end of the wedge. The two flats in Greek street next to the bookies are seedy, as are the six flats in Lisle Street and the four flats near the market in Berwick Street. The flat in Little Newport Street is a nice one, as are the two flats at 8 Greek Street.

There are two or three walk ups outside Soho, in Shepherd Market. They seem to be clean and are unobtrusive. They are more expensive, though. I hope Soho continues to be the earthy lived-in place it has always been and doesn't end up like Covent Garden.