Adventures by bus in South London: lost and confused on the P5

I'm in London today, at least for the time being, as Ros is off to Bangladesh on a Parliamentary delegation. So, rather than go back to the building site that is the cottage, we thought that it might be nice to go to Borough Market. Curiously, although I lived in South London for sixteen years, I never actually ventured in.

That's a pity, really, as it is a quite marvellous place to buy cheese, beer and pork (the three food groups of the Gods). We browsed the market, before buying something for lunch and, most important of all, sustenance for the weekend for me. That meant a proper Melton Mowbray pork pie, plus a game pie, sold to me by a splendid man in an even more splendid pork pie hat.

But it was soon time to leave, and we eventually found ourselves on a P5 bus leaving Elephant & Castle. In theory, travelling in a straightish line, the bus journey should take about twenty minutes. Unfortunately, the P5 travels via Walworth, Myatts Fields, Brixton and Clapham North, which is anything but direct. It's an interesting journey, as long as you're not in a hurry, and offers an unusual view of inner South London housing estates.

Just don't expect to get anywhere in a hurry...