Streets of London : An afternoon in Harrods

We spent the afternoon in Harrods as our morning was completely shot with visiting gas and electrical technicians all trying to turn off the heat in the radiators in our place. We don't need it. We now have a new easy to control regulator that does all things needed, so we are set.

It must be years since we visited Harrods as the last time we were there draped tableaux in memory of Dodi and Diana occupied prime spots throughout the store. No longer. Al Fayed has long since sold Harrods, which now, like the Shard and other major sites throughout London, is owned by the wealth fund of the state of Qatar.

It still sprawls over 5 acres of Knightsbridge. It still has over 300 in-house departments. It still runs to some 300,000 visitors a day, many of whom, Chinese noticeably, were in the mood to shop till they dropped, carrying multiple Harrod's bags loaded with goodies. It still advertises the motto: "All things for all people, everywhere". Though, of course, poor folk would have a tough time finding a thing at all in Harrods that they might want, let alone, could afford to buy.

Certainly not Wagyu beef, from Japan, which today was priced at £650 per kilo. The Aussie Wagyu came in slightly cheaper, at $1,045 Australian dollars per kilo of beef. That really takes time to sink in.

A lunch of Fish and Chips came in at £27 ($Aud43) per person. It looked plump and fresh, though, and a lot of folk were enjoying it.

Pete took to taking photos of garish gilded furniture and fittings, this shot being one of the least gaudy.

I had a ball in the toy shop where there were 'Harrods Only' mini-spaceships with great galactic coloured flashing lights that you could just blow or tap and they would make acrobatic aerial moves, no doubt avoiding invisible drones. Also, there were feather light air bubble soccer training floor robots in near damage proof plastic that responded to the lightest toe kick which would train any kid to be nimble and quick on his feet. These were both going for 'buy one, get one half price'.

The lego Storm Troopers, too, were neat, too.

I eventually tried the art of the deal: tried buying one getting a different one for half price. As Trump would do. But, as Trump does most times, I had to go away empty handed. And though I hate shopping, and always have -- days like this are a real chore for me -- I may just have to return one day for those toys for my grandkids.

Postscript: I found the same toys online, in China, for a quarter of the price, so saved heaps. And they were waiting for me, postage free, when we flew home. 'Harrods only', baloney.