I am in London for a one-day conference at the London Knowledge Labs. I have been staying in a hotel in Clapham, where I have been surprised by the stuffy heat of the room, and the sheer amount of people available to bump into me.

I arrived on Saturday afternoon and wandered around Clapham, which has moved distinctly upmarket since I last saw it. Everything is either a bistro or a wine bar, and this appears to extend beyone Clapham South and all the way down to Tooting.

This morning I am in Holborn after a tube journey that seemed to be a nightmare from start to finish. I realise that I am spoiled by living in Helsinki, but I hadn’t quite realised how spoiled. It cost almost £5.00 to get here on the tube, and the tube was packed with people in a way that I had completely forgotten about.

On the other hand everyone is very friendly, Tesco was a rewarding experience (or would have been if I had stopped and got myself a Clubcard), and I am glad I chose to stay in Clapham. Although I have been moaning about the hotel to Luke and Jack, I think I would be happy to stay there again, if only for the ability to walk out of the door onto the Common and then turn left and walk down past Tesco and out of the crowds.

That is really quite nice. It can also result in a spontaneous decision to slip into a fish and chip shop for cod and chips with a big cup of tea.

In fact it did.