A Fish Pedicure in Camden

Long day walking the markets in Camden? Pop over to the Stables and visit Wonda Fish for a whole new “weird and wonderful” pedicure experience. You just sink your tired feet into a warm tub of water and relax while tiny Garra Rufa fish suck the dry skin off of your feet.

Graham was up in Camden as usual and has shared a photo in the Flickr pool of this girl having her feet nibbled. (Yes, it tickles at first.)

It’s been a hit in Camden Town since February, started up by 22-year-old Richard Smith who experienced his first fish pedicure in Cambodia last year. He now has well over 1,000 fish which he imports from Indonesia to keep Londoners’ feet fit.

822 The Stables Market (basement)
Chalk Farm Road
Camden
NW1 8AH

407 The Stables Market (basement)
Chalk Farm Road
Camden
NW1 8AH

514 Camden Lock Village
Camden High Street
Camden
NW1 8XQ

Mon – Fri: 11:00 – 18:00
Sat – Sun: 10:30 – 18:30

£10 l 15 mins
£18 l 30 mins

http://wondafish.com/

World AIDS Day

 
Today is World AIDS Day. Coincidently, I just finished reading a book in which the protagonist commits suicide after discovering that his lifelong habit of seeking out unprotected sex with random women had left his body infected with AIDS (The Company of Women by Khushwant Singh). I thought I would post on the topic since today seems to be the day to raise awareness.

A Sunday Times article about possible plans to make HIV testing routine in this country stated that: “There are believed to be 77,000 people living with HIV in the UK. More than 25,000 people have developed AIDS and 18,787 have died.” The CIA World Fact Book listed countries by number of people  living with HIV/AIDS in 2009. African countries fill the top ten with the virus most prevalent in South Africa. The exception is India fourth and the US eighth. While the UK may not be extremely high on the list, a lot of people who come from high risk areas do live here and Brits travel to high risk areas as well.

The Metro highlighted a story the other day about Poipet, a border town between Cambodia and Thailand where sex trafficking is an issue and so is AIDS. Forced or voluntary prostitution also spreads HIV. A number of Western tourists who travel abroad where the underground sex industry is in easy reach are at a serious risk of bringing it home.

Mr Kumar thoroughly enjoyed “the company of women” and his life story was certainly interesting, but his suicide highlights the stigma that still exists around the virus (whether or not it is sexully transmitted) and the end of his life was early, tragic and full of regrets.

LINKS

Events in the UK

World AIDS Day 2009

The Company of Women