Thursday 9 September - South Easterly

I take the river bus to Greenwich. As I arrive in Greenwich a group of excited schoolchildren are boarding the boat ready to head into central London. There are lots of workmen regenerating the area and a dog has raced down to the 'beach' for a paddle. Others dogs are looking on enviously at his freedom. I'm following the river path once more. Greenwich appears much gentrified since I was last here, the Cutty Sark is wrapped in plastic. But a few streets away everything is changing. There has been lots of building and outside one small block of flats are electric car chargers - how very modern; although it doesn't look as if they have been plugged into the mains yet. Or perhaps there are no electric cars here.

I walk across Deptford Creek, the tide is out and there is a lot of mud on show - bicycles and supermarket trolleys appearing out of the ooze. The foundations of another block of flats has been laid but apparently work has stopped until 2013. The river path twists in and out from the shoreline. There are derelict wharves and lots of building projects with varying degrees of activity. I lose sight of the Thames Path signs and find myself in the middle of a vast estate. In the middle of the day it seems pretty cheery but there are quite a lot of police around. Suddenly the cars are newer (and smaller, city cars) and suddenly there are smart new apartments. It's Greenland Dock, part of it is a marina. No sign of anyone moving, but plenty of happy birds looking for breakfast and still a few dog walkers wandering about.

Just beyond it is the second part of the dock where a group of people are putting on life jackets ready to go for a sailing lesson. The docks are bounded by flats and as so often there are no people around. Surrey Quays is across the way and the shopping centre is busy. Mainly mums with babies and elderly people (often with walking frames or sticks, a sure sign of poverty). As ever along the river, the waterfront is rich but the affluence doesn't seem to trickle back. The big housing estates look as if they were built for the days when there was still lots of work on the docks. Now there are the people but few jobs.

I wander through the streets of Rotherhithe and Bermondsey and eventually manage to find the station (next to Millwall FC). I stop for something to eat in Lordship Lane. It's going through gentrification. There are plenty of delis and specialist food shops, a farm shop with lots of different English apples. It's evidently an affluent area but not too chi-chi. There are still small shops selling useful things like mops and buckets (now a near impossibility in Northcote Road which has been taken over by lifestyle choices and nothing practical).

From here I go to Peckham Rye, which is back in the global village. Many of the shops are open on to the street and fruit and vegetables stacked high. Plenty of scotch peppers and yams. Here chickens still have their heads and feet attached. The colours, the smells and the sounds are intense. The heavens open and, like everyone else, I scuttle for shelter under an awning. Bus stops become extremely popular and everyone clusters close.

Once I get home, it's time to get ready to go out and step into the world of Mad Men and the Saatchi 40th birthday party. Gone are my comfy trainers and I am teetering on heels, slightly dazed and feeling that I'm now in the rich bit of the global village. It was Saatchi who popularised the idea in an ad for themselves back in their early days.