As usual, our stroll this afternoon took us to quieter streets, away from the main roads which are becoming busier every day. The sun was shining and the temperature reached a heady 25° C (77° F).

City and Islington College

This is the City and Islington College. I always thought of it as the local sixth-form college but these days it describes itself as a college of further education, offering vocational courses for all ages along with the usual A Levels. For now, of course, it is shut pending the end of the pandemic.

Brewers Buildings

This is the main entrance of Brewers Buildings in Rawstorne Street. The massive residential block bears the date of 1876, when it was built as a charitable enterprise by the Brewers Livery Company. The company owned a considerable estate in the area of which this is part.

Brewers Buildings

As you can see, it is huge, too big to photograph in its entirety in the narrow street in which it resides. Though fairly plain, it has enough decoration to render the effect pleasant. It is Grade II listed.

Quiet byway

We walked through this pleasant byway between houses with enough greenery to give pleasant shade on a hot day. We also spotted a blackbird and some busy sparrows.

On the corner of Hermit Street is the smallest park I have ever seen.

Hermit Street Open Space

Really, though, it’s not strictly a park, despite the trees and other greenery, because it has a rather uneven brick floor. The Council is consulting with neighbourhood residents over its future and refers to it as an Open Space, which, after all, it is.

Hermit Street Open Space

The presence of discarded bottles suggests that the non-park sees some use though possibly not the kind of use the Council would prefer. It will be interesting to see how it develops.

From here, it was a short walk along Goswell Street to Jusaka where we collected our coffee before making for home.

We saw quite a few people wearing masks but many of them were wearing them incorrectly – for example, covering the mouth but not the nose – thus negating their usefulness. The false confidence they feel is increasing their risk, not reducing it.