For once, the Bank Holiday weather was exactly as people wish Bank Holiday weather to be. The sun beamed kindly from a cloudless sky and the temperature hovered around the 25° C (77° F) mark. And all this without any hat-endangering wind 😉

We enjoyed a good walk, longer than usual, during which I took a lot of photos. A selection of them appears below.

The Gate, anciently the Clown

At 370 St John Street is the above establishment, presently home to a vegetarian/vegan restaurant called The Gate. A late 19th-century building, now Grade II listed, it is, as you may guess, an old pub. I am not sure what it was called but suspect it had many names in its time. It seems that before this one was built, the site was occupied by a pub called The Clown, supposedly in honour of Joseph Grimaldi who frequented the place after performing at the nearby Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Part of St John Street

We continued in down St John Street, a section of which is shown above. It is quite a pleasant road, containing a number of interesting buildings, notably the local public library and the Dame Alice Owen pub mentioned previously (see Windy and cooler). It’s main claim to historical notoriety is that it used to be the last stage in the journey of cattle being driven to their gruesome fate in Smithfield Market.

Sparrow tree

Between houses nestles this tiny park or garden. I photographed the tree because it was alive with the singing and chirping of sparrows (though of course the photo doesn’t record the sound). As sparrows have become rare in towns these days, any sighting is welcome.

Once the King’s Arms

On the corner of Rawstorne Place and Rawstorne Street stands this building. We saw it the other day and speculated about its history. I thought it might have been a bank except that it is rather an out-of-the-way place for a bank. A more likely designation was that of a pub. Research today reveals that it was indeed a pub, existing from at least early Victorian times and called the King’s Arms. Its career as a pub ended in 2013 and it now seems to house offices.

Arms of the Brewers’ Company

In Brewers and hermits, I mentioned the Brewers’ Buildings, dwellings erected as a charitable works by the Brewers’ Company. We had another look at this installation today. The several buildings are all dated and cover the years of their construction between 1871 and 1882. The above photo shows the latter date together with a shield bearing the arms of the Company, sheaves of grain and barrels – suggestive of the brewing process.

Peregrine House

I photographed this residential block, called Peregrine House, simply because it is so uncommonly tall and sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb among its more normal neighbours. It also proved a challenge to photograph precisely because of its size. I should feel really uncomfortable living right at the top, given the fires that have occurred recently in high-rise blocks.

Fairy-tale door in a tree

On the corner of Hall Street, some inventive soul has installed a simulacrum of a front door in the base of a tree and some other furnishings to suggest a fairy-tale dwelling.

Hounds guarding the door

We made our way through back streets to emerge in City Road. The houses along here are all rather grand ones in the Georgian style typical of the area. They would once have been the town houses of affluent families but most are now divided into offices. Some retain vestiges of their past eminence such as this pair of hounds guarding a front entrance. One can imagine the affection in which the householder would have held them.

Missing house?

The gap in this row of houses seems anomalous. Elsewhere, the terrace is continuous. Why the sudden break here? It occurred to us that the width of the gap is the same as the width of each of the houses. Was there perhaps once a house here also? If so, why is it no longer there? One possible explanation is that it was badly damaged by bombs in WWII and the decision was taken to demolish it completely rather than attempt to rebuild it. Perhaps further research will uncover the answer.

We now continued up the road to Jusaka where we collected our daily ration of coffee before heading for home to muse on a our walk and our “catch” of photos.

This month completes 15 years since I last drove a motor vehicle. Since then, all my journeys and trips have been on foot or by public trsnsport of various kinds.

Each time my driving licence expired, I renewed it, not because I had any expectations of driving again but because the plastic licence card, the size of a credit card, was easy to carry in my wallet and could be used from time to time to confirm my identity and address. The last time that it expired, I had decided not to renew it as I was certain, for various reasons, that I would never drive again. Ironically, the DVLA renewed my licence automatically without any request from me. It seems that fate requires me to own a driving licence!

The last time I was given a lift by someone in his car, I stared at the dashboard, trying to work out the purposes of all the dials and meters. Some were familiar, such as the speed indicator, but the rest were incompregensible to me. This included the touch screen which the driver used for various purposes several times during the ride. If ever I did drive again, I would first have to learn the meaning of all these dials and how to use them!

Anyone reading this who has a car will probably imagine that life is pretty limited without one. In fact, I don’t find it so. I will admit that when I first gave up the car and started using buses, I had to go through something of an apprenticeship. I remember waiting for a bus and, as it drew level with the stop, naively stepping forward to board it. The driver slammed on the brakes and, having opened the door, gave me a severe ticking off. The problem, it turned out, was that I had wrongly assumed that the driver would simply stop bus at the stop. I didn’t realize that in London, at least, you need to signal the driver to stop. By stepping forward to enter a bus whose driver was not intending to stop (as I had not signalled him to do so), I had risked being knocked down and injured. No wonder the driver was angry!

When I first came to live in London many years ago, the bus network seemed a total mystery to me. On the other hand, the tube network was simplicity itself. It has a clear map that shows the lines, the stations and the intersections between the different lines. You don’t need to be a genius to work out how to reach any station from any other. The only problem is whether or not there is a station for your intended destination. Often there wasn’t and so I would choose the nearest station and walk from there. I did a lot of walking!

I only started using buses regularly after coming to live in Islington with Tigger. Tigger had spent a number of years in London before we met, and as she enjoys travelling about, she acquired what seems to me an encyclopaedic knowledge of the bus network of Greater London. Not only that: she seems able with very little effort to acquire an understanding of the bus routes in any city, almost in minutes. Thus, when we travel by bus, in London or anywhere else, I am utterly dependent on her to reach our destination and return safely home again. If ever Tigger abandoned me in some remote spot such as darkest Walthamstow or Forest Gate, I would have a hard job finding my way home!

For longer trips out of town, we use the railways. This is not an unalloyed blessing, I’ll admit. Fares are expensive and a return journey can cost as much as the several nights’ stay in the hotel at your destination. In some places, such as Cornwall and Wales, train services may end early in the evening and if you do not realize this – being spoilt by the ready availability of public transport at all hours in London – you can find yourself stranded. This happened to us a couple of times.

As far as foreign travel is concerned, the Eurostar takes us to and from many of our European destinations while others can be reached using a combination of Eurostar and local trains. On some other journeys – and please don’t shout at me for this! – we have bitten the bullet and travelled by air. How else could we have managed a visit to my sister in Canada? Well, yes, we could have crossed the Atlantic both ways by ship and taken the train from and back to New York, but that would have taken more time than we had available.

What is the likelihood that I will again drive a car at some point in the future? Virtually none. For one thing, my finances simply do not allow for the purchase, maintenance and upkeep of a car. For another, my eyes are no longer what they once were and I think it unlikely that I could meet the sight requirements. It is safer, as well as more affordable, to conclude that my driving is behind me.

I had a good run. I owned, or had access to, seven cars altogther, including one that had a left-hand drive (awkward in the UK but brilliant in France!) Oh yes, and then there were the car we hired in the Canary Islands and the other one we hired in Turkey. I was quite used to driving in foreign lands as well as the UK and as far as I can recall, I only ever made a mistake once about which side of the road to drive on. This happened on a trip to France when we stopped momentarily in a lay-by and I then drove off on the left. Happily the road was empty at the time and some loud expostulations from my passengers called me to order! Apart from that, my reflexes always clicked in and kept me on the correct side of the road.

Do I miss having a car? The enthusiasm of the preceding paragraph might lead you to that conclusion but in fact, no, I don’t. Not even when standing at a bus stop on a wet and windy day and not being certain whether the buses are actually running? Um, well, maybe, just a little then, but the feeling soon passes. Many of today’s road lay-outs and signage look puzzling to me. If you were to put me at the wheel of a car, I am not sure I could cope with inner-city roads and traffic. Much better – and safer – to let me take the bus!

It was cooler again today (17° C, 63° F) but the notable feature was a gusty wind. In fact, at one point I lost my hat and had to go and pick it up off the ground. Embarrassing. It was my fault, though, as I should have put my hat clip on.

Sunbathing cat

In Myddelton Square, one of the ginger and white cats was enjoying the sun and so I took a photo for the cat lovers among you 🙂 I think s/he is becoming used to us as we were favoured with a frank stare, unlike previous occasions.

Spa Green Park

For a change we crossed Rosebury Avenue and entered Spa Green Park. It is not a very big park but is quite pleasant and contains a number of mature trees. It is quite popular as a place where people take their dogs and popular also with pigeons of which there is a large resident population.

Spa Green Park and War Memorial
Photo by Tigger

The park is also home to one of Islington’s two war memorials. By Thomas Rudge and installed in 1921, it shows a bronze Angel of Victory holding a wreath in outstretched hand, standing on top of a globe. It is Grade II listed. One might also add that it is a favourite perch for the pigeons.

Spa Green Estate

Adjacent to the park is the Spa Green Estate. As housing estates go, this one is quite pleasant to look at. A post-war development, it was designed by Berthold Lubetkin and is sufficiently important historically to have attracted a Grade II* listing.

Spa Green Estate

It is certainly unusual in both its design and colour scheme which is bright but not garish. The architect was clearly not superstitious as openings for ventilation occur in groups of 13!

The Dame Alice Owen

We walked through the estate into Goswell Road where I photographed the Dame Alice Owen pub. You will find some information on Dame Alice in my previous post about this pub (see Plus ça change). Today, the pub is displaying a notice to the effect that it will be opening soon as a “bottle shop”, that is, for takeaway service. That makes it the second Islington pub that I have seen that is partially re-opening (see An extra treat).

We continued up Goswell Road to Jusaka for our takeaway coffee.

Smith & Sons Clock Tower

And here I am again photographing the Smith & Sons clock, also known as the Angel Clock Tower. Not that I really need an excuse but if I did I would say it is one of my favourite features of Islington. I expect I shall photograph it many times again in future!

It’s a little cooler today but still quite warm at 21° C, 70° F. There was a pleasant gusty breeze which helped us keep cool.

We passed through Cumberland Gardens again (see White roses and white lions).

Cumberland Gardens

This photo shows Cumberland Gardens and the steps at its bottom end. Note the pole with a cctv camera on top.

Façade with flowers

Just opposite in Lloyd Square stands this house with a flowery façade. In fact, the flowers extend over the front door of the next house. I don’t know what flowers they are (my botanical knowlege is somewhat wanting) but they make a fine show.

The George and Monkey – open!
Photo by Tigger

On the way home we passed the George and Monkey in Amwell Street. There was a queue outside and an “OPEN” sign in the window. There appeared to be a makeshift bar or counter across the door and they were seemingly selling drinks to take away.

And here is the treat mentioned in the title :

Coffee and a samosa!

We bought coffee as usual at Myddelton’s but we also tempted by some of the other goods on display. Tigger chose a slice of carrot cake and I chose a vegetable samosa. Yum!

The best vegetable samosas I ever enjoyed were those sold in a takeaway Indian food stall in Euston Station. I bought some there on several occasions but one day the stall disappeared and with it, if course, the samosas. They are still sadly missed!

As the title says, the temperature is still rising. We waited until 5 pm. in the hope that it would be a little cooler by then but it was still standing at 27° C (81° F).

We therefore contented ourselves with a slow amble to Jusaka and back.

I managed only one photo. It shows an office block on one of the corners of the Angel crossroads. Depending on your taste in architecture, you will either like it or hate it. As modern buildings go, I think it’s not bad. At any rate, I have seen a lot worse.

Looking at the photo you might think that the streets were very quiet but that’s only because I took the photo while the traffic lights were momentarily on the red. The Angel is in fact an important junction where several bus routes intersect with one another and the Northern Line tube.

As Tigger is still on “furlough”, we haven’t boarded a bus or a tube for several weeks now and there is as yet no indication as to when we might have to start doing so again. Will it be a relief or a disappointment when we have to pick up the old routine once more?