Today’s stroll took us a little further than we have been accustomed to going in recent days. It gave us a chance to stretch our legs and see some new scenery. The sky was cloudy but it was dry and fairly warm (a couple of degrees cooler than yesterday).

Buttercups

The grass in this front garden has not been cut for quite a while and is quite deep. This has allowed buttercups to grow and to flower, making a vivid show.

Rainbows continue to decorate windows and sometimes railings but as the pandemic and our response to it continue to evolve, new elements appear.

Teddy bear with face mask

In the window of this basement, for example, we can see, beside the usual rainbow, a teddy bear… wearing a face mask!

There was noticeably more traffic on the roads and people walking, jogging and cycling. We saw someone riding a stand-up electric scooter and I expect we shall see more such machines on the roads (and, annoyingly, on the pavement) as people seek ways to travel to and from work avoiding public transport.

Myddelton Square Gardens

We are now allowed to sit in the public parks and this view of Myddelton Square Gardens shows that people are taking advantage of the new rule. For the most part, they were keeping to small groups, well separated from one another.

Chestnut blossom

In Rosebery Avenue, the chestnut trees were in blossom and there were even some, as yet tiny, spiky green balls: future conkers!

There were people sitting here too, in Spa Green Gardens. On the gate was this notice:

Social distancing rules for the park

It sets out the social distancing rules that must be followed if the park is to stay open. I hope that a time will come when this be no more than a historical curiosity but for now, it is a part of our lives.

Smith & Sons Clock

We made our way through side streets back to Goswell Road and walked up towards the crossroads and Jusaka, where we bought coffee (just for a change 🙂 ).

I photographed the Smith & Sons clock, something I have not been able to do for a while. The clock may have been installed to advertise the Smiths’ business but this is long gone and the clock is now a much loved part of the scenery of the Angel. The original clockwork mechanism has been replaced with a modern electrical one but apart from that, the clock is as it was when first installed. It is one of my favourite landmarks of home.

In one of those sudden reversals so typical of our beloved British climate, the temperature today “soared” to 18° C (64° F). The sunshine made it feel even warmer.

Our walk took us over familiar territory but there is always something to notice, either because it is new or because it is something familiar that has sparked a new thought.

For those of you who like cat photos (and according to Facebook that’s near enough everyone!) here are a couple I took en route.

Both are of the same cat but, then, fashion photographers see nothing wrong with taking multiple shots of the same subject and you can only photograph what is there, unlike the artist who can produce pictures from memory.

We went down Arlington Way, which I mentioned yesterday, trying to spot the listed buildings, and then turned into Myddelton Passage.

This starts as an alley to the left of the Shakespeare’s Head pub and then broadens out into a cul de sac road in front of some dwellings. What is famous about this otherwise unprepossessing by-way is its ancient brick wall or, rather, the inscriptions this bears.

Inscriptions

I admit that they are a little hard to distinguish (which is presumably why other photographers have outlined some of them to make them stand out) but you can probably see enough to have an idea of what they are like.

Here is one in close-up:

Dated 1850

In case you are wondering, yes, the date is undoubtedly genuine and all of the inscriptions date from the middle of the 19th century.

So what are they? A typical inscription consists of a set of initials, a badge number and the year. Research has been able to identify some of the inscribers: all were police constables on whose beat the passage found itself.

The curious thing is that they spent enough time here to complete the often deeply carved characters, even allowing for the fact that they might have spent several sessions completing an inscription.

One theory is that PCs on night rounds might prefer to lurk here than face possibly dangerous encounters with nocturnal criminals. Less salubrious ideas have been mooted such as that this was perhaps a “love alley”, a hang-out for ladies of the night. If that were true, though, would the bobbies have had time to carve their initials…?

Whatever the reason for their presence here, the policemen have left a record of their lives that has so far lasted some 120 years and will presumably last until the wall eventually collapses or is demolished.

At about 8:30 a.m. the doorbell rang. I hoped it might be the postman but, given the previous incidents this week of scam callers (see Suspicious caller and False alarm), I didn’t buzz the front door open, as I would done before, but went and opened it in person. Just as well I did.

Standing on the doorstep was a tall young man in dark clothes, his face covered by a black face mask, carrying a tool box. He announced that he was from the Council and had come to check the security of the communal area. He offered no ID.

I replied that we had received no letter to this effect and that I had already contacted the Council who had informed me that no such jobs had been commissioned on this prioperty. They had also emphasised that all such work would be notified to tenants in advance by letter.

He asked me to confirm our flat number and muttered something about “a lady”, pulling out his phone, as though searching for a reference or phone number. I told him that it made no difference as I was not allowing him access. With that I shut the door.

I next went through the by now familiar routine of contacting the police on the 101 phone number to update my existing report. My information was duly noted and the officer told me that details would be forwarded to the local police as there might be a gang operating in the area.

Then I called the Council’s Housing Department to report to them. The last time I called, I had spoken to a gentleman who was very much on the ball and had responded well to my information. This time, I was put through to a young man who was obviously out of his depth. I believe, but am not sure, that he took notes and if so, perhaps these will eventually be matched up with my previous report. We can but hope.

That today’s caller shoiild mention our flat specifically as the point of contact shows that these scammers have targeted us specially for some reason. I can only hope that the fact that I have now sent three of their callers packing will persuade them not to pester us further.

Update at 12:25 p.m.

The hope expressed in the last sentence above has already been dashed. The doorbell rang and on the doorstep was a man carrying a bag of tools and claiming to from the Council to carry out “a front door survey”, whatever that is meant to be.

“You will have received a letter,” he said.

I told him we have had no letter, that this is a scam and that I am not admitting him.

He took it all calmly and remained polite as I shut the front door.

I am beginning to wonder whether these are in fact genuine tradespeople who are themselves being conned, perhaps by a gang of people taking finders’ fees for for non-existent jobs. Does that sound far-fetched? It would fit the picture and explain why these people seem genuine.

It is another coolish day – 12°C (53° F) – and breezy too. The sun is shining, though, leading to contrasting conditions: warm in sunny but sheltered corners and chilly in exposed areas.

The new rules allowing people to go out and to go to work, using public transport if necessary, has increased traffic flows noticeably. How people are supposed to maintain “social distancing” on crowded buses, I don’t know. They can’t, of course: it’s impossible.

Traffic on Pentonville Road

It was Jusaka’s turn to supply the coffee today and so we headed that way but took a turn around St Mark’s Church before heading to St John Street and the Angel crossroads.

Georgian style houses, Myddelton Square

I photographed these Georgian style houses because (a) I like them and (b) they looked cheeful in the sunshine. (Inexcusable anthropomorphism, I know 🙂 ) They are classics of the style with graded window-size, “area” giving access and daylight to the basement, and elegantly styled ironwork in front of the ground-floor windows.

Arlington Way

This is Arlington Way, which I mentioned in a previous post. What’s special about it? Nothing much, really, though it does contain several Grade II listed houses and the Shakespeare’s Head pub (also mentioned previously) which was described in a document of 1742 as offering refreshments and harpsichord music! It has been rebuilt since then but I don’t know what happened to the harpsichord 🙂

If you are interested in historical associations, the street was named after Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington (1618-85) who was, among other things, a Secretary of State between 1662 and 1674.

We reached St John Street and then passed along a narrow passage leading to Owen Street and thence to Goswell Road – a diversion to prolong our stroll. On the way we passed this building: do you know, or can you guess, what it is?

I haven’t put a caption in case you want a couple of minutes to think about it.

It is in fact the old entrance to the Angel Underground Station.

The station, which opened in 1901, had a central “island” platform between the two tracks. It was still like this when I first visited Islington. I remember feeling slightly nervous because the large numbers of people waiting for trains filled the platform and I could easily imagine being jostled and falling in front of a train!

In 1992, the station was enlarged with separate platforms for the two directions. The new entrance is round the corner in the High Street. Most maps have caught up with the change but Apple Maps hasn’t: it still shows the entrance here in City Road.

There were already two customers in Jusaka and as only three are allowed at one time, Tigger went in and I waited outside, rather like those dogs you see tied up outside the supermarket!

Then we made our way home, washed our hands and enjoyed our coffee. Tomorrow, we can do it all over again!