Tigger was at work today and I had to wait in for a phone call this afternoon. That done, I thought about going out for a walk. I had come to enjoy our little rambles around the neighbourhood during lockdown and rather missed them. Going by myself was not as much fun as going with Tigger but I gave it a try.

Visiting the ‘Curvaceous Tree’

I started by visiting the “Curvaceous Tree” near the church. It is as curvy as ever and I was glad to see that it seems to be thriving.

The clock is working again

Glancing up at St Mark’s Church, I saw that the clock is working again. It had stopped and remained motionless for several months. I was pleased to see it running though, as I never go to church or contribute in any way to its upkeep, I don’t have any say in the matter.

Lion-head door knocker

This door knocker resides on the front door of a house across from the church. A few years ago, the house was subjected to refurbishment and the door knocker, and other furnishings, disappeared. Being fond of the knocker, I waited anxiously through the months of building work to see whether it would return. And eventually it did, cleaned and varnished to boot. I always look out for it when I pass, as one might look out for an old friend.

Browning’s Garage

Just off Amwell Street, in Great Percy Street, is Browning’s Garage. There is nothing particularly remarkable about it – though it has apparently been run as a family business since 1910 – other than that it is slightly unusual to find one in a quiet residential area like this. My interest in it is purely personal, owing to memories of my student days when I worked in a garage during vacations. I enjoyed those times and the clang of a dropped spanner together with the smell of oil and petrol brings them back to me.

Percy Circus garden

Part way down Great Percy Street is a circular “square” called Percy Circus. In the centre of it is a round garden with trees, shrubs and a few benches. We came here a few times on our rambles.

The central tree

I sat on one of the benches in the middle of the garden and looked up into the spreading canopy of the tree that is there. It is no doubt home to a squirrel or two but nothing stirred while I was there.

Autumn sky

Before leaving Percy Circus, I took this photo looking down the hill and showing the autumn sky with the sunlight filtering down between the clouds. It’s hard to remember how we used to come here in the heat of summer!

Georgian-style houses in Lloyd Square

I photographed these Georgian-style houses in Lloyd Square not because there is anything of particular note about them but because I have become rather fond of this, the prevalent style of building in this part of the borough. I think they are soberly elegant.

Myddelton’s deli

We used to call in at Myddelton’s deli for take-away coffee on our lockdown rambles. I didn’t call in today but noted that, for the first time since lockdown, they have put out their chairs and tables. I hope it is an omen of better times to come.

Display of cushions

Across the road from the deli is a shop selling furnishings. I mentioned it previously and its display of cushions (for a reminder, see Clouds and cushions). The motif on the cushions changes from time to time and today it is birds.

Before making for home, I had a quick look in Myddelton Square to see whether I could spot the cats. We first saw them in the hot weather, taking the air at a window (for a reminder, see Cold enough for trousers). We haven’t seen them for a long time, nor were they visible today. Their window was closed and the curtains drawn.

And finally, here is a guest appearance of another denizen of the neighbourhood who, though he has not been here long, has made a mark for himself.

Wild Kong

Richard Orlinski’s Wild Kong continues to emit his (silent) roar of challenge to all who pass by.

Never one to adopt novelties with unseemly haste, I was nevertheless an early adopter of credit cards. I applied for one soon after they became available in the UK in the 1960s. The card I obtained then I have still and use it for most of my non-cash spending. In fact, I have two from the same company, the first, in my “civilian name”, and a second, in the name of SilverTiger, which the bank, slightly bemused perhaps, was good enough to issue.

Older readers may remember the furore when a group of banks came together to issue a credit card called Access (advertised as “Your flexible friend”), which they then proceeded to send to all their customers without first enquiring whether these customers wanted the card or not. Questions were asked in Parliament about this but as the deed was done and dusted, it was too late to do anything about it.

After a few years of operating as a “free” card, that is, one without a monthly or annual fee, Access decided to start chargng, at which point I ceremoniously cut mine into four pieces and sent it back to the card company.

Compared with today, using a credit card in those early days was a somewhat clumsy process. The vendor needed to fill in a carbonized voucher which was then placed in a machine together with the credit card and the roller run across it. This impressed the card’s embossed details on the voucher which also had to be signed by the customer.

Credit cards could only be used for fairly large sums and most shopkeepers applied a minimum below which you had to pay cash.

The first revolution to disturb this sleepy state of affairs was the advent of “chip and pin”, when cards became activated by means of an embedded mini-processor, capable of communicating through the payment machine and the telephone service with the bank’s computers. The supposedly secret 4-digit PIN (“personal identification number”) had to be typed in to ensure that the person using the card was its legitimate owner.

Every useful invention, of course, spawns illegitimate use. It was no time at all before we were hearing tales of chip and pin cards being “skimmed” by unscruptulous vendors and subsequently used fraudulently. I was caught three times by such nefarious practices – once for over £1000 – though, happily, I managed in each case to convince the bank that these expenses had not been incurred by me and to receive a refund.

The next revolution, “contactless cards”, though possibly of even greater moment than chip and pin, arrived and was taken up by the public with relatively little fuss because they were already accustomed to paying electronically.

As usual, I was slow to take up the new fangled “tap and pay”. Tigger was way ahead of me and was merrily using her card while I was still paying regular visits to the ATM to replenish my reserves of cash. Eventually, though, I tried it for myself and, as the saying is, never looked back.

As an iPhone owner, I of course became aware of Apple Pay and similar systems by which you could use your mobile instead of your credit or debit card. To be honest, I didn’t see the point. Why use your mobile to use your credit card when you could use your credit card directly? It seemed counterintuitive. I was also concerned that as I fumbled to take out my phone, I might drop it, with dire consequences. I asked a few people who used Apple Pay what they thought of it and all were enthusiastic.

To use Apple Pay easily, it’s best to set your phone to fingerpint ID, another advance that I had not yet tried. Then one day, while playing distractedly with my phone, I thought about setting up fingerprint ID, “just to try it”. It worked well and I have used it ever since.

Having done this, the next thought was obvious: what about setting up Apple Pay? Only experimentally, of course, because I don’t Intend to actually use it..

I was surprised how easy it was to set it up. Show the iPhone your card and it does most of the work itself, including engaging in a quick tête à tête with your bank, and – bingo! – it’s done.

Though I had no intention of actually using Apple Pay, I had to use it at least once, just as part of the “experiment”. I did and it worked. Was I smitten? Not quite. To be honest, I made a bit of a mess of things at first, so much so that I decided that Apple Pay was not for me and firmly put it aside.

Meanwhile, Tigger, seeing my efforts, decided to try Apple Pay for herself and set it up on her phone. She did and she succeeded in using it easily where I had got in a tangle. Seeing this, I decided to give it another go. I at last got the hang of it and yes, was smitten! I now use it for all my expenditure except for the rare occasions where cash is still required.

As I now carry my iPhone on a lanyard round my neck, my fear of dropping the phone while trying to pay has left me and the phone is always to hand, saving me rooting about in my handback for my wallet and then opening this to find my credit card. Gone too are the days when waiters and others would grab the credit card from my hand and insert it in the payment machine themselves, even though they are not supposed to do this. Gone too is typing in the 4-digit PIN. I also like the reassuring ping that the phone makes when the payment succeeds and the fact that the transaction amount is listed immediately in the iPhone wallet.

Having finally caught up with modern technology, I am wondering what advances will come along next. For they surely will. I read that the first credit and debit cards that work with biomettric ID, instead of the fallible PIN, have been issued and the first credit cards without any data – card number, expiry date, CVV – on them, cards that are blank except for the bank’s name.

Wonders are surely just around the corner and I await developments with interest if also with a touch of trepidation.

I had an appointment this morning at the clinic in Hornsey that I mentioned in Holloway and Crouch End. Tigger waited for me in the same coffee place and afterwards we went for a stroll along Hornsey Road, which is a very long thoroughfare.

The district, like the road, is called Hornsey. While there is general agreement that Hornsey and Haringey both derive from the same Anglo-Saxon original, there is some uncertainty about the exact meaning of this. A plausible etymology joins the proper name Hæring and the word hæg, “enclosure”, to give “Hæring’s enclosure”. We might note that hæring also meant “herring” (the fish) but that is probably irrelevant.

Part of Hornsey Road

As I said, Hornsey Road is very long and no single picture can give a true impression of it. Here we are looking back along the way we have come.

The Glass Shop

In passing this shop (which seems to be closed), I noticed an amusing detail. It has an unusual way of indicating its name.

Shop name

They have had a name panel made that imitates the official street name panels in London. Here is a genuine one for comparison:

Street name panel

We passed through a tunnel that is part of a bridge crossing the road.

Railway bridge

That this is a railway bridge is obvious but more than that I cannot say as I have not so far found any useful references to it. It is also in a somewhat neglected condition to judge from the plant life that has taken root on it.

Emirates Stadium

Nearby is one of the area’s landmarks, the Emirates Stadium. The local football team is a well known one: Arsenal. Needing a new home ground, they obtained sponsorship from the Emirates airline for the building of a new stadium, which was duly completed in 2006. That’s about as much as I know since I find following football about as interesting as watching paint dry.

New wall, old gate

We noticed this intriguing anomaly. The wall is obviously modern and yet the gate bears a date of 1896. The most likely explanation, I think, is that, having demolished the Victorian wall, the builders rescued the stones of the old gate and incorporated them into the new structure. How exact a recreation is it? The uneven ends of the lintel suggest to me that the original gate was wider than this one but that could be a misapprehension on my part.

Blue apartment blocks

I noticed this row of drum-shaped apartment blocks because of their unusual blue colour which shone in the sunlight. Their round shape is also a little uncommon and they remind me of a row of kitchen canisters marked “Flour”, “Sugar”, “Coffee”, etc.

An old pub, perhaps?

By now, Hornsey Road had given way under our feet to Benwell Road. On a corner, my attention was attracted to this building. Was it perhaps an old pub, now repurposed?

Once the Montague Arms

A view around the corner dispels all doubt because there the name still survives, the Montague Arms. The pub’s history goes back to at least the late Victorian period. When it closed down, I do not know, but it has been converted as a residential property.

The Montague name, as you probably guess, came to Britain with the Normans, the original settlers having come from Montaigu-Les-Bois in Coutance, in Normandy. The name of course means “sharp (i.e. pointed) mountain”.

Upper Street

We now caught a number 43 bus which carried us back to the Angel. We left the bus at Islington Green, beside which runs the long and busy thoroughfare called Upper Street. (If there was ever a Lower Street, it no longer exists.) It is lined with shops but particularly with cafes and restaurants, making it in the evenings a haunt of diners, a fact that caused some wag to call it “Supper Street”, a nickname that has gained general currency.

Islington Green

I took the above photo over the railings of Islington Green, a popular green oasis and also the location of the Islington War Memorial. In the background is the building that now accommodates the Waterstone’s Bookshop and was once the site of Collins’ Music Hall.

Crêpe Affaire, Camden Walk

As it felt like lunch time, we went down Camden Walk to this place, Crêpe Affaire. We went in and found a table (number 1, as it happens).

Inside Crêpe Affaire

This restaurant bills itself as “contactless”. What this means is that glued to each table is a QR code which you use with you mobile to access their website. You first log in with your name and email address (all restaurants in the UK are required by law to keep a short-term list of all customers so as to be able to inform them if it later turns out that an infected person accessed the premises at the same time). Then you consult the online menu and choose your food and drinks items and, finally, use your mobile to pay. The order is then placed. When it is ready, it is brought to your table (so it’s perhaps not quite contactless).

We chose coffee and “Eggs Florentine Crêpes”. The latter were tasty enough but only lukewarm by the time they reached us.

Stall, Antiques Market

The Antiques Market still runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays and this stall, just in front of Crêpe Affaire, was part of it.

However, we decided that it was time to return home and so made for a nearby bus stop. Thus ended today’s adventure.

We went for a short wander in Shoreditch, a very mixed area containing office blocks, apartment blocks, arts and design studios and much else besides. We took a 205 bus to Shoreditch High Street.

There isn’t a narrative with this, just a few photos and minimal comments.

Tower block, Shoreditch High Street

We left the bus in front of this tower block, one of many that have raised their ugly heads in this area in recent years. This one is residential and you might (perhaps with the aid of a magnifying glass!) be able to spot a man on one of the balconies.

Crown and Shuttle

This handsome pub, the Crown and Shuttle, has existed since the early 1800s. It’s looking rather shabby now and seems to be closed, a victim of the pandemic, perhaps. What does the future hold for it?

Indian lunch
Photo by Tigger

We went for lunch in an establishment in Bethnal Green Road that is a cinema with bar and restaurant attached. It is known, as far as I can work it out, as Indi-Go at Rich Mix. These days the restaurant also serves pizzas.

Street art dog

This street art dog was partially obscured by rubbish. Shoreditch used to be a very lively area for street art but has quietened down considerably in the last couple of years. Much of the surviving art is old and showing signs of decay.

Red and white stripes

This apartment block was probably built in the early 20th century, though that’s a guess. I photographed it because it looked so cheerful and pretty in the sunshine.

Rochelle Street School

We reached Arnold Circus , which, as the name suggests, is a roughly circular “square” of houses with a central garden. The odd thing about it is that the garden is raised and has two levels, reached by two flights of steps. (See comment by Ray Purdy.) Rochelle Street School, bearing a date of 1899, stands nearby.

Red and white

On a corner near the school is another red and white apartment block, not quite a match for the first one but similar. I wonder what it’s like living there?

Bandstand

On top of the mound that is the central garden of Arnold Circus is the bandstand. I have no idea of its age. Was it ever used for its alleged purpose? Today it is empty and we walked through it and down the other side.

Shoreditch Church (St Leonard’s)

This is as close as we came to what is known generally as the Shoreditch Church and, more officially, as St Leonard’s. Perhaps we’ll visit it another time. The original church dated from medieval times but its steeple collapsed in 1716 and so the church was rebuilt in 1736-40.

Street art by Stik

I don’t know who painted the dog but this piece can only be by Stik. His black and white figures were everywhere in Shoreditch (and beyond) but many have disappeared, often because the building on which they were painted has been demolished.

Rivington Street

This is Rivington Street which I assume is named after Rivington’s publishers, a multi-generation business running from the 18th into the 19th century.

More Rivington Street

For a narrow backstreet, Rivington is surprisingly long. Perhaps that is fitting as it reflects the longevity of the firm.

Great Eastern Street

Rivington Street runs into Great Eastern Street, one of Shoreditch’s main thoroughfares. This was handy for us because a nearby bus stop was for the 205 to take us home.

For today’s ramble we took a bus to Hackney, a lively and interesting London Borough.

Musicians’ mural

This massive mural covering the side of a building is very impressive but is showing its age, not least in the tags that unimaginative vandals have added near the bottom. Fans of the various bands can no doubt recognise their idols among the faces portrayed.

We set off in this direction

We had no specific route in mind and so wandered where fancy dictated.

Watching pigeons
Photo by Tigger

Our attention was caught by this small boy who was standing quite still, watching the pigeons paddling and drinking in a puddle. Perhaps he will grow up “animal-sensitive” and continue to be intrigued by living creatures. I hope so.

This is not a cafe

This may look like a cafe (or even a “caffè”) but in reality it is a painted image like a stage backdrop. The property is up for rent (the projecting sign reads “Under Offer”) but what kind of business will occupy it is so far not revealed..

Terra cotta head

There were some benches in the square and on either side of each was a terra cotta head. They had obviously come from a building – presumably demolished – and it was a good idea on the part of the Council to preserve them in this way.

Tall blocks dominate

As we walked, we saw buildings of different kinds but tall blocks tended to dominate.

Shuttered warehouse

Older buildings do exist, sometimes singly, sometimes in groups, like this warehouse with shuttered windows, which carry clues to the history of the area in times past.

The Prince of Wales

Back on Kingsland Road, we spied another vestige of the past. The sculpted plumes at either end of the second floor are from the coat of arms of the Prince of Wales, indicating that this is the name of this pub. There was a pub on this site from no later than 1843 but we see it today as it was rebuilt in the 1930s. The pub closed of 2004 and I have no idea what its future will be.

Middleton Road

We looked down Middleton Road, which passes under s railway bridge and it seemed inviting.

Shops in the arches

Then we saw Frederick Place and went to explore it. It is a narrow road running beside the railway line. The railway is on an embankment under which are arches. The relatively small spaces within these can be used for various purposes, some as shops. The only one we saw open was halfway along (where you might be able to see two people). It was a diminutive bicycle shop.

Kingsland Road and minaret

Back in Kingsland Road, we could see a minaret in the distance. This belongs to the Suleymaniye Mosque. We have seen this several times and visited it one Open House weekend but this was as close as we came to it today.

Regent’s Canal

Kingsland Road crosses the Regent’s Canal. In the photo you can see a bridge carrying the same railway line that we met in Frederick Place.

Terrace, Bridge Cafe

Beside the canal is a small establishment called, appropriately enough, the Bridge Cafe. It has a proportionately small terrace overlooking the canal.

Spiral staircase
Photo by Tigger

Access to the terrace is by a narrow spiral staircase. If you think climbing up the stairs is awkward then going down again is an even more fraught experience! We chose to go down backwards like climbing down a ladder!

Beside the canal

After our coffee break, we went down onto the tow path of the canal. This is quite narrow in places and care is needed when passing people coming in the opposite direction. This is not helped by the fact that tow paths have been opened to cyclists. They are supposed to give way as necessary to pedestrians but often rush pass without due care and attention. The tow path frequently passes under low bridges where I have to stoop to make my way.

Strange box on a barge

The canal is lined with moored barges converted as dwellings. Some are well kept, others neglected. Some carry a clutter of objects on their decks, even gardens in some cases. On one barge I saw this strange box and do not know what its purpose is, with its two “windows” and its pretty floral painting.

“That’s our bridge”

When we came in sight of the above bridge, Tigger said “I think that’s our bridge”. And it was. We left the canal by a flight of steps to the street above.

New North Road

We reached the street and there was bus stop nearby. I didn’t realise it at first, but this was the New North Road that I had encountered when collecting my parcel (see Fetching the tea).

We had a while to wait but a bus eventually turned up and we began our journey back to the Angel.