This morning was my first chance to try out the new toaster (see yesterday’s post). The old one had rather short slots, meaning that I had to press down on the bread to make sure it went down. The new one has nice sized slots and the bread dropped down easily.

There is a dial with six gradations of toasting time. Not being sure how long my bread needed, I chose number 3. When the toast popped up it was slightly pale so I sent it down again, waited a short while and then pressed the release button. This bears the image of an upward-pointing arrow head and is conveniently illuminated. This time, the bread emerged evenly browned. Perfect job! Tomorrow I will try setting it to 4.

The weather today is not very nice. It’s cold and wet. We spent the morning indoors until lunchtime. Then we went out for a short expedition, starting at (did you guess?) Jusaka. Coffee consumed, we took the bus.

Tottenham Court Road

We came to Tottenham Court Road, an interesting shopping street, though rather damp and miserable today. This street used to be a good place to come for shops dealing in computers and general electronics. Many have disappeared since then though there are a few left.

Hema
Photo by Tigger

Our first call was to this intriguing retail outlet, Hema. This chain is Dutch and sells a range of moderately priced items from crockery and biscuits, through stationery to make-up and novelty goods.

Inside Hema

Tigger bought a few items and even has a loyalty card for the store. How’s that for being organised? 🙂

T2

Our next call, having managed to safely cross a by now busy street, was the a branch of T2, a chain selling tea and what has become known as “teaware”, that is, teapots, cups and jugs, infusers, infuser mugs, etc. The company, I believe, is originally Australian but has made a success of things here as well.

Tigger and I both like our tea but our preferences differ. Whereas I drink a blend of teas known as Russian Caravan, Tigger enjoys variety and keeps a stock of different teas.

The Rising Sun
Photo by Tigger

From T2 we passed this fine old pub, The Rising Sun, now a Grade II listed building.

There has been a pub on the premises since the 18th century but as we see it today it was rebuilt in 1896 in a style that Historic England describes as “Elaborate Art Nouveau Gothic”.

We could have spent longer in Tottenham Court Road but, what with the dull conditions and the fact that we had done all that was needful, there seemed to be little point.

Top deck, 73 bus
Photo by Tigger

Just beyond the pub is a stop where we boarded a 73 bus. According to Covid-19 rules, double-decker buses are limited to 30 passengers, though I don’t know whether the driver keeps a tally. In any case, the lower deck was full and so we climbed upstairs.

The bus followed the familiar route to our stop at the Angel and home.

And now, I’m off to make a nice cup of tea!