Today, for a change, was dry and sunny. If the temperature was about the same as yesterday, the sunlight made it warmer at least psychologically and perhaps also physically.

The Angel Crossroads

We stopped briefly at the Angel Crossroads to survey the pleasant sunlit scene.

No 1 Islington High Street
Photo by Tigger

Tigger photographed this, our favourite local building. It stands on the site of the original Angel Inn from which the neighbourhood is named, and is today occupied by a bank and other offices.

Jusaka, open again

Jusaka had been closed for the last two days and so we had not brought our reusable cups with us. They were open today and for once we had our coffee in disposable cups. I hope the planet doesn’t judge us too harshly.

It turns out that the man who served us is originally from Senegal so we were able to chat in French. He has also lived in Portugal and so is fluent in three languages.

Piccadilly

We took a bus next. I knew that Tigger had some plan in mind but not what, so I just waited for it to manifest itself while enjoying the ride and the views from the bus window. We left the bus at the place in the above photo, which is part way along Piccadilly.

Piccadilly is one of London’s main thoroughfares, lined with shops, restaurants and other notable institutions such as the Royal Academy. Originally called Portugal Street, its present name, which it acquired in the 17th century, comes from a house that once stood there. This was Pickadilly Hall, belonging to a tailor whose wealth derived from the sale of pickadills or pickadillies, a kind of lace collar.

Sanitise your hands here

A short walk from the bus stop is Waterstone’s, the bookshop. I think this is their largest store comprising 5 floors (plus mezzanine) and a cafe. This, apparently was Tigger’s destination and one I was happy to visit. At the entrance, as is standard in these times of Covid-19, is a hand-sanitiser dispenser. This one produces foam rather than the more usual gel.

As an aside, I have noticed that in many places, the sanitiser is very runny which suggests to me that it is being watered down in order to save money. This, however, defeats the object of having sanitiser in the first place. Perhaps the authorities should take note of this. I hasten to add that I had no such suspicions of Waterstone’s sanitiser.

A glimpse of the fourth floor

I have been in Watserstone’s in Piccadilly many times but I am still always amazed by the sheer numbers of different books on display. There must be thousands, or perhaps millions, of writers around the world labouring away to keep up this supply of titles. You could not, in one lifetime, reads all the books on one floor of Waterstone’s, let alone the whole stock.

The French language section

The shop has a very impressive staircase but we took the lift to the fourth floor. It turned out that Tigger, noticing that I had run out of French books to read, had decided to buy me a couple.

This kindness produced the delicious dilemma of what to buy. There was considerable choice from the classics of French literature to contemporary writers. There are authors that I like but it’s good to try others as well, so I eventually chose one of each.

Jermyn Street

We left Waterstone’s by the back entrance in Jermyn Street. This street is much quieter than Piccadilly but is also home to a number of exclusive shops.

Whittard’s tea and coffee emporium

Our next port of call was for Tigger. It was a branch of Whittard’s. Here Tigger explored the shelves and chose several different teas to try. These she brews both at home and at work where her tea is apparently appreciated by her colleagues!

Regent Street

We next found ourselves in Regent Street, once known for tailors. These days a mixture of shops and businesses inhabit it, some exclusive and many less so. As elsewhere, a number of premises were boarded up or empty, suggesting that their occupants have moved out, perhaps because the loss of business owing to the pandemic has proved fatal.

Exotic? Not so much…

Along the way, we spotted this figure. Anywhere else in Britain it might appear exotic but not here, among the shops selling luxury items and goods for export. Nonetheless, it seemed worth a photo..,

Burlington Arcade

We passed through the famous Burlington Arcade, replete with boutiques whose window displays do not show any prices. (“If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it..”)

The arcade was built in 1818 and styles itself as “the original department store”. It was set up by George Cavendish, First Earl of Burlington, on a garden of his. According to legend he did so because he was tired of passers-by tossing their oyster shells onto his property. For more on this, see here.

Piccadilly once more

The arcade let us out into Puccadilly once more, thus closing the circle of that part of our outing. We walked to a nearby bus stop in front of the Royal Academy and caught a bus back to the Angel.

I expect you are wondering what books we bought at Waterstone’s, so here they are.

Michel Bussi, Mourir sur Seine

I have read other books by Bussi and so expect I will like this one as well. A “polar” is a detective story while the title, Mourir sur Seine (“Death on the Seine”) is probably a pun on mourir en scène, “dying on stage”. I will find out the exact meaning of that in due course!

Robert Sabatier, Les allumettes suédoises

Robert Sabatier is a writer new to me. The book, Les allumettes suédoises (“Swedish matches”), has been translated and made into a film, so I hope that will prove to be a good one as well.

In this age of electronic books, reading a book printed on paper that weighs in your hands, and gives off that special smell that books have, has become a special experience and one to look forward to.