The weather is cold and grey but we must make the most of it. We set out bravely, clutching the bag with our Jusaka reusable cups, only to face disappointment.

Jusaka – closed

We found Jusaka closed, despite them assuring us that they would be open at weekends from now on.

OK, then, plan B!

Queueing for the butcher’s

We walked down St John Street and turned into Chadwell Street. My attention was caught by this unusual gathering of people. It seems that they were queueing for the butcher’s shop on the corner. The queue stretched along in front of the neighbouring shops and turned the next corner. How long will it take them all to be served, I wonder. It makes me glad to be a veggie 🙂

Myddelton Square garden

We walked through Myddelton Square garden. In summer it had been busy but today I spotted only one other person, sitting on a bench. Not even any dog walkers.

If you have read other recent posts of mine, you will probably guess where we were heading. Yes, to Myddelton’s deli.

Coffee and custard tart
Photo by Tigger

As we intended to continue our walk, we decided that it was best to drink our coffee right here even though the weather was hardly propitious to sitting out on the pavement. As a treat and consolation prize, we lashed out on Portuguese custard tarts with the coffee. Delicious!

Scaffolders at work

For entertainment we watched a team of scaffolders assembling materials to build scaffolding on the front of one of the houses. Their task is slightly complicated by the fact that these houses have basements which have to be included. They obviously know what they are doing l, though, and for them, it’s literally all in a day’s work.

Amwell Street

If Amwell Street seems quiet for a Saturday, that’s not unusual for a street where many of the shops are specialist shops, some of which only open rarely. Despite this “exclusive” atmosphere, the street possesses not one, but three barbers’ shops. Can they all possibly make a living? Do they cut one another’s hair, I wonder?

It’s true that barbers’ shops have proliferated in recent years so that there are often several in a single shopping precinct. I have no idea why this is so. Men’s hair and beards aren’t growing any faster than they used to, are they?

Wharton Street (and the BT Tower)
Photo by Tigger

From the deli we strolled down Wharton Street. In the background you can just about make out the BT Tower. This has changed its name several times since it was completed in 1964 but is gradually losing its purpose, overtaken by developments in communications technology. The design included a revolving restaurant at the top but a bomb placed in the toilet in 1971 caused it to close, never to open again.

Autumn-clad house

We stopped to admire this house prettily decorated with autumn foliage.

Prideaux Place
Photo by Tigger

Another pleasant street is Prideaux Place. It is lined with trees and is very quiet. Cast-off leaves carpet the ground, conferring an almost rural feel.

Percy Circus

This led into one of my favourite places, Percy Circus. The houses not only follow a curve but stand on a relatively steep slope which, so I read somewhere, caused problems for the builders and delayed completion. Whatever the difficulties, they seem to have solved them with commendable results.

Central garden, Vernon Square

Venturing on, we entered Vernon Square, a place we have not visited often before. Like many of the squares in this district, it has a central garden which may have been private to residents originally but is now public. If the weather had been more amenable, it might have been pleasant to sit here for a while.

King’s Cross Baptist Church

One of the present residents of the Square is the King’s Cross Baptist Church (or “Chuch”, according to the website). I know nothing about the age or history of this church but was intrigued by one detail, spotted by Tigger: they advertise that they provide services in English and French. Can there be so many francophone Baptists living in the area that it is worth having special services for them? Apparently.

The Castle
Photo by Tigger

On the way home, Tigger photographed the Castle in Pentonville Road. We have visited this pub perhaps a couple of times to have their vegetarian Sunday roast, which is quite good. What caught our attention today, however, was the racket emanating from the roof terrace. Perhaps there was a private party in progress but whatever it was, it seemed a very jolly – and noisy – affair.

Today’s ramble was a return to our lockdown walks when we were confined to the local area. Now that London has been put in Tier 2, travel is again discouraged and we are encouraged to stay in our neighbourhood. I very much enjoyed those local explorations which taught me to look closer and deeper and led me to discover things I would not otherwise have done. Today I recovered some of that pleasure and interest. I look forward to more discoveries awaiting the curious gaze below the more obvious surface of the world.