Today is dry but chilly and doesn’t invite to long rambles. Having had lunch we went out for a little walk and to fetch our daily coffee.

There are only so many ways that you can go from a specific point A to a specific point B, however much you may wish there were other possibilities. The trick is to be observant and to spot all the little details and changes in the environment which in “normal” times one is too busy to notice. Because of this, we have made some interesting discoveries and I have deepened my affection for the neighbour in which I live.

Bare – the Curvaceous Tree

We passed by St Mark’s Church where the Curvaceous Tree stands sentinel on the corner. Luscious with foliage in spring and summer, it is now completely bare and skeletal, revealing its tortuous form.

Myddelton Square garden

Instead of walking round Myddelton Square as we usually do, we went through the central garden. Despite the weather, there were a few people sitting out on the benches and discretion was necessary in taking photos!

Children’s playground

In a corner beside the garden and the church is a children’s playground. There are usually at least a few children here but today it was eerily quiet.

Drinking fountain

Because we entered by the gate on the north side of the garden, something we had not done before, we “discovered” a drinking fountain previously unknown to us. It is not dated and I haven’t been able to find out anything about it but I think that, despite its form, it must be fairly modern. The main reason for thinking that is that it still works. You press a button to release a flow of water which shoots downwards, somewhat inconveniently unless you happen to have a cup with you or simply wish to replenish the built-in dog trough at the foot of the fountain. The button slowly returns to its initial position, turning off the flow.

Myddelton Passage

We passed through Myddelton Passage which has the Shakespeare’s Head pub at one end. You might remember too that it is here that are found police officers’ badge numbers, dating from the mid-19th century, carved into the brick wall, a phenomenon for which no definite explanation exists though there are numerous speculations.

Wall of Shakespeare’s Head

Two sides of the yard or garden of the Shakespeare’s Head pub abut onto the passage and there are plants from within that poke over the wall. During summer we had discovered that a grape vine runs along the wall. In due course, this produced bunches of grapes and we wondered whether there were any of these left.

Bunches of grapes
Photo by Tigger

The answer is yes, as you can see. I assume that the grapes have survived and not been picked because they are inedible. Wine grapes are grown in England, however, and wine made from them is marketed, although these wines are not very well known. With climate change, I imagine that the production of British wine is, if anything, likely to increase. (No, I have never tried any myself, not out of wine snobbery but because I gave up drinking alcohol a good few decades ago. I have heard, however, that British wines are similar to white Alsace wines, which is a good recommendation.)

The Shakespeare’s Head

Here is a more conventional view of the aforementioned pub of which I have written many times before. It’s looking a little lonely and sad at the moment, like all of its kin, forced as they are to remain closed during lockdown. They will no doubt burst into life again when the current restrictions end in early December.

Print of a painting, Arlington Way

We walked up Arlington Way where I spotted this picture in a shop window. It is no doubt a print of a well known painting but I don’t know which. Maybe a reader will identify it for me in a comment?

Lunch break!

You may remember me mentioning the road works in progress in Chadwell Street. I was amused to see that the men working on that site have adopted the bench in front of the butcher’s shop as a convenient place to take their lunch break. You can just see the legs of another pair round the corner.

Dispensing our coffee

And so, finally, to Jusaka to collect today’s ration of coffee. We pack the cups carefully in their cup holder in a carrier bag and hurry home to enjoy it. Our daily coffee run provides both a motive and a reward for bestirring ourselves and going for a walk despite the cold and the dulling effects of lockdown on our mood. If it didn’t exist, we should have to invent it!