… you have to make the effort! 🙂

We spent the morning lazily until it was time for lunch. Once this was out of the way, it was time to answer the call of our daily coffee.

No cats

We went through Myddelton Square, wondering whether we would see the two cats. We had once caught sight of one of them curled up in the room but since then, nothing. Today, even the window was screened and the window box has been emptied. (Yes, I know, not having anything to show, I am reduced to showing you what is not there! Give me marks for trying, though! 🙂 )

Christmas came early for someone

Outside one of the houses was this impressive set of empty boxes awaiting collection for recycling. It wasn’t obvious from the labelling what had been in the boxes. New furniture, perhaps.

Nearly every other window allowed views into the illuminated interiors of houses and in almost all of them, there were people sitting in front of computers. We guessed that at least some of these would be people “working from home” – a sign of the times.

Christmas wreath

Wreaths on front doors had begun to appear some weeks ago but their numbers are now gradually increasing. Is there a traditional formula as to what is included in these wreaths? Pine cones seem a popular component among others.

Treetop neighbourhood

Now that the leaves have fallen, the trees are revealing their secrets that are normally hidden. This tree contains a number of nests but whether these are birds’ nests or squirrels’ dreys, I do not know. I hope the neighbours all get on together.

Modest wreath

In Chadwell Street we spotted this relatively modest wreath. Once again cones – both pine and fir, if I’m not mistaken – occur in the mix.

Personally, I find the use of wreaths as Christmas decorations somewhat counter-intuitive because wreaths seem to me to be associated with funerals rather than birthdays. Perhaps that’s a misconception in my part.

Decorated shop

During lockdown, while many shops have been locked up and dark, in a few there has been activity as their owners prepare for reopening. This one, though, is the only one I have seen so far that had Christmas decorations on the outside. It is called Islington Makeup Artist but if it has a website, I haven’t been able to find it.

The Banana Tree

This is the local branch of the Banana Tree chain of restaurants. We have eaten here a few times. It too seems to be preparing for Wednesday though it, like many others, has been operating a takeaway service throughout lockdown.

Bicycle rack planters

I have seen a number of these pieces of street furniture dotted around. At first glance, you might just think they were rather small planters but the bicycle symbol and the rails along the top on both sides shows that they are dual purpose, serving both as decoration and as cycle racks. I have yet to see one used for the latter function. Perhaps because of their small size and their disguise they have escaped the notice of their intended users.

You might remember me showing you the shop with the missing letters. Here is a reminder:

Missing letters

We were amused when, passing that way today, this is what we saw:

Letters restored!

They have repaired their sign and, as you can see, the lights are on. They are busy preparing for the end of lockdown on Wednesday. You might know that Camerich sells furniture.

City Road closed

We went to Jusaka for our coffee and saw that City Road had been closed off by the police. The result is that traffic has been brought to a virtual standstill as cars and buses are having to divert, in some cases forced to turn right or left where this is normally prohibited.

Snarled up traffic
Photo by Tigger

In the coffee shop, they said they had heard that there had been a “crime”, but that that was all they knew. I expect we will hear all about it in due course.

In the meantime, coffee in hand, we hurried home amid queues of static vehicles.