I was not looking forward to going out today, fearing that it would be uncomfortably cold though the forecast did show some improvement, with a “feels like” of 1°C as opposed to yesterday’s -1°.

St Mark’s from Claremont Square

You’ve seen this view before, I know, but I have become fond of it and it gives an impression of the conditions.

In the picture, you can spot more discarded trees. I should perhaps explain that in Islington (I don’t know about the rest of London), trees left in the street are collected free by the refuse disposal. It takes a while (refuse collection falls behind over the holiday period) but they all disappear eventually.

New arrival

This one is a new arrival since we passed this way yesterday and…

Yesterday’s has gained a companion

…yesterday’s has gained a companion in misery. As with the arrival of wreaths at the approach to Christmas, the rhythm of dumping trees is increasing. What strikes me, though, is how soon people are casting away their Christmas trees. It didn’t used to be the case, did it?

Artificial tree

Oy! That’s cheating! In Amwell Street, someone has dumped an artificial tree, perhaps complete with decorations and lights. I’m not sure that’s included in free collection.

One wreath…

Also in Amwell Street we photographed a couple of wreaths. First, this quite pretty one and…

…and another one

…this other, also quite pretty, one. Notice the sacks of rubbish awaiting collection. Everywhere we went there were heaps and bags of refuse. Some were neatly stowed beside the front door but others were piled in the streets. This is one of the often forgotten downsides of the festivity, the huge amount of rubbish that it generates or, to be fair, that people generate.

Penton Street

We went along Penton Street where I took a photo looking back the way we had come. Here, as elsewhere in London, cycle lanes have been established, narrowing the road for motor vehicles, especially in places where there are parked vehicles which are also banned from the cycle lane, so that the equivalent of two lanes have been removed from both sides of the road.

Kitchen and household wares

This shop has been open during Tier 4 and I am not sure whether their wares are, sensu stricto, “essential”. Whether they are or not, there are usually customers in the shop when we pass.

A bouquet in her head

In the wedding dress shop, all the dummies were wearing bouquets on their heads. Actually, they looked quite elegant. There seem to be quite a few shops specialising in wedding dresses in our neighbourhood.. I’m surprised there’s enough trade for all of them. Or is marriage coming back into fashion? 🙂

Tree and bicycles

Here too we came across a discarded tree, this one parked against a cycle rack and hobnobbing with a couple of machines.

Christmas lights in Chapel Market
Photo by Tigger

When we turned into Chapel Market, because we were later than usual and the daylight had faded somewhat, the Christmas lights stood out more clearly. (It’s a problem with phone cameras that they lack exposure compensation.)

You can probably guess where we were going.

Inside Mercer’s

Were you right? Here I am in Mercer’s waiting for our coffee to be dispensed. It turns out that we arrived only just in time: as I left the shop, they were putting up the closed sign!

I was relieved to find that it didn’t feel as cold as I had feared it would and I enjoyed the walk in consequence. Even so, I was quite glad to be back indoors in the warm…!

Coffee and extras!

At home, we enjoyed our coffee with a little extra: salty caramel chocolate buttons! Talk about luxurious living! 🙂 You can see that we know how to have a good time!

As this weary old year draws to a close and a new one bobs up over the temporal horizon with its cargo of uncertainties, we inevitably reflect on what has gone before.

For most of us, this has been the most extraordinary experience of our lives. We have had to learn new ways to lead our lives, to think about the world and manage our interactions with it and, above all in importance, how to relate to one another.

At such a time of “social deprivation”, the Internet has proved a boon to those of us lucky enough to be able to access it. Messaging apps on our phones, social media and, not least, blogs, have become the staple of our interactions with the wider world and one another.

So it is, then, that before this year becomes an object of history, I would like to thank all those of you who have looked in on my blog and left a token of your visit.

Simply clicking “like” to say you dropped by helped make my day and put a spring in my step. A comment, of course, was the cream on my coffee!

So, yes, indeed, if you “like” then I like and thanks to you all. May you, and all of us, enjoy happier times in 2021!