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!

I read recently that archaeologists had discovered traces left by some early hominids and that the evidence suggested that they hibernated during the winter months or perhaps entered a state of “torpor” as do certain species of bears. This amused me because I have often written in these pages that, hating the cold as I do, I have often wished I could hibernate until the weather warmed up again.

This came to mind today when we went out for our exercise walk. According to the Met Office, the temperature was 3°C, but – an important “but” – it “feels like” -1°C. The culprit, perhaps was the fog which makes you damp and, consequently, cold. Because of the cold, were not in a mood to go far.

We keep finding these

Near the Double Tree Hotel in Pentonville Road, we spotted this label tied to a lamp post. I had already seen others but without enquiring what they signify. They seem to be proliferating.

London Angel Hunt

This time I turned the label over and saw the enigmatic message “#LONDONANGELHUNT”. I naturally assumed that the “angel” part referred to our neighbourhood, the Angel Islington. For now, though, I put off further speculation.

We had speedily come to the decision to go straight for coffee and then to return home. There will be other, pleasanter days for longer walks.

Pigeons squabbling

At the corner of Baron Street with Chapel Market, I saw a gaggle of pigeons. They had found some food and were merrily squabbling and grabbing pieces from one another as they do. The fact that the pieces seemed to large to swallow whole, added to the confusion.

I at first thought the man with his back to the camera was feeding them but he wasn’t or maybe he had discarded part of his takeaway meal and that was what the pigeons were arguing about.

(I know that pigeons are not to everyone’s taste but I am fond of them. I sometimes wonder whether I was a pigeon in a previous life! 🙂 )

Chapel Market

Chapel Market was busier than on previous days though there were no stalls. Monday is in any case the one day of the week when the market is closed so stalls were not to be expected. The scene gives the impression that Christmas is quickly fading from people’s minds.

Mercer’s – open!

It was Tigger who spotted that Mercer’s was open again. We could have gone further down the road to see whether Costa was open (we have a Costa Club card bursting with points worth several coffees) but we both like Mercer’s coffee so that was that!

Inside Mercer’s

I went into Mercer’s, carefully walking in the direction indicated by the signs stuck to the floor, and ordered the coffees. Coffee shops divide between those who leave you to find the sugar, the stirring sticks, etc. yourself and those who ask “Any sugar with that?” Mercer’s belongs to the second category.

No, thank you, no sugar. I have never had sugar with my tea and coffee and therefore can’t imagine how people can do so. It’s so sickly.

During World War II, we used so little sugar at home that my mother was able to save up our sugar ration. I remember that there was a shelf in a wardrobe full of unopened packets of sugar. On several occasions, she was able to swap sugar for other goods.

Clutching our sugarless coffees, we headed for home.

Are you still wondering about the label on the lamp post? I looked it up on the Web and found this website. Does that explain it? Well, maybe. I suppose that when people show a flair for entertaining themselves, this is something to be encouraged though hunting angels is no doubt a seasonal hobby only.

We set out bravely enough, and Tigger suggested going a little bit further today, “somewhere new”. However, once we were out in the open, it felt very cold indeed, much more so than the advertised 5°C.

To make things worse, our usual coffee oases – Jusaka, Myddelton’s deli, Saint Espresso – were all closed and so we would need to loop back through the High Street and call at Starbuck’s once again.

In streets with trees, we noticed that the ground was littered with broken twigs and branches, suggesting that there had been strong winds overnight – thanks to storm Bella, no doubt. How, we wondered, do squirrels and nesting birds fare when the trees are shaken by gales?

Discarded already

We soon spotted this sad post-festivity sight, a discarded Christmas tree. There is nothing unusual about this, of course, apart from the fact that this one has been disposed of with what some might consider unseemly haste.

Another victim of wasteful consumerism

And, indeed, we had not gone very far before we came across another example, a dead tree awaiting the refuse collectors. It is so sad and such a waste, especially as trees are living creatures.

The Curvaceous Tree

We passed near to “my” Curvaceous Tree and for a while I gazed in wonder at its twisting branches. How long has it taken to grow and spread in this way? Winter has revealed the wonderful skeletons of branches that support the leafy canopies that hide them in spring and summer. Long may it survive and be appreciated and admired by future generations of tree lovers.

Costume twins

We were amused by this couple who passed us on the other side of the road, both dressed exactly the same. Are they twins or close friends? We’ll never know but they brought a smile to our faces and I would have wished them a happy New Year if I had been close enough.

Low sun on the gardens

The low winter sun, shining between buildings, cast an eccentric pattern of light and shadow on the gardens of Myddelton Square conferring on them a strange beauty.

Flowers in the gardens

We walked along beside the gardens and in one place, these flowers seemed to be seeking the attention of passers-by. Well, they succeeded in obtaining ours! The only problem is that my botanical ignorance doesn’t allow me to identify them. I really must do some work on that! They were so pretty amid the general winter barrenness.

Luminous reindeer

On a windowsill we saw this illuminated reindeer. As he was outside, exposed to the elements, I assume the lights are powered by batteries within the body. He was obviously intended to be seen and enjoyed by passers-by.

Miniature Christmas tree

So was this miniature Christmas tree in a pot on a windowsill, complete with baubles. Will it, too, end up in the gutter one day soon?

The Castle

We passed by the Castle pub which is closed, of course, with the chairs upended on the tables. The last time we had lunch here, we had thought about coming back for lunch on Christmas Day and, though we didn’t follow up on the idea, I wonder what has happened to all those supplies that pubs and restaurants must have ordered for Christmas that were not needed after all. Have they gone to waste? And have they had to pay for them despite not earning anything for them?

Abandoned chair

We came upon this lonesome chair, apparently abandoned. Where did it come from and why was it cast out? Has a new upstart chair usurped its position? Perhaps someone will find it and give it a good home otherwise the poor thing will join the countless discarded Christmas trees on the refuse collectors’ lorry.

The High Street

And so to the High Street which was, if anything, busier today than yesterday. Our destination, of course, was that dispenser of precious black liquid, Starbuck’s, the only one near home that we knew to be open.

Inside Starbuck’s

Today, after we had ordered our coffees, they allowed us to wait inside while they prepared them. As it was so cold outside, this was welcome!

You may be wondering whether w photographed any wreaths today. Oh yes, I’m afraid we did! As yesterday, I have gathered them together in an animated GIF slideshow. As for us, we hurried off home to enjoy our coffee!

Wreaths

Today, the day after Christmas, is called Boxing Day. Why? Well, everyone seems to have a pet theory about that and I am not going to hazard any guesses.

Happily, the temperature has risen and by the time we bestirred ourselves, it had reached a magnificent 9°C. That still felt pretty cold and clutching a hot cup of coffee (thank you, Starbuck’s) was a pleasure.

The lone trader

We crossed Chapel Market without walking along it and I looked to see whether there were any market stalls. Yes, there was just one: a fish stall.

The fish shop, open too

That prompted me to look and see whether the fish shop was open too. It was, and I wondered whether they had both opened by chance or whether they had tipped one another the wink, so to speak.

Fruit and veg open

Both of the fruit and veg shops were open again today as they were yesterday. All that was missing was that unreliable element, customers.

Pigeons feeding

We crossed Sainsbury’s car park (which used to be a body of open water called White Conduit, hence the name of the short street leading to it, a called White Conduit Street) and went along Cloudesley Road. Beside it is Culpeper Park and on the pavement nearby was a crowd of pigeons. Someone must have left food for them. There was no squabbling which suggested that they had finished the banquet and nothing was left.

Boxing Day, pigeon style!
Video by Tigger

Tigger knows I’m fond of pigeons and caught a short video of this one emerging from a box atop a rubbish bin. (I’ve called it a video but it was a “live photo” – iPhone users will know what that is.)

Many-branched tree

In the front garden of one of the houses was this amazing many-branched tree. I just had to photograph it.

A multiple tree

Here is another view of it, showing the base. Whether it’s a many-branched tree or several trees coalesced together is a moot point. This could become my joint-favourite along with the Curvaceous Tree beside St Mark’s Church. I will come back to see it in spring when it is again dressed in leaves.

Replacements of the originals?

In Batchelor Street, our attention was taken ip by photographing a couple of Christmas wreaths (more about that later) and I almost missed something more interesting. In a row of apparently identical Georgian style houses, I noticed that this section had bricks of a slightly different colour from the rest. Also, they have thick, straight, black lintels over the windows and the doors (just about visible in the photo) whereas the adjoining houses had brick arches.

Older housing stock?

I don’t know how well the difference shows up in the photos but these houses look – to me, anyway – as if they are older. Their brick arches “look right” while the heavy lintels of the others “look wrong”. The differences are subtle and I could be mistaken.

The blue plague on the left is to the artist Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (1793-1864) who lived at number 26 when the road was called Chapman Street.

Unwanted chairs

Also in Batchelor Street were these apparently discarded chairs. If you need extra seating for your home, you know where to come!

Tower, Business Design Centre
Previously the Royal Agricultural Hall

We entered Liverpool Road opposite the large building now known as the Business Design Centre. Viewed from Upper Street, it is fronted by modern metal and glass but from here, we can see the older part. I tried to photograph it in its entirety but the road is not wide enough to allow me to go far enough back to include all of it in one frame. This picture may give some idea of it.

The central part

The Royal Agricultural Hall was opened for business in 1862. It was designed among other things to provide space for cattle dealers to show off their animals during cattle shows. Happily, these are no longer held here and the building has been assigned other duties.

Raised pavement and steps

Near the building just discussed, the pavement on the western side of Liverpool Road is raised above the level of the road. There is a railing to stop you falling off (although this is quite low, testifying to the shorter average height of people in times past) and steps to descend to the road, all in all a rather quaint feature for London. I don’t know whether there was a reason for this feature or whether it came about simply because of the local topography.

Holy Trinity Church

Before crossing the road to start back, we had a view of Holy Trinity Church in Cloudesley Square. The last time we went near it, it was being used by the Celestial Church of Christ and seemed in need of repair. It has now reverted back to the C of E and the Cloudesley Association is trying to raise funds to return it to use. I don’t know whether they will be successful in a time when churches are being closed down rather than opened but we shall see.

The Old Royal Free Hospital

We crossed the road at the Old Royal Free Hospital. I described this in a previous post. It is now a residential estate. One can walk through to rejoin Upper Street but that is not where we were going today.

Sainsbury’s is open

We saw that Sainsbury’s was open again (handy if we run out of something or other) but as we were not in need of anything we continued on.

Chapel Market

We crossed the end of Chapel Market but didn’t go into it even though we thought that Costa might be open today.

Instead, we took our custom, as we did yesterday, to Starbuck’s in the High Street. The same system was in place: order at the counter and then wait outside for them to bring your coffee to you.

The High Street

The High Street was fairly busy, though mainly in bursts rather than continuously as it is normally. We did not tarry, however, but made straight for home with our coffee.

I said above that I would mention wreaths later. I know some of you like them. We photographed quite a few and I have gathered a collection of 12 but, rather than lengthen the post by inserting them individually, I have put them in the animated gif below

Christmas wreaths