Today is the 28th day of March, 2021. More to the point, perhaps, it is the last Sunday of said month of March. This means, gentle reader, that it is the day when, according to current practice, the clocks go forward one hour. Yes, had you been awake at 2am this morning and watching your radio-controlled clock, you would have seen it spin the hands round to indicate 3am.

Every year, people are caught out by this and turn up to work or to church or to other assignations an hour late. It makes us lose an hour’s sleep which we shall not recover until the silliness is reversed on the last Sunday of next October.

Changing the clocks twice a year comes at a cost and disrupts the flow of life. Our metabolism is impacted and the effects are apparently long lasting.

Many countries have abandoned the practice of changing the clocks. The EU was discussing a proposition to abolish it but Covid-19 intervened. Once things return to some sort of “normal”, I think it quite likely that the EU will in fact discontinue clock-changing.

Why do we even do it? The oft repeated “reasons” are largely spurious and the product of over-active imaginations. Most commonly blamed are a group of folk labelled “farmers” who, supposedly, want to rise and hour later in winter than in summer. Fine, if they did wish to do this, nothing is stopping them. They can could do so without bothering the rest of us. In fact, farmers have made it clear that they would be quite happy if the clocks were permanently set to summer time.

The second most common piece of nonsense is that without putting the clocks back in winter “children would have to go to school in the dark, increasing chances of accidents on the roads.” This silly argument neglects to mention that said children will be returning home in the dark when they are, if anything, more prone to accidents, being tired and in a hurry.

Turn it whichever way you will and the arguments make no sense whereas leaving the clocks alone makes a lot of sense.

One idea that has been mooted in that of “splitting the difference”. We change the clocks by one whole hour. Why? No doubt because any amount of time less than an hour is considered unnoticeable. Right then, why not make one single, final change to the clocks, setting them 30 minutes behind current summer time? That is, why not set the clocks midway between summer and winter time and leave them there? By the above argument, the change would be unnoticeable.

In fact, I don’t think that there is really any point in engaging in such tinkering. Public opinion is swinging against clock- changing and more and more bodies (including “farmers”, as we saw) are stating publicly that they would be happy to remain permanently on what is currently called “summer time”. It only remains to convince the government to stop dragging its feet and to repeal the 1972 Summer Time Act.

Simple things, though, take an inordinate amount if time to accomplish when governments are involved.

You will have noticed (from the absence of a post) that I didn’t go out for a walk yesterday. The weather was miserable and I had things to attend to at home.

Tigger spent the day at work and we met up in St John Street to order a takeaway supper from Banana Tree. These days, you enter the shop to place your order and then you wait outside in the cold for them to bring it to you.

Street door

We went out for our usual coffee-oriented walk today. I am intrigued by this door in the street. It makes me fantasise about strange happenings when you open it and pass through into another dimension.

The leak is back!

It may be hard to believe but the water leak in Claremont Square has returned notwithstanding two separate repair operations on it.

Thames Water van

One cannot miss the irony implicit in the fact that a Thames Water van is parked almost permanently with sight of the leak. The driver must live around here and, to be fair, probably is not involved in water main repairs. Even so…!

The sun, not electricity

Passing through Myddelton Square, we saw what it first looked like a street lamp alight un the daytime. Then we realised that it was not shining with electricity but that the glass panels happened to be oriented in such a way as to reflect the sunlight towards us.

Spot the cat

During the first lockdown last summer, we used to walk round the square and look for the two cats who lived here and were often at the open window. We hadn’t seen them for a long time and had begun to wonder whether the household had moved away. Today, however, Tigger spotted one of the cats in the room. Can you make it out? (Look in the central pane on the bottom row.)

Chadwell Street from Myddelton Square

It still felt cold out today, especially when the sun was hidden. Above is a view of Chadwell Street during a sunny moment.

Road-side repairs

We came upon this curious sight, what appears to be fairly major motor repair work being conducted in the street. Both rear wheels have been removed and the work is being done by a mechanic while the car’s owner and a friend look on.

Electric fan going begging

In Prideaux Place, an electric fan has been abandoned. Any takers? It may not be in working order of course but, then, caveat emptor, as the Romans are reputed to have said.

Lunch
Photo by Tigger

You might have guessed that we were in Prideaux Place because we were on our way to Percy Circus. We were heading to the Circus with coffee and a vegetarian cheese and vegetable toasted sandwich, both supplied by Myddelton’s deli. Happily, both were still hot when we arrived. As you can see, Tigger is holding the sandwich and taking the photograph. How she does that is a mystery but, then, many things about Tigger are a mystery!

Pigeons and a squirrel join us

The sight and smell of food were enough to attract a pair of pigeons and, later, a squirrel. Tigger shared some of her sandwich with the impromptu guests. The pigeons were bolder than the squirrel who didn’t dare to approach as close as they did. Fortunately, he seemed to find items of his own to eat.

Views of Percy Circus

During a sunny interval, I took these two photos of Percy Circus Garden which, as you no doubt know by now, is one of our favourite places.

Sun silhouetting the central tree

From where we were sitting, the sun appeared to be behind the tree in the center of the garden, silhouetting the branches and delicate tracery of twigs.

Holford Gardens

For the return journey, we passed through Bevin Court, as we usually do. Beside the cliff-like apartment block is a park called Holford Gardens and today we went in for a look.

Semi-wooded

As well as the grassy area where people can play and run about is this semi-wooded area. It is fenced off and offers a habitat for smaller creatures so I hope they keep it like that.

Bevin Community Garden

At the top end (the ground slopes up towards it), is the Bevin Community Garden. It is for Bevin Court residents and members only and was in any case locked up so we made do with photos taken between the railings.

Pigeon at the bird feeder

Further along, bird feeders have been hung in some trees. The feeders have been placed inside cages, presumably to make them accessible to small birds and inaccessible to squirrels and larger birds. That didn’t stop this pigeon having a good try at reaching the food!

Like a beetle’s antennae

When we were nearly home, we encountered this car with its windscreen wipers sticking out like a beetle’s antennae. Perhaps the owner washed the windscreen and forgot to put the wipers back in position.

Notwithstanding our picnic lunch, once indoors, Tigger proposed buttered toast and tea. Well, and why not? I was certainly not in a mind to refuse! 🙂

After a rest, we decided to go out for lunch. Cafes and restaurants are still closed or providing only takeaway food and we therefore needed to decide, firstly, where to buy our meal and, secondly, where to eat it.

The answers to these two questions were Chapel Market and Culpeper Park, respectively.

Chapel Market, wet with rain

It had been raining, as you can see from the above photo, but was not actually raining when we set out so we hoped for the best.

While Tigger went to the Crown Fish & Chips Bar to order chips for us both, I went to Greggs to see what they had that was both hot and vegetarian. The only thing available was a sort of roast vegetable pasty so it had to do.

Then I returned to the chippie to wait with Tigger for the chips to be cooked. (It always takes longer than you think.)

“My friends” at Culpeper Park

We took our lunch to Culpeper Park as this was fairly near and we hoped the food would still be hot when we arrived there. I photographed the pigeons (“my friends”, according to Tigger) because at that moment, the sun was shining and this group looked relaxed and contented.

Culpeper Park

The problem was going to be that of finding seats that weren’t wet with rain.

Culpeper Park is a dual structure: there is the public park which is open during daylight hours and, adjacent to it, the Culpeper Community Garden. This may or may not be open on particular days. It was open today so we went in.

A pleasant place to sit

The garden is quite big and its structure complex, with pathways to follow between different types of habitat. Near the entrance is a lawn in which there is a bench and three chairs in fixed positions together. We chose these chairs as our place to have lunch.

The pond

There is a pleasant pond nearby. It is at present protected by a light barrier and notices asking people not to touch it as it is the breeding season. By now, it was beginning to rain again, as you can see from the picture.

Flowers

After lunch, we went for a look around the garden. There are flower beds, trees and shrubs, a pond and several areas where cultivation is taking place. It would be worth going back for a longer look when the weather is more propitious.

Flower beds

There are winding paths, some of which are quite narrow. They lead you through the many different habitats. These include flower beds like the above.

Cultivation of plants

There are areas like the above where cultivation is taking place. These have a very professional look to them.

Loggia or covered path

We walked along this loggia or covered path which, I imagine, will eventually be covered with greenery.

It was raining fairly insistently and so we decided to go straight home. However, we had some chips left. What should we do with them? Yes, we gave them to “my friends”.

Feeding the pigeons

Some people may deprecate feeding the pigeons but the alternative would have been to put them in a bin which is likely to attract the attention of rats and other denizens of the park, perhaps including pigeons. It made “my friends” happy and shared a little birthday spirit with them.

We made our way home via Chapel Market. On the way, we called in at Mercer’s for coffee to take home.

We shall spend the rest of Tigger’s birthday at home relaxing.

Happy birthday, Tigger!

I mentioned previously (see To Exmouth Market) that Thursday was an exception to the other days this week but did not explain why. The reason is that today is Tigger’s birthday and she has the day off from work.

Accordingly, we decided to start off by having coffee in Percy Circus though the weather was less than ideal, being grey with occasional moments of sun or rain.

The reservoir

As we left the house, Tigger received a video call on her phone from a friend, which she attended to as we walked.

Tree stump as table
Photo by Tigger

I mentioned the other day how sorry I was to see that this tree had had to be cut down. At least one person has found a use for it: as a table or work bench.

St Mark’s Church

We passed by St Mark’s Church, still closed, of course. The sky was promising rain, as you can see.

Your slip is showing

We noticed that the house number of this door had slipped. Or are they trying to make it into a pound sign (£)?

Approaching our first goal

Here we are in Amwell Street, approaching our first goal. Ssh! You know where!

So much choice
Photo by Tigger

At Myddelton’s deli, we bought our usual coffees and Tigger proposed cake as well. (Well, it is her birthday!) There was a lot of choice, both cakes and savoury items. We eventually made our selection.

Flowers
Photo by Tigger

As it wasn’t actually raining, we decided to make for Percy Circus and consume our coffee and cake there. Tigger photographed these flowers along the way and…

Camellias

…I photographed these beauties that a reader kindly told me are camellias.

Prideaux Place

We passed along Prideaux Place which seems a very quiet and pleasant residential street with a mixture of houses and 1930s apartment blocks.

Percy Circus Garden

Thus we reached Percy Circus with its central garden where we like to sit and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. “Our” bench was occupied but we didn’t mind choosing another one for a change.

A peaceful garden

We drank our coffee and ate our cakes and looked around at the trees and flowers. Many of the trees are very old and bear marks recording their history.

An inhabitant of the garden

This is one of the inhabitants of the garden. What stories could it tell of the times through which it has lived?

The pattern of age

The bark of this tree bears a complex pattern like an inscription in an ancient unknown language. Would that I could read it!

Daffodils around a tree

We started back by walking through Bevin Court. There are daffodils everywhere and I photographed these growing around the base of one of the trees.

Flowers in the grass

I made this gif of flowers in the grass because their movement seemed to add to their lively beauty. They seem to say that, despite the weather, the spring is really here!

We returned home but with the intention of going out again later. If the weather permits, we will have lunch outside. Will the weather co-operate?

Today I had to wait in for a phone call. It eventually came at 10:30am for which I was glad as it left the rest of the day free.

The caller was one of the doctors at our local surgery, checking on my progress. I mentioned (see Just around the square to the deli) that I was suffering from an ailment and though I haven’t referred to it in the meantime, it has been there in the background. Today’s phone call was to confirm that I was now officially well again and ready to be dismissed from care.

This, it seems, is how we practise medicine in a time of Covid: consultations are conducted by phone and prescriptions sent electronically to a pharmacy of your choice.

What if you need your blood pressure checking? Well, then you repair to the surgery where there is a machine for that purpose in the waiting room. It disgorges a paper slip which is eventually seen by the doctor.

To be fair, though, I did have a face-to-face meeting with a doctor at the beginning and was examined appropriately.

I have already remarked more on a phenomenon of our pre-Covid times that puzzled me. This was the proliferation of barbershops. There suddenly seemed to be one, and sometimes several, is every shopping area. I wondered then whether they could all make a living with so much competition and I imagine the long weeks of enforced closure can only have made survival more difficult for them. Today, then, I set out to do a quick survey of the barbershops in the immediate area.

Chapel Market

I think this one is called “Vibe”. It’s name is hard to read and illegible signage is a pet hate of mine. This one follows the modern trend of barbershops in claiming that what it provides is “grooming”. I think grooming is something you do to dogs and horses and I would avoid any establishment wanting to groom me, thank you very much.

White Lion Street

This is not, strictly speaking, a barbershop. You can’t have a shave here or have you hair shampooed. All they do is cut your your hair, as the name of the establishment – Cutting Bar – suggests. The service is quick (they usually have up to six hair-cutters working) and cheap. This is where Tigger and I go to have our hair cut. Usually, at least half the staff are female. In a world where male haircuts now start at £25, a haircut for £9 is not to be sniffed at.

Anwell Street (1)

This one, ELT, is the first of three barbers in Amwell Street. Amwell Street is a very quiet street, some of whose shops open by appointment only, if at all. I think that one barber would have a hard time making a living but three is simply absurd. This is the one that offers customers a free beer with their haircut.

Amwell Street (2)

Turkish barbers seem to enjoy a special reputation and many barbers on London describe themselves as Turkish or hint that they are by their choice of name. This one is following that trend. I notice that outside it is a house agent’s sign advertising a property for rent. Whether the refers to the shop or to an apartment in the building is not clear. Time will tell.

Amwell Street (3)

This is the third barber’s in Amwell Street. Before the pandemic struck, it seemed fairly successful and again, briefly, when shops were allowed to open before lockdown was reimposed. It remains to be seen whether it can recover its success again.

Rosebery Avenue

This barbershop, at the top end of Rosebery Avenue, is an old established business. It’s been here a long, long time though I don’t know how long. In my time, it was always decorated in red and blue but, to my surprise, the decor has been changed when I wasn’t looking! I used to come here myself before we adopted the Cutting Bar but often found it closed so gave up on it. Perhaps the new decor indicates new owners with a more energetic approach. I hope so as it deserves to survive.

St John Street (1)

This is the barber’s that, during the first lockdown, left its red and white sign rotating, possibly as a sign of hope. Since then there has been a change of name and, presumably, of owner. It is still wearing its Christmas costume which is a bad sign as it suggests neglect. Time will tell whether it can been roused from its slumber and its sign set spinning again.

St John Street (2)

Yes, this one is a bit of a cheat because, at the moment, it’s not a barber’s or, indeed, anything else. But it was a barber’s, albeit for a very short time. Perhaps it was edged out by competition.

That by no means exhausts the list of barbers in the neighbourhood and as you expand your area so you discover more and more. Whether they will all survives remains to be seen, especially with “cutting bars” popping up like mushrooms in response to the price-inflation in men’s “grooming rooms”.

And now, here, for your delectation, is a self-portrait.

How we dress for Covid
(Hat optional)

We now inhabit a strange world where face masks, far from being an eccentricity, are standard dress. We read that research showed that the eyes are an important vector for the Covid virus and that people who wore spectacles were less likely to become infected than non-spectacle wearers. This inspired Tigger to buy us protective spectacles of the sort worn in laboratories. The interesting thing is that they provoke absolutely no reaction from other people. We do, after all, live in peculiar times when eccentricity comes almost as standard.

The only problem with these spectacles is that, in combination with a face mask, they tend to steam up in cold weather (so do ordinary spectacles, of course). I have found that putting washing-up liquid on the inside surface of the lenses and then wiping them clean with a clean tissue seems to help. So would a demister cloth also, no doubt.

As I was writing those last few words, Tigger arrived home from work and I am off to make tea for us both. Cheers!