The small visitor

From time to time, this tiny beetle (or others very much like it) pays a visit to my computer. Today, as usual, it appeared quite suddenly in the middle of the page I had just loaded in my browser and, for a moment, I thought it was a fault on the page! Then I recognised the small visitor.

It (or they) appears suddenly, from where I do not know. It then runs across the screen or stops and remains still for a couple of minutes. Then off it goes again, following an erratic path. It may spread its wings and fly down onto the keyboard.

Finally, it may spread its wings again and disappear or, as today, run to the edge and disappear behind or under the laptop.

I call it the small visitor and it is indeed small, perhaps 2-3 millimetres long.

I marvel at how something so small can not only run about but also fly and apparently decide where to go next.

The weather continues cold and, as Tigger is at work today, it was hard work persuading myself to go out. However, I had ordered a repeat prescription from the doctor’s last week and reckoned it should be ready for me at the pharmacy by now and that provided the necessary motive to venture into the cold.

Lights on in the Castle

Passing along Pentonville Road, I noticed that the lights were on inside the Castle pub. This is no doubt because they are preparing themselves for April 12th. On and after that date, pubs and restaurants will be permitted to serve food to diners but only outside (see their website). Presumably, for the Castle, that means using their terrace. It remains to be seen whether the weather will be suitable.

Work in progress

Repair work on the leak in Claremont Square continues. I do tend to be critical of the slow progress of such works (a little unfairly, perhaps?) so I will just note that…

Nearly finished

…this repair is nearly finished and only requires the making good of the surface around the access point.

Hello, tree

I had intended to go straight to the pharmacy but now I was out, I decided to visit the Curvaceous Tree and say hello because seeing it always cheers me up. I am waiting with interest to see it recover its green dress in due course.

Why not walk around the square?

And, seeing as I was there now, why not go for a walk round Myddelton Square, a place that I have become fond of through our lockdown outings?

The Circling Cyclist

Just then, guess who I saw speeding past – yes, none other than the Circling Cyclist doing her daily routine of powering round the square!

Sunny interval

I had gone but a little bit further when the sun came out and transformed the scene. I thought I should photograph it while I could and it was just as well that I did because it was the only sunshine I saw.

Myddelton Square Garden

I walked through Myddelton Square Garden and, although there were a few people there, it wasn’t as crowded as it has been recently – understandably, in view of the cold.

Myddelton Square pigeons

I almost convinced myself not to photograph the pigeons but when I saw them the “almost” evaporated. I am endlessly fascinated by pigeons and their communal activities. Perhaps I was a pigeon in a previous life. (No, I don’t really think so 🙂 )

Leaving the garden, I encountered another feathered personage.

Busy crow

It is unusual to be able to come so close to a crow because they are extremely wary of people – and with good reason because throughout history, people, including some who should know better, have treated them abominably and continue to so so. Perhaps it was because this crow had found something unusually good to eat that he was less cautious of me than he would normally be. I wish it were possible to wear a sign that birds can understand that says “Harmless” so that I could approach them. Eventually, some people emerged from the garden with a dog and that finally scared the crow away. Guess my uncharitable thoughts!

Flowers in the garden

Before leaving the gardens altogether, I took this photo of a flower bed. I have come to appreciate the garden more and more as I have come to know it. Perhaps when the weather improves we will come here again with our coffee, as we did once before.

I went to the pharmacy where I endured the “pharmacist’s twitch” and picked up my prescription. The “pharmacist’s twitch”? Ah, you observe that when they hand you the goods and, no matter how well they know you, they ask you to confirm the address on the prescription.

Someone’s missing a shoe

A small citizen is missing a shoe that some kind person has recovered and placed on the railings. Perhaps the owner (or the owner’s agents) will recover it. One shoe, after all, is almost as useless as no shoes at all.

Today’s outing was the reverse of yesterday’s in that we took the bus out and walked back. It was Tigger’s plan and I waited to see where it led.

The weather was mainly cloudy with occasional sunny moments but it was cold, very cold.

Catching the bus

We went down to St John Street and caught a number 153 bus.

On the bus

The bus was not at all crowded and we easily found a seat.

“Help yourself”

Tigger followed the route on her phone and at the propitious moment, we left the bus. At the house by the bus stop was a box of books labelled “Help yourself”. That’s one way of disposing of unwanted but serviceable items, especially when secondhand bookshops are closed.

Not a crescent

Our way led into this street inappropriately named Crescent Street but which absolutely straight.

Entrance to Barnsbury Wood

In this street is an entrance to Barnsbury Wood, billed as “the smallest nature reserve in London”. From the entrance, it looks to be a pleasant, if small, woodland.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of people in the wood. There were children running about in the undergrowth, crashing about. We made a quick tour and then left. Here are some pictures of it.

To be honest, I was quite relieved to leave. People have every right to visit the wood as we did but there were too many for comfort.

St Andrew’s Barnsbury

We walked down into Thornhill Crescent where the Church of St Andrew Barnsbury resides.

Thornhill Crescent

Thornhill Crescent is curved, as its name suggests, and seems to be a fairly elegant residential area with handsome Georgian style houses.

The Cuckoo, once the Huntingdon Arms

We noticed the pub, now called the Cuckoo, because it has a plaque on the side which is probably original to the building though it has become illegible. The pub is Victorian and the plaque probably relates to its original name, the Huntingdon Arms.

Sphinxes

We walked up Richmond Avenue where several of the houses have pairs of Egyptian style sphinxes flanking their front doors.

Barnard Park

This road brought us to Barnard Park and we walked through it. It too was quite busy, mainly with children, including what looked like a school party supervised by a teacher. There was also this quieter area though we did not stop.

Portrait of a tree

I did, however, pause long enough to take this portrait of a tree. It has developed a very noble structure.

Barnsbury Road

After a short spell on Barnsbury Road, we arrived at Culpeper Park.

Culpeper Park

Despite the cold, there were quite a few people in this park as well. Tigger proposed paying a quick visit to the Culpeper Community Garden.

Community Garden pond

We hoped we might see frogs or toads in the pond but the water was disappointingly still.

Culpeper pigeons

On the way out of the park I of course took a picture of “my friends” the pigeons – but I’m sure you expected me to do so!

At Mercer’s for coffee

And here I am at our last port of call: Mercer’s, where I collected our takeaway coffee. From here, we were soon home while the coffee was still hot.

I had heard about Barnsbury Wood and so I am glad to have seen it but I don’t think we will be hurrying back to visit it again. In my opinion, overuse by the public is spoiling it and reducing its value as a “nature reserve”. I don’t know what the solution might be to that conundrum.

Robert Frost 1874-1963

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

As I explained yesterday, we put off our usual Sunday shopping run to enjoy the fine weather. Today, then, is this week’s shopping day.

The temperature has dropped to a measly 4°C and there was snow in the air. Yes, actual snowflakes floating down from the sky though there was little sign of this on the ground.

Invisible snow in Pentonville Road

This view of Pentonville Road shows the dull conditions though the snowflakes remain obstinately invisble . There was a cold breeze that made me glad I was wearing my winter coat and encouraged me to put my gloves on! Such a contrast with yesterday!

Chapel Market – closed

Here is the traditional shopping-day photo of Chapel Market. The market is closed on Mondays, whether they are bank holidays or not, and even those lockdown stalwarts, stalls run by shops, are missing. So is the usual bustle of customers.

Snow visible!

I stopped to take a photo here, not for the interest of the scene but because I thought the snowflakes would show up against the dark shutters. And they do – if you watch carefully!

Sky view
Video by Tigger

Tigger tried capturing the snow, literally, by turning the camera vertically. It has worked well before but today’s snow is of an unusually subtle kind! Anyway, it’s a nice video on its own account.

A few customers here…

Sainsbury’s also presented an unusual aspect, compared with Sundays. There were a few customers in some places and…

…and none here

…few or none in other places. It was altogether a more pleasant shopping experience than the usual Sunday scramble.

A quiet Chapel Market

As usual, I left Tigger with the shopping trolley and a bag (I always feel bad about that but she insists…) and hurried ahead. On Sundays, I have to dodge and weave among the crowds but not today. It’s amusing to notice that although the street reverts to a normal road on Mondays, people still walk on the carriageway – through force of habit, no doubt.

Mercer’s

My destination was Mercer’s, of course, to buy our coffee. Today, though, there was a touch of novelty awaiting me inside.

The chairs and stools reappear

The chairs and stools that had hitherto been absent have returned, ready for shops and cafes opening again in a week’s time. It made the place seem curiously cluttered! We have become so used to the lockdown conditions that it is a return to “normal” that will seem odd and need some readjustment.

Personally, I have become so used to the current conditions and am so comfortable with them (in some ways, I prefer the lockdown world to the “normal” one) that the ending of restrictions will seem awkward and counterintuitive, though I suppose I will eventually become used to it.

Coffee in hand, we made for home. Given the weather, will we go out again today? I think it unlikely but let’s wait and see.