Tigger was on the early shift today so I met her off the bus at the stop near Safestore. We then put in the best part of an hour sorting through our bags and boxes.

As usual, we divided stuff into Dump, Recycle and Donate to Charity Shop. When we had done, the storage area looked like this:

See any difference?
Photo by Tigger

Do you notice any difference? Probably not but we managed to eliminate one whole plastic trunk like those you see bottom left!

As it happens, the trunk has a small hole in it and is somewhat battered but despite that, someone might be able to get some use out of it. We have left it by the dustbins in front of the house in the hope that the “Garden Fairies”, as Tigger calls them, will spirit it away. We have disposed of other items by this method and we hope the trunk will follow in their wake.

Note on “Garden Fairies”

Disposing of an unwanted item too big to fit in the dustbin is a problem in London. If you have a car – we don’t – you might be able to take it to the Council rubbish dump. Otherwise, you may have to ask the Council to take it away, which they will do, but this costs a fee (£30 for one or two items).

Happily, there are people, those to whom Tigger has applied the epithet “Garden Fairies”, who keep an eye on what householders put out as rubbish and take away items that they want or think they can sell. They will even take devices such as electric kettles and microwave ovens that are no longer working. They perform their labours stealthily but we are grateful to them as their activities have on many occasions saved us the Council removal fee.

The title refers to the nine photos below which I took around my home neighbourhood, the Angel at Islington, this morning. (I could equally well call it “Nine plus One” for reasons that you will discover by reading on!)

Sunny but chilly in Upper Street

We had a bag of DVDs which we decided to donate to Oxfam. I carried these to their shop in the High Street where I was told that they could not accept them there and that I must take them to the Oxfam Bookshop in Upper Street. Nothing daunted, thither I went. The day was pleasantly sunny but with a definite chill on the air.

Charlton Place

Having deposited the DVDs, I remembered that today, Wednesday, was supposedly a day when the antiques market takes place in Camden Passage. My last visit to the market had been disappointing as hardly any stalls had been present. Would it be any better today? Opposite the Oxfam Bookshop is Charlton Passage, a short street the leads into Camden passage.

Antiques stalls

At the end of Charlton Passage is an under-cover open space used by antiques stalls on market days. On my previous visit, it was occupied by tables belonging to the adjacent restaurant but today I was glad to see it full of antiques stalls.

Pierrepont Arcade

I walked back along Camden Passage to Pierrepont Arcade. This is where I had seen the only stalls present during my last visit. There were stalls here again today. The arcade also contains a number of small antiques shops and though I did not walk round there, I could see from the movement of people that at least some of those shops were open.

Jewellery under canvas

Further along, I found a row of tents, each protecting a jewellery store from the elements. (In Britain, the weather can switch from sunshine to rain in an instant or even, treacherously, rain while the sun is shining!)

Antiques shops

In the best cases, market stalls and fixed shops enjoy a symbiotic relationship, each attracting customers both for themselves and for one another. Thus, I noticed that the antiques shops of Camden Passage (often closed on other days) where open for business today.

Once the Three Sheaves

As I started for home, I found myself contemplating this old pub. I have photographed it before but something – I know not what- brought it to my attention today. It has had many different names in recent years but, as the moulding in the pediment shows, it used to be a pub called the Three Wheatsheaves. The ageing signage indicates that it was owned by the brewers Barclay Perkins, founded in the 17th century but merged with Courage in 1955.

I don’t know how long there has been a pub here but I can say with some certainty that the current building dates from 1863. I know that because of a sad event that produced a dramatic engraving. In 1863, the pub was being rebuilt when the builders’ scaffolding collapsed, injuring several people. A crowd gathered and was held back by top-hatted policemen while the injured were carried out. We know this from a detailed engraving published in the Illustrated Times. I don’t reproduce the picture here for copyright reasons but you can see a version of it on this Pubwiki page.

Chapel Market

I walked home via Chapel Market. I was not expecting to see many stalls and was therefore surprised to see that it looked even busier than it had done on Sunday: there were more stalls and more customers.

I hurried on, though, looking forward to lunch with a nice warming pot of tea!