I don’t have particularly large hands and no one ever described my fingers as pudgy. I would class my manual dexterity as good and have never had any difficulty with the more intricate tasks of life. However, there is one field in which I do have difficulty and this is particularly annoying in view of the amount time and energy I devote to it.

In case you haven’t guessed, I will tell you that I am referring to the use of my smartphone’s on-screen keyboard.

Before we changed to iPhones, we had used several Blackberry phones with physical keyboards. Whatever else you may say about Blackberries, their keyboards were, in my opinion, ideal.

Having migrated to an iPhone, I was faced with the problem of trying to type text coherently with an on-screen keyboard and finding it frustratingly difficult. Note that I don’t blame the design of the iPhone and I see other people typing away apparently without difficulty. No, I accept that the problem is in me, that is, in my fingers.

You can imagine my predicament when you read that I write my blog almost exclusively on my iPhone. When I am composing a post, the air is frequently blue with swear words!

It did not take me long to wonder whether using a stylus would prove beneficial. Over the years, I have acquired and used numbers of these. Success, I have to say, has been limited.

I am not very clear as to the technology involved but I know that the iPhone requires what it called a “capacitative stylus”. These typically resemble a small ballpoint pen with a rubbery cushion in place of the nib. The iPhone’s screen is designed to expect contact from something similar to a finger and, therefore, the rubbery cushion on styluses tends to be fairly large – 6 millimetres being the average diameter.

How big are the individual “keys” on the iPhone’s keyboard? Yep, about 5 to 6 mm. You can of course enlarge the keyboard by turning the phone 90 degrees into the “landscape” position but this creates problems of its own.

Given the similar sizes of the “keys” and the stylus nib, it’s not surprising how difficult it is to type a sentence without mistakes from mis-keying and how easy it is to type the wrong character.

The other day, rummaging in a drawer, I found a stylus that I hadn’t used for some time. It was quite small and, I noticed, had an unusually small rubber nib. This proved to be a “light-bulb moment”: what if the narrower point made it easier to hit the right key? And so it proved.

For several days, I used the small stylus exclusively and then tried using one of my usual ones again. Yes, there was no doubt about it: using the narrow stylus I made far fewer mistakes.

The small stylus, though it had served to prove a point, was a little too small for comfort so I looked on the Web, searching for styluses with narrow heads. They turned out to be somewhat elusive.

There are expensive ones with a disc on the point and there are equally expensive ones that are described as “active”, which means that they need to be electrically charged before use. Styluses with ordinary rubber, but narrow, nibs are few and far between.

New stylus

I finally found one that seemed to fill the bill. It is in the photo above. It has a rubber nib at both ends, a conventional 6mm one and a smaller one. I estimate the area of this smaller nib that actually touches the screen to be about 3mm – just the sort of thing I was looking for.

Being as long as the average ballpoint pen, this stylus is easier to handle that the tiny one I was using. I have used it to write this post.

Verdict? I still make mistakes and the surrounding air still sometimes takes on a cerulean hue but the mistakes are fewer and I can say that the new stylus has proved to be a success. I will buy some more because I like to leave one in the bedroom and carry another one with me in my handbag.

It amuses me to think of Babylonian scribes using a stylus to impress cuneiform characters onto clay tablets and myself, thousands of years later, also using a stylus, albeit with a rubber tip, performing very much the same actions, but “impressing” characters via an electronic keyboard!

We did go out again but, as the title says, “just for a short walk”, really just to fetch coffee.

Rough lawn

On the way, we admired this rough lawn. It hasn’t been mown for some time and consequently has flowers and other plants than grass growing amicably together. I don’t know whether it has been left rough on purpose to provide a habitat for plants and creatures that are usually swept away by mowers or whether it is neglect. I hope it is the former.

Rain clouds

I took this photo of a familiar scene with a lot of sky in it to show the weather. The sky was promising rain and in fact started to make good on its promise a few minutes later.

St Mark’s Church
Photo by Tigger

Tigger took this rather nice photo of St Mark’s Church with her new phone’s camera. I said her photos outshine mine now and here’s proof!

We weren’t sure whether Myddelton’s deli would still be open as I thought they closed at 3pm on Sunday. So we walked down one side of Amwell Street (from where the above photo was taken) and then back up on the other side.

It turned out that the deli was closed. Happily, we had another string to our bow: a little further up the road is an establishment called Ground Control. The terrible pun indicates that it is a coffee shop.

From the terrace of Ground Control
Photo by Tigger

There was a queue outside Ground Control but fortunately only a small one and it was soon our turn. Tigger waited outside at first, where she took this photo, and then joined me inside.

Another day, perhaps
Photo by Tigger

Tigger also photographed these cakes, ready bagged to take away. Tempting, but we were being good today. Another day, perhaps.

Trees in blossom
Photo by Tigger

As we rounded the corner of the reservoir, we saw this tree prettily in blossom and Tigger photographed it.

Flowers
Photo by Tigger

Tigger photographed these flowers as well. They are so pretty and contain a promise of spring.

We were soon home where we drank our coffee and relaxed. Well, it is Sunday, after all!

Happy Sunday, everyone!

It is Sunday again and that means, as Sunday usually means, that we are off to do our weekly shopping. As I have already mentioned, I think, I quite like our shopping trips. Why? I don’t really know, but perhaps it is the simplicity and the predictability of it.

Baron Street

The weather, as you might be able to see from the above photo, is cloudy-sunny and it is quite warm (around 10°C) but rather windy.

The olive oil stall

The olive oil stall has been set up away from both the main market and the Farmers’ Market. I don’t know whether this is by personal choice or by some quirk in the assignment of locations. Sole-product merchants always intrigue me because there is a certain mystique about them: while participating in the general run of retail life, they stand out as individualists with their own expertise and arcane knowledge.

Over the last few weeks, I have noticed that, week by week, Chapel Market is becoming ever busier. It’s as if people are gradually deciding that the crisis is over and are emerging to take up their normal lives again. This is worrying because the pandemic is far from over (the rate of new infections has in fact been increasing again recently) and people should still be following the restrictions. It’s hard to do this with people literally rubbing shoulders with you in the streets.

Chapel Market

In the foreground is the stall run by the fruit and vegetable shop beside it. The main gaggle of stalls is further down but, even so, you can see that the market is already quite busy. As well as being the location of the market, the street is an important way through to Sainsbury’s and other larger shops and this increases the amount of movement in and through it.

In Sainsbury’s

We were a little later today than usual and by the time we arrived, the store was already busy with queues at the checkouts and particularly at the self-checkouts. (I wonder how many items “accidentally” escape being tallied at these checkouts.) Using them no doubt saves on wages for the store but does nothing to help preserve people’s jobs. Should we not boycott them for that reason?

Queueing for Waitrose

Sainsbury’s opens earlier than both of its neighbours, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. Perhaps it pick up extra trade as a result. We rarely shop at these other two, except occasionally for specific items, so our shopping is done and dusted while customers for the other two are queueing to be let in. What, smug, me? Surely not 🙂

Chapel Market

As usual, Tigger took charge of the shopping and I hurried ahead with the cup holder to Mercer’s for our coffee. They know me know now and greet me in friendly fashion despite the fact that all I buy is a couple of coffees once a week.

In Mercer’s

I soon had our coffee and rejoined Tigger in the street for a quick walk home while it was still hot.

Now that the shopping has been done we can relax. What will we do with the rest of the day? That remains to be seen. We may go out again, if we feel like it. If we do, I shall be sure to let you know! 🙂

We passed the morning in leisurely fashion. That’s fair, after all, as Tigger has spent the last three days at work and deserves her rest. (I know I haven’t been working but I don’t mind helping Tigger rest!). It was a cloudy day with intervals of sun and rain and it felt cold, much colder than the official temperature suggested.

A sunny interval

After lunch, we set out for our usual walk and I took the above photo to make sure I did catch at least one sunny interval.

“Where do you want to go?” asked Tigger, a question that always casts me into confusion as I can never decide. Somehow, a route was decided.

Sunshine but an ominous sky

We were then subjected to a spattering of rain which stopped but left an ominous sky.

A pretty doorway

This house has been covered in scaffolding for months but we both stopped and admired the doorway. Perhaps the sunshine and its plants made it look particularly welcoming today.

Job done!

Do you recognise this piece of road? It’s the site of the second of two water leaks whose progress I have been following in recent posts. After doing nothing for two days, they have suddenly swooped in and repaired it while I wasn’t looking! They’ve made a remarkably good job of restoring the road surface, too.

The demon cyclist of Myddelton Square

If we come here at the right time, we see this lady on her bicycle riding round and round Myddelton Square. She always goes the same way round and always wears the same bright red top. Don’t step off the pavement without looking, because she travels at speed! I don’t know how many laps she does but she was continually circling all the time it took us to dawdle our way round the square.

Curvaceous Tree and Friends

I photographed this row of trees in Myddelton Square Garden, with my Curvaceous Tree on the right, because, as I previously recounted, winter, in stripping away the leaves, has taught me to admire the beauty of the trees’ forms, all different though following a pattern if you can but decipher it. When spring finally comes, I shall learn to love and admire them all over again in their new green robes.

Watch out! Here she comes again!

Just as well I went back onto the pavement when I did!

Upstairs, downstairs window boxes

I haven’t checked on window boxes lately but I noticed that these two have been rearranged, perhaps with a better selection of flowers for the coming season. Upper and lower are still following (more or less) the same pattern.

Parakeet

We crossed over to the square’s central garden though we didn’t go in today. There was a lot of activity among our feathered friends and the parakeets were vociferous, as is their wont. This one stayed still long enough for me to photograph his characteristic silhouette. I have come to be quite fond of these active, noisy but seemingly sociable birds. They have made themselves quite at home in the UK.

Pigeon feeding mêlée

Someone was putting out food for the pigeons and there was a feeding frenzy in consequence.

As often happens with pigeons, something spooked one or more of them and their fright was immediately communicated to the whole flock which took off and sped for refuge into the trees. I wasn’t quick enough to catch this impressive flock movement so had to content myself with watching them return, which they did, almost immediately, their fright forgotten.

Fright over

As we continued round the square suddenly, we noticed a movement in the trees near the road. We were being spied on by a squirrel!

Got anything for me?

He came and hung upside down looking at us, obviously hoping we had food for him. Squirrels in these local parks and gardens can be quite bold but this was unusually close.

Interloper

Just for a moment, it seemed that a second squirrel wanted to muscle in on the action. Note the defensive movement of “our” squirrel.

Close-up

Because he was so intent and hopeful, the squirrel allowed me to come quite close and take this photo. Quite a splendid fellow.

Departing, no doubt disappointed in us

When we moved away, the squirrel followed us to the next tree, still hoping for a hand-out, perhaps. Then he made off, probably disappointed.

Tigger has a new phone with an updated camera. Her photos quite outshine mine. She also photographed the squirrel and sent me this photo:

Squirrel by Tigger

This squirrel, as you can see, already had something to eat but still came to prospect in case we had something to contribute.

By now, we were noticing that it was a bit chilly and that it was threatening rain, so we now made for Myddelton’s deli, bought our coffee and made for home.

We shall visit the squirrels again another day but, in the meantime, I have no fears that they will starve!

Although the pills prescribed by the kindly doctor seem to have had some effect, I was still feeling a little “bleurgh” after lunch and without Tigger to inspire me, wondered whether to bother going out at all. However, the sun was shining and it seemed a sin not to make the most of it.

After intense discussion with myself, a coffee at Mercer’s was suggested as a reward for taking a stroll. OK, then, deal!

I’m not going to bore today you with stories of water leaks today but I couldn’t pass over this scene without comment.

All of a heap

Somebody has knocked over the carefully placed barriers and left them all of a heap on the workings. Why? Why interfere in this cavalier way with barriers that, after all, are there to prevent accidents? What’s wrong with people?

Contrejour in Claremont Square
(Not what I intended)

It had rained earlier and the pavements were in places still shining wet. I wanted my photo to show the effect but, for whatever reason, it didn’t work. (Don’t say I never show you my mistakes and failures!)

Safestore, Pentonville Road

I crossed over Pentonville Road at the junction near the reservoir. On the spur of the moment, I took a quick (and bad) photo of Safestore. Why? Well, because when I first came to join Tigger in Islington, I had far more property than could fit into this tiny flat. So, while Tigger rearranged things to make some room for me, I put my stuff in store here. Every time I needed something that had been packed away, I would come here, find my locker and rummage about until I found whatever it was. Seeing the place always reminds me of those early days with a mixture of nostalgia and amusement.

The Chapel Bar

In Penton Street, the Chapel Bar was looking cheerful in the sunshine though I expect the owners feel anything but cheerful after the long enforced closure. They will no doubt be hoping fervently that the government’s plan for the reopening of businesses will be adhered to.

Dead or only sleeping?

This establishment in White Lion Street seems to be in suspended animation. What is its fate to be?

“People live upstairs”

I can’t imagine why anyone would want to break into a dead pub though I suppose they might do so on the off-chance of finding something worth stealing. Notices have been posted on the doors to warn would-be burglars that “People Live Upstairs”. I hope that is a sufficient deterrent.

Day and Night

I entered Chapel Market on whose corner stands this pub, rebadged as Day and Night. The newspapers covering the windows suggest that refurbishment work is still in progress. This pub also had notices, this time on the windows. They read “Bar Staff Wanted” – a hopeful sign, perhaps.

Sinister Bride

Most of the shops in Chapel Market were closed, of course, including this one that sells wedding gowns. This dummy wearing a mask looked rather sinister and seemed to be giving me a hard stare. I hurried on!

Happy pigeons

I came across this band of happy pigeons scoffing food left on the ground and had to photograph such a cheerful scene. Unfortunately, the sound does not carry over or you would hear just how happy they were!

Plants and flowers

When I reached Mercer’s, the plants and flowers stall was open and doing business. This has been one of the most frequently present stalls during the pandemic. They have often been the only stall present except perhaps for a couple that are run by fruit and vegetable shops in the street. I hope it has been worth their while.

I duly bought my coffee from Mercer’s and hot-footed home to drink it. If tomorrow is also a sunny day and I feel less “bleurgh”, perhaps I’ll fancy taking a longer walk. We shall see.