It’s a grey, wet day, not at all inviting for rambles and expeditions. The forecasts say that the temperature is around 9-10°C but it feels a lot colder than that. We set out at about 1 pm and if we made sure we had our bus passes with us, it was only in case there was nothing local open for a bite to eat.

Baron Street

This view of Baron Street will give you some idea of the conditions. We were heading for Chapel Market and, round to the left, Cafe Sizzle, where we hoped to find lunch at a modest cost.

Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found them closed until January 4th. Not that I begrudge them their holiday: they work hard during the year and deserve a few days of rest.

Chapel Market

We walked along Chapel Market with the vague idea of catching a bus along Upper Street to the Workers’ Cafe. The market wasn’t operating – the one stall on the right belongs to the shop beside it. Our Sunday coffee oasis, Mercer’s (on the corner on the left), was also closed.

Terrace was open

When we came to Terrace, the Turkish restaurant and takeaway, and found it open, we did not hesitate but went straight in.

Inside Terrace

The restaurant was not at all busy and we easily found a table. They have an extensive menu covering all the day’s meals from breakfast to dinner. The first job was to see if they had lentil soup: yes, they did!

Soup and other items
Photo by Tigger

They start by bringing you a dish of pickled vegetables and a basket of Turkish bread. We ordered Turkish tea for me and ayran for Tigger.

Ayran in a bottle
Photo by Tigger

The ayran came in a bottle, the first time we have been served with it like that. Fortunately, the tea at least was brewed on the premises.

Bon appétit!
Photo by Tigger

Tigger chose Sigara Boregi and Halloumi (foreground) and I had Falafel with Humus.

When our lunch was finished, we made no bones about but came straight home. We have plenty to entertain us here but we will be ready for more expeditions when the weather improves.

Yesterday, I wrote that I would be going out today to make an important purchase but that will not after all happen.

I have been having trouble with the PC recently. It is sometimes reluctant to start up and may need several attempts to set it going. I thought I had solved the problem but then I noticed something: in the list of external drives connected to the PC, one was missing. Drive H refused to appear despite me unplugging it and plugging it in again and rebooting the computer. Not unreasonably, I decided that after a long life of faithful service, it had finally given up the ghost. I proposed going to PC World on the morrow to buy a new one.

In case you are wondering, the demise of one of my backup drives does not entail any loss of data. I am punctilious about regularly backing up my data. All my important files have at least two backup copies on separate drives. That of course includes drive H which contains backups but is itself also backed up.

Roll forward to yesterday afternoon and a second problem appeared. I use a lot of portable programs, storing them on a USB flash drive. This means that if I go anywhere, I can take the flash drive with me and have all my familiar software accessible on whatever computer I use. The flash drive includes a launcher which can be made to appear at the press of a key. Except that suddenly, it was no longer appearing…

I spent several hours trying all sorts of things and at last, just as I was thinking of giving up, I got everything working again.

One thought sparked another and it occurred to me to try the “failed” external drive again. I was holding it in my hand as I plugged in its power cable and I immediately felt a continuous vibration: the disc was spinning as it should! I tried plugging it into a USB socket and – bingo! – there it was, bright and cheerful in the list of drives!

I tested it carefully, of course, but it is working perfectly and doesn’t need to be replaced. The fault is not in the drive but in the computer. At some point I shall have to have an expert look it over and find out what’s causing the intermittent failures. Or maybe it’s time to invest in a new PC built with the latest technology and operating system. Something to think about…

Boxing Day is apt to have something of an anti-climactic feel to it, being as it is, the day after the day in preparation of which we have spent so much time and effort.

Grey skies over Upper Street

The weather was no help, being grey and rainy, but, then, we are in the midst of winter. To lift our spirits, we conceived a plan to go out to a cafe or restaurant for brunch.

Pigeons at the Co-operative Bank

The streets were far from busy (certain organs of the media will no doubt describe them as “deserted”) and the feelings of inertia seemed to have spread to the pigeons, still perched here are there on the buildings.

Islington Green

We passed through Islington Green which was as quiet as the surrounding streets.

Fluffed-up pigeon

This pigeon was fluffed up against the cold, looking very much as I felt.

Statue of Street Cat Bob

We paid a visit to the statue of Street Cat Bob. Someone has decorated it for Christmas.

Spire of St Mary’s

I caught this view of the spire of St Mary’s Church, seen looking along a little street called Collins Yard. (The old Collins Music Hall was nearby until destroyed by fire in 1958.)

Gallipoli Again

We passed cafe after cafe, finding them all closed, until we came to Gallipoli Again. This would suit us perfectly so in we went.

Inside Gallipoli Again

Gallipoli, as the name suggests, is a Turkish cafe restaurant.

The menu
Photo by Tigger

The menu is an intriguing mixture of Turkish and British items. Even the traditional British items, such as the vegetarian breakfast, which I chose, includes a Turkish twist, in this case a slice of Halloumi.

Walls covered with pictures

The restaurant walls are covered with pictures, photos and examples of Arabic calligraphy.

Turkish tea

We ordered Turkish tea with our meals.

Vegetarian Breakfast
Photo by Tigger

I chose a plain old vegetarian breakfast, though as I mentioned, it included a slice of grilled Halloumi.

Turkish Breakfast
Photo by Tigger

Tigger chose the Turkish Breakfast but asked for the sausage to be replaced with an extra piece of Halloumi to make it vegetarian. A Turkish breakfast is fine in hot weather but in winter, I prefer everything to be hot!

St Mary’s Church

The restaurant is opposite St Mary’s Church. There is a bus stop there but we are going to walk home. Tigger suggested having a coffee on the way.

Quiet Upper Street

We walked back along Upper Street, hoping to find somewhere open for coffee. The street is still quiet though that is understandable in view of the fact that it’s Boxing Day and nearly everywhere is closed.

Beribboned shop door

Many of the shops and businesses along Upper Street are decorated but I photographed this door in particular as it illustrates a growing trend to decorate the door – whether at home or at a business – with ribbons like a gift parcel. It will be interesting to see whether numbers increase again next year.

Camden Passage

We went through Camden Passage as Tigger was hoping that Redemption Roasters would be open. They weren’t.

Inside Starbuck’s

At the crossroads, we found Starbuck’s open and, faute de mieux, went in. Starbucks was allowing customers to sit in and so we did.

Coffee and tea

I’m not keen on Starbuck’s coffee so I had tea, though it too was disappointing after the Turkish tea at Gallipoli.

After this we made our way home and I think we shall stay at home for the rest of the day. We will probably go out again tomorrow because I have an important purchase to make but more about that in due course.

London has been promised a “white Christmas” but so far, I’m glad to say, the snow has not appeared. It’s even a little warmer today with the temperature nudging up to 10°C. Tigger is at work as usual, but her office is due to close at 1 pm in honour of the festive occasion. We have a couple of things in mind to do when she arrives back at the Angel – more of that in due course.

The GP surgery rang me out of the blue the other day to say that I was overdue for a blood test. The caller proposed making an appointment for me and I agreed to this. That appointment was for 9:30 am today.

Amwell Street

According to the Google Maps app on my phone, it would take me 13 minutes to walk to Finsbury Health Centre whose phlebotomy department was to take my blood. I left home at 9:05, allowing for a margin of error, and set off down Amwell Street.

Finsbury Health Centre

The Finsbury Health Centre is in Pine Street. I didn’t know what Covid formalities might be in force there – one reason for leaving extra time – but it turned out that there were none. When I approached, the automatic door sprang open obediently to admit me. Though I was early, I was sent straight to the room where I sat in a big chair while my arm was punctured, blood drawn and a cotton wool swab taped over the puncture. I will presumably hear about the results some time after Christmas.

Exmouth Market

On the way back, I walked through Exmouth Market. There were no market stalls present and very few shops were open. Perhaps the others will open later in the day or will stay closed now until next week. The Italianate tower in the right belongs to the Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer.

Two shops open

These two shops had hopefully opened their doors but so far there were no customers anywhere in view.

Myddelton Square Gardens and St Mark’s Church

I crossed Amwell Street into River Street and thence to Myddelton Square. The church is fully visible now, bereft of its modesty screen of summer foliage.

Deserted playground

I peered over the hedge at the playground. There are usually at least a few children here but today it too was deserted.

The Curvaceous Tree

I stared up at my favourite, the Curvaceous Tree, now divested of its leaves and revealed in all its curvilinear glory. Then I headed home to make tea and wait for Tigger to arrive back from the City. We keep in touch by text, enabling me to follow her journey home and reach the stop as her bus arrives.

Tigger left work at 1 pm, as planned, and let me know she had boarded a number 43 bus at Old Street. This was my signal to put on my coat and hurry to the bus stop at the clock tower. I boarded the bus and found a seat beside Tigger. Together again! Now for the two activities I mentioned at the beginning.

Bellanger

For the first, we left the bus at Islington Green and came to Bellanger. This French-style restaurant is one of our favourites. We use it sparingly so as not to lose the feeling of it being special. We wondered whether there would be a table free, though, as they were quite busy.

Dining room

Yes, they could find us a table if we could please be finished by 3 pm. That left us plenty of time so we were happy to agree.

Bellanger does not have, as some restaurants do, a separate vegetarian menu, and there are just a few such items on the main menu so that we tend to have the same selection each time – another reason for coming here infrequently. The food is very good, though, and the staff courteously friendly, so that a visit here is always a pleasure.

Islington Green

Leaving Bellanger (at 2:58!), we walked through Islington Green on our way to our second assignment. The media have been reporting that London’s streets are “deserted”. Like much reporting on the subject of Covid, this is a silly exaggeration. There were indeed few people on the Green but this, I think, has more to do with the cold and the season than with Covid.

Upper Street

We made our way along Upper Street which was quite busy (and not at all “deserted”) with pedestrians and traffic. All the shops and cafes were open.

The Cutting Bar

Thus we came to White Lion Street and the “Cutting Bar”, where we both had our hair cut. When this no-frills barber’s first opened, a few years ago, a haircut cost £5. It now costs £9 but that’s still a darn sight cheaper than the outrageous prices charged today in the average “salon”.

I often finish a Friday post by saying “the weekend starts here!” It does so this time as well but it’s a longer than usual “weekend” because Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and so Monday and Tuesday have been made bank holidays to compensate. Just how we will spend the time remains to be seen but I’m sure it will include a few more treats along the way!