We did go out for a third time today and, moreover, in the hours of darkness.

For a while now, the world has been enjoying a phenomenon commonly called a Supermoon when the our satellite is unusually close to the earth, affording spectacular views – weather conditions permitting, of course.

Tigger has been following lunar events with some interest, particularly from the point of view of photographing our celestial neighbour.

I mentioned that Tigger had recently acquired a new phone. On board, it has Apple’s best camera yet and Tigger was keen to try to obtain some photos of the supermoon with it. Unfortunately, as observational astronomers know only too well, the weather can always intervene to frustrate your best efforts. Today’s weather illustrates that point: the sky was obscured by fast-moving clouds that continually veiled the moon while allowing half-glimpses of it from time to time. However, as practised street photographers, we are long used to waiting patiently for a split second of visibility of our subject. So it was tonight with the moon in the cloudy sky.

St Mark’s Church from Claremont Square

I did make a couple of attempts at capturing the moon myself but soon desisted when it was obvious that, with my now relatively ancient camera phone, the results would be poor. Instead, I photographed a couple familiar scenes in unfamiliar lighting while keeping Tigger company. Above is a scene I have shown you many times but in an entirely new light – literally!

Myddelton Square at night

Photographing the moon in town presents the difficulty of obtaining a clear view of it. The moon tonight was relatively low in the sky (which is when it appears at its most spectacular, appearing large in comparison with earthly structures) and we had to find a position from which we had a clear view. Thus we walked around Myddelton Square in search of a gap between buildings. Having found one, we had to wait for moments when the clouds thinned which they never did entirely.

Here, then, are just four of the photos taken by Tigger. I have not edited them at all and so they are as they came from Tigger’s phone to mine via the wonders of wireless communications.

If you were to ask me which is my favourite, I think I would choose the last one because, although the moon is partially obscured by tree branches, that very fact somehow symbolises the our concept of the moon as intimately related to our lives on earth.

In the throes of a late lunch, Tigger proposed a quick foray to Myddelton’s for coffee. We would have to hurry as they close on Sunday at 3pm and it was already nearly 2:30 and I was still only halfway through my sandwich.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way, as the proverb has it. Somehow, I swallowed the remainder of my sandwich, put on my shoes and struggled into my coat. (I must remember to buy a larger size next time.) We hit the street at 2:45.

We might have gone for a walk or perhaps taken our coffee to Myddelton Square Gardens had the conditions warranted but the weather was really not suitable. It was cold and there were drops of rain floating in the air.

Trees on the reservoir

Straight there and straight back?” asked Tigger. Yes, it was the only sensible course.

Still leaking

I don’t know whether you can see the movement of the water in this live photo but there is a perceptible flow emanating from the metal cover.

Into Amwell Street

We progressed into Amwell Street which is probably familiar to you by now. It is a pleasantly quiet street, especially on a Sunday, but for some reason attracts a fair amount of through traffic. Have you noticed an important recent change in the traffic from the pedestrian’s point of view?

I am referring to the increasing numbers of electric vehicles, not only electrically powered cars and vans but electric bicycles and that modern plague, the electric stand-up scooter. For the hearing-impaired, these constitute a danger because we don’t hear them coming. Yes, of course you should look both ways before stepping off the pavement but sound – specifically the sound of an approaching vehicle – is also important because vehicles can suddenly come around the corner or suddenly move off from being parked. The faster the vehicle, the greater the danger it constitutes. Scooters, in particular, being small, are easy to miss visually but can move surprisingly fast.

Looking along Inglebert Street
Photo by Tigger

In this photo of a familiar scene, you can gain an impression of the weather conditions.

Dispensing our coffee

We reached Myddelton’s well before the 3pm closure, better than last time when we crept in just after they had supposedly closed!

Stereo speakers

Do you need stereo speakers? If so, there’s a pair going begging. There’s no guarantee but the price is right (free!).

Palms in the doorway
Photo by Tigger

Being non-religious, I am vague about such things as dates of Christian (and other) religious festivals. It was only when Tigger took this photo of the church doorway that it occurred to me that today must be Palm Sunday. Placing palms in the doorway is another example of how Covid-19 has caused a rethink of behaviour patterns, not only in religious observance but in all aspects of our lives. It begs the question of whether, after Covid-19 (assuming we do actually conquer it), our habits will return to what they were before or whether some changes will become permanent. Perhaps churches, for example, will continue broadcasting their services via Zoom, for the benefit of the housebound and of those who simply prefer to “go to church” at home.

As for us, coffee in hand, we made for home where we shall spend the rest of the day relaxing unless some sudden inspiration prompts us to sudden activity.

Because the clocks have changed, I half-expected Sainsbury’s store to be thinly attended this morning, partly because some people would have forgotten to change their clocks and others would find it difficult to get up an hour earlier. In fact, the difference, if there was one, was unnoticeable. Either people are now better at remembering the clock-change or the prevalence of radio-controlled clocks means that their clocks and mobile phones “remember” for them.

All of our clocks but one are radio-controlled and the clocks of our computers and mobile phones also change without any interference from us. The one clock of ours that is not radio-controlled serves as a check that the hour has indeed changed.

Sunday in Pentonville Road

Until a few weeks ago, this would have been the usual appearance of Pentonville Road on a Sunday morning but today, it struck us as odd.

We had become used to the tailbacks causing solid ranks of barely moving vehicles along the whole of this section of the road. This was because repairs to the gas main near the traffic lights led to the closure of the inner vehicle lane. When we looked down the road today, we saw that the obstruction had been removed bringing a return to free-flowing traffic.

Chapel Market

We crossed through the market as we always do. The number of stalls was about what it has been throughout the latest lockdown. It will be interesting to see what happens on April 12th when restrictions on shops are lifted. Will there be an explosive expansion of the number of stalls or will some – or even many – traders have gone out of business as a result of being unable to earn income for so long?

The plant stall

The plant stall maintained its usual substantial presence in White Conduit Street. I am still uncertain as to whether they are theoretically allowed to trade under the current restrictions but, if not, then they have git away with it so far, and their efforts have been rewarded by having plenty of customers.

“Distanced” queueing at the checkout

Shopping at Sainsbury’s proceeded as it normally does, though on reflection, perhaps it was a little less crowded than usual.

Checkout queueing habits have changed during the pandemic. In the past, there would have been a separate queue for each checkout but these days, people form a single queue for each pair of checkouts and then, when it’s their turn, go to whichever of the two becomes free. If you don’t know about this then, because of “social distancing”, you may think that when a checkout becomes available it’s up for grabs. You then find yourself the object of verbal abuse for queue-jumping!

On my way to Mercer’s

As usual, I was seemingly ungallant and left Tigger with the shopping while I hurried ahead to Mercer’s to order our coffee. That task completed, we hurried home to drink our coffee, put away the shopping and plot our next move. What will that be? Well, we shall see, won’t we? 🙂

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! 🙂