Another very warm day. The weather forecast was for a temperature of 20° C (68° F) but it felt warmer than that. We kept to the shade and enjoyed the occasional breezy gusts. The air was quite hazy, as you will be able to see in the photos.

Old River Head buildings

Our walk took us past the New River Head, the terminus of Hugh Myddelton’s New River. The site is fenced off, of course, and one can see the old buildings only from a distance. The site is being considered by the Council for planning permission and so its future is uncertain though, in my view, it is worth preserving as a site of important historical interest.

Charles Rowan House

This building is called Charles Rowan House and it is currently owned and run by the Council as a residential block. What do you think of it, stylistically? I am in two minds myself by incline to finding it “interesting” though not beautiful. It might surprise you to learn that Historic England has given it a Grade II listing.

Gateway, Charles Rowan House

Designed in Expressionist style by G. Mackenzie Trench, architect and surveyor for the Metropolitan Police Authority, it was built in 1928-30 as accommodation for married police officers and named after Sir Charles Rowan, one of the first Commissioners of the force when it was formed in the 1820s.

Passage between gardens

This pleasant passage between gardens seems not to have a name – at least, no name is shown on my maps. It links Lloyd Square with St Helena Street. It forms a convenient short cut and without it one would have a long walk round.

Georgian style with Classical overtones

I photographed this pair of houses because I liked their solid but elegant form, topped with a Greek style triangular pediment. They are wider than some of the more typical Georgian style houses in the area, suggesting larger rooms and a more commodious layout.

Roses, Cumberland Gardens

We passed through Cumberland Gardens, some of whose roses I photographed the other day (see White roses and white lions). Today they were putting on a fine show, glowing with pristine whiteness in the sunlight.

Multiplicity of chimneys

This time I noticed this impressive line of chimneys silhouetted against the sun. How many do you make it? The reason for this multiplicity is because when these houses were built, the coal fire was the only form of domestic heating available and there would have been a fireplace in most rooms, including the kitchen where a coal-fired kitchen range would have been used for cooking. The housed were built in mirror-image pairs with the chimneys of both aligned along the top of their common wall. So we can see here the chimneys of two houses.

Signs of subsidence

These two houses are are more in the typical Georgian style but they are not the usual mirror-image pair: both are oriented the sane way round. Houses in this row show minor differences between them, perhaps different patterns of ironwork or windows that are rectangular or arched. I did notice one little detail: look at the shape of the partly open window above the right-hand front door. Here is a close-up.

Window showing signs if subsidence

If you look at the top of the window, you will see that the top of the frame is not square but tapered. The top of the window frame and the window sill are also out of kilter in sympathy with it: they all slope down towards the right.

London is notorious for subsidence and in modern times building regulations require deep foundations to guard against this. Builders in times past were not always so careful with the result that many buildings have over time suffered subsidence. This has sometimes been treated by underpinning the building but this would not necessarily set the building straight again. In that case, a reshaping of doors and windows might be necessary to make them fit their respective frames! I wonder whether the floors also slope in this house as that was sometimes a result of subsidence.

As usual, our last port of call was Myddelton’s where we collected our coffee before hurrying home to enjoy it.

As it is another warm day and promising to be even warmer later on, we decided to go out earlier than usual today. We also went somewhat further than usual, “to get used to it”, as one might say, ahead of the intended general return to work, so far set for June 15th.

If you are keeping tabs on the temperature, it was around 20° C (68° F) when we went out and expected to rise at least another 5 degrees by mid-afternoon.

Islington High Street

This was the scene as it appeared from beside the tube station in Islington High Street, with plenty of traffic and pedestrians. In fact, it was almost like a normal weekday before the pandemic.

Arcade

We walked under the arcade in front of this row of banks and offices as there were fewer people here to dodge.

Caffè Mobile

The little motorized coffee stall was ready for business though the barista didn’t seem very busy.

Upper Street and Angel Central

In Upper Street, in front of the entrance to the Angel Central shopping centre, is an important bus stop where a number of routes meet. Buses, we noticed, still attract relatively few passengers. Will that change on June 15th.?

Monument to Sir Hugh Myddelton

Reaching Islington Green, we paid our respects to Sir Hugh Myddelton who brought water to London with his New River and also gave his name, unwittingly perhaps, to a number of streets and businesses around his New River Head. What would Sir Hugh make of today’s bustling Angel which, in his day, was a mainly rural area?

Dated 1902

This striking building bears a date of 1902 and is an example of the mixture of styles and dates that characterizes this district.

Islington War Memorial

In the park resides the Islington War Memorial, a controversial design known to the less pious as “the Doughnut”. Designed by John Maine, it was unveiled only in 2006, a temporary memorial by Charles Higham having been set up in 1918. Embarrassingly, work had to be done to shore it up in 2013 when the foundations proved to be inadequate and the monument began to sink. The wire outline of a soldeir with his rifle is not part of the monument but has been placed behind it for some reson.

Islington Green

Islington Green is a triangular-shaped park well placed in the centre of things. Apparently, it was never, as its name might suggest, a village green, but the remains of one time common land on which local farmmers had free grazing rights. Most of it was built on and the green remains as a small and pleasant memento of times past.

Camden Passage

We entered Camden Passage, a walkway beween pubs, shops and restaurants, once famous for its antiques shops. The era of antiques came to an end when the owners of the old Tram Shed, which until then had housed a number of antiques stalls, decided to evict the antiques vendors and turn the shed over to single occupancy. Since then a number of businesses have occupied it for a while and then left. Perhaps it’s not a good spot for a big store. Either way, the loss of the antiques emporium provoked the gradual disappearance of other antiques shops and their replacement mainly with restaurants and special goods shops. There are still some antiques businesses left and two open spaces where antiques markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. (Outside of pandemics, of course.)

The Masked Blogger

In Camden Passage was a shop selling re-usable face masks and we bought one each. I am far from convinced as to the protection they afford the wearer or anyone else but when the shops start opening and people start going back to work it is likely that we shall all be expected to wear masks on pubklic transport and anywhere where people gather in close proximity. We later decided that we had put the masks on upside down and so reversed them. They weren’t much more confortable that way round, either.

Clamshell with face

In Charlton Place, one of the house doorways is decorated with this attractive clamshell plaque with a female face in the middle. The ribs of the shell do double service as the figure’s hair.

Duncan Terrace

This is a glimpse of Duncan Terrace, as exclusive a neighbourhood as it is picturesque. The New River runs along here but is now covered up. Duncan Terrace, incidentally, was named after Admiral Duncan who commanded the fleet against the Dutch at the battle of Camperdown in 1797.

More Duncan Terrace

We continued along Duncan Terrace towards City Road and… yes, Jusaka! The park on the left, which marks the course of the New River, is open but the managerment has instituted a one way system for walkers within it.

Squirrel

We met a squirrel who enaged in that run-stop-run-stop game that they play. I think it is because they are afraid of people but know that people sometimes feed them and so they like to keep a safe distance while watching in case we have something to give them.

Avian apartment block

Enough bird boxes have been installed in this tree to constitute a veritable avian apartment block.

Jay
Photo by Tigger

The Jays are perhaps our prettiest corvids with the Magpies following as a close second. They are also relatively scarce so it was good to see this one, especially as he came quite close to us as he hunted for food.

From here, we made our way out into City Road, crossed into Goswell Road and so to Jusaka where we had left our special Jusaka reusable takeaway cups, which they had kindly given us. Coffee in hand, we made the final dash to home.

Today’s cloudy sun has raised the ambient temperature by another degree to 27° C (79° F). Any time now, I am going to start feeling anxious about global warming 🙂

We made do with a stroll straight to Myddelton’s and back. I had time for just for the three photos below.

Claremont Square

In this photo we are looking along the lower side of Claremont Square (the upper end is bounded by the main road) with the reservoir on the right. We are looking directly towards the sun though this is momentarily veiled by clouds.

Being limited in our movements by the lockdown has made me concentrate on the neighbourhood and has enabled me to know it even better than before, a case of familiarity, far from breeding contempt, leading to a deeper understanding and appreciation.

Curvaceous tree

In line with the above, I noticed today for the first time how picturesquely curvaceous this tree is. It makes me think of a giant version of a Japanese bonsai tree. What, I wonder, caused it to grow into this crooked but decorative shape? Now that I have noticed it, I shall look out for it and enjoy it each time I pass by.

Notices in the pub window

I mentioned in An extra treat that the George and Monkey had reopened for takeaway service. These notices in the window spell out the terms of service. I expect you can read them (if you want to) so I won’t transcribe them.

We found our friends at Myddelton’s busy but as amiable as ever. Buying coffee has become a social event rather than merely a mundane shopping transaction!

For once, the Bank Holiday weather was exactly as people wish Bank Holiday weather to be. The sun beamed kindly from a cloudless sky and the temperature hovered around the 25° C (77° F) mark. And all this without any hat-endangering wind 😉

We enjoyed a good walk, longer than usual, during which I took a lot of photos. A selection of them appears below.

The Gate, anciently the Clown

At 370 St John Street is the above establishment, presently home to a vegetarian/vegan restaurant called The Gate. A late 19th-century building, now Grade II listed, it is, as you may guess, an old pub. I am not sure what it was called but suspect it had many names in its time. It seems that before this one was built, the site was occupied by a pub called The Clown, supposedly in honour of Joseph Grimaldi who frequented the place after performing at the nearby Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Part of St John Street

We continued in down St John Street, a section of which is shown above. It is quite a pleasant road, containing a number of interesting buildings, notably the local public library and the Dame Alice Owen pub mentioned previously (see Windy and cooler). It’s main claim to historical notoriety is that it used to be the last stage in the journey of cattle being driven to their gruesome fate in Smithfield Market.

Sparrow tree

Between houses nestles this tiny park or garden. I photographed the tree because it was alive with the singing and chirping of sparrows (though of course the photo doesn’t record the sound). As sparrows have become rare in towns these days, any sighting is welcome.

Once the King’s Arms

On the corner of Rawstorne Place and Rawstorne Street stands this building. We saw it the other day and speculated about its history. I thought it might have been a bank except that it is rather an out-of-the-way place for a bank. A more likely designation was that of a pub. Research today reveals that it was indeed a pub, existing from at least early Victorian times and called the King’s Arms. Its career as a pub ended in 2013 and it now seems to house offices.

Arms of the Brewers’ Company

In Brewers and hermits, I mentioned the Brewers’ Buildings, dwellings erected as a charitable works by the Brewers’ Company. We had another look at this installation today. The several buildings are all dated and cover the years of their construction between 1871 and 1882. The above photo shows the latter date together with a shield bearing the arms of the Company, sheaves of grain and barrels – suggestive of the brewing process.

Peregrine House

I photographed this residential block, called Peregrine House, simply because it is so uncommonly tall and sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb among its more normal neighbours. It also proved a challenge to photograph precisely because of its size. I should feel really uncomfortable living right at the top, given the fires that have occurred recently in high-rise blocks.

Fairy-tale door in a tree

On the corner of Hall Street, some inventive soul has installed a simulacrum of a front door in the base of a tree and some other furnishings to suggest a fairy-tale dwelling.

Hounds guarding the door

We made our way through back streets to emerge in City Road. The houses along here are all rather grand ones in the Georgian style typical of the area. They would once have been the town houses of affluent families but most are now divided into offices. Some retain vestiges of their past eminence such as this pair of hounds guarding a front entrance. One can imagine the affection in which the householder would have held them.

Missing house?

The gap in this row of houses seems anomalous. Elsewhere, the terrace is continuous. Why the sudden break here? It occurred to us that the width of the gap is the same as the width of each of the houses. Was there perhaps once a house here also? If so, why is it no longer there? One possible explanation is that it was badly damaged by bombs in WWII and the decision was taken to demolish it completely rather than attempt to rebuild it. Perhaps further research will uncover the answer.

We now continued up the road to Jusaka where we collected our daily ration of coffee before heading for home to muse on a our walk and our “catch” of photos.

This month completes 15 years since I last drove a motor vehicle. Since then, all my journeys and trips have been on foot or by public trsnsport of various kinds.

Each time my driving licence expired, I renewed it, not because I had any expectations of driving again but because the plastic licence card, the size of a credit card, was easy to carry in my wallet and could be used from time to time to confirm my identity and address. The last time that it expired, I had decided not to renew it as I was certain, for various reasons, that I would never drive again. Ironically, the DVLA renewed my licence automatically without any request from me. It seems that fate requires me to own a driving licence!

The last time I was given a lift by someone in his car, I stared at the dashboard, trying to work out the purposes of all the dials and meters. Some were familiar, such as the speed indicator, but the rest were incompregensible to me. This included the touch screen which the driver used for various purposes several times during the ride. If ever I did drive again, I would first have to learn the meaning of all these dials and how to use them!

Anyone reading this who has a car will probably imagine that life is pretty limited without one. In fact, I don’t find it so. I will admit that when I first gave up the car and started using buses, I had to go through something of an apprenticeship. I remember waiting for a bus and, as it drew level with the stop, naively stepping forward to board it. The driver slammed on the brakes and, having opened the door, gave me a severe ticking off. The problem, it turned out, was that I had wrongly assumed that the driver would simply stop bus at the stop. I didn’t realize that in London, at least, you need to signal the driver to stop. By stepping forward to enter a bus whose driver was not intending to stop (as I had not signalled him to do so), I had risked being knocked down and injured. No wonder the driver was angry!

When I first came to live in London many years ago, the bus network seemed a total mystery to me. On the other hand, the tube network was simplicity itself. It has a clear map that shows the lines, the stations and the intersections between the different lines. You don’t need to be a genius to work out how to reach any station from any other. The only problem is whether or not there is a station for your intended destination. Often there wasn’t and so I would choose the nearest station and walk from there. I did a lot of walking!

I only started using buses regularly after coming to live in Islington with Tigger. Tigger had spent a number of years in London before we met, and as she enjoys travelling about, she acquired what seems to me an encyclopaedic knowledge of the bus network of Greater London. Not only that: she seems able with very little effort to acquire an understanding of the bus routes in any city, almost in minutes. Thus, when we travel by bus, in London or anywhere else, I am utterly dependent on her to reach our destination and return safely home again. If ever Tigger abandoned me in some remote spot such as darkest Walthamstow or Forest Gate, I would have a hard job finding my way home!

For longer trips out of town, we use the railways. This is not an unalloyed blessing, I’ll admit. Fares are expensive and a return journey can cost as much as the several nights’ stay in the hotel at your destination. In some places, such as Cornwall and Wales, train services may end early in the evening and if you do not realize this – being spoilt by the ready availability of public transport at all hours in London – you can find yourself stranded. This happened to us a couple of times.

As far as foreign travel is concerned, the Eurostar takes us to and from many of our European destinations while others can be reached using a combination of Eurostar and local trains. On some other journeys – and please don’t shout at me for this! – we have bitten the bullet and travelled by air. How else could we have managed a visit to my sister in Canada? Well, yes, we could have crossed the Atlantic both ways by ship and taken the train from and back to New York, but that would have taken more time than we had available.

What is the likelihood that I will again drive a car at some point in the future? Virtually none. For one thing, my finances simply do not allow for the purchase, maintenance and upkeep of a car. For another, my eyes are no longer what they once were and I think it unlikely that I could meet the sight requirements. It is safer, as well as more affordable, to conclude that my driving is behind me.

I had a good run. I owned, or had access to, seven cars altogther, including one that had a left-hand drive (awkward in the UK but brilliant in France!) Oh yes, and then there were the car we hired in the Canary Islands and the other one we hired in Turkey. I was quite used to driving in foreign lands as well as the UK and as far as I can recall, I only ever made a mistake once about which side of the road to drive on. This happened on a trip to France when we stopped momentarily in a lay-by and I then drove off on the left. Happily the road was empty at the time and some loud expostulations from my passengers called me to order! Apart from that, my reflexes always clicked in and kept me on the correct side of the road.

Do I miss having a car? The enthusiasm of the preceding paragraph might lead you to that conclusion but in fact, no, I don’t. Not even when standing at a bus stop on a wet and windy day and not being certain whether the buses are actually running? Um, well, maybe, just a little then, but the feeling soon passes. Many of today’s road lay-outs and signage look puzzling to me. If you were to put me at the wheel of a car, I am not sure I could cope with inner-city roads and traffic. Much better – and safer – to let me take the bus!