To judge from the weather forecasts, snow is no longer on the menu and even this morning’s yellow alert for ice has been removed. Skies continue grey and at 3 pm the light levels were more appropriate to evening. It felt very cold, too, and by the time we reached Myddelton’s deli, my fingers were stinging with cold.

Traffic at the Angel crossroads

The roads continue busy, partly because gas engineering works have reduced Pentonville Road to single file for vehicles.

Gloomy St John Street

Today we took a turn along St John Street where I took this photo to show the dull conditions though the camera (which has a mind of its own) has lightened the sky, falsifying the effect.

Rosebery Avenue

We entered Rosebery Avenue, home of the Sadlers Wells Theatre, forever associated with the “father of clowning”, Joseph Grimaldi (see A visit to Wilmington Square).

Abandoned supermarket trolley

This is one of two supermarket trolleys abandoned in this street. How selfish people are. Who do they think will return it to the store? No wonder many supermarkets require a refundable deposit to use their trolleys.

Spa Green

We walked through the small park called Spa Green. It’s looking a little bedraggled at the moment, partly because of the season and partly, I suspect, because of lack of maintenance during the pandemic. It is home to some well established mature trees as well as shrubs and, in the right season, flowers.

One of the fine trees

Here is just one of those trees, winter-bare, showing its complex growth of branches. Spring will dress it again in green finery.

New growth

This plant was just one of several already showing new growth.

New flowers
Photo by Tigger

This one was even bolder, bravely showing off a flower!

Red berries
Photo by Tigger

Tigger captured a view of this plant with bright red berries.

Spa Green War Memorial

Victory, atop the war memorial, with her escort of pigeons, was still waving her laurel wreath despite the millions who have died in wars since she was put in place.

Old Waterworks Laboratory

I poked my phone through the railings surrounding what used to be land owned by the New River Company and, later, by the Metropolitan Water Company to photograph this fine building that is now residential, but once housed the MWC’s laboratory.

Sadlers Wells Theatre

This is a glimpse of the above mentioned Sadlers Wells Theatre, so called because it was found to have been built on wells that once provided water for St John’s priory in Clerkenwell. The fact that the water was found to be iron-rich was what caused the area to become known as a spa. The fad for “taking the waters” ceased long ago and only the names remain as reminders.

The Shakespeare’s Head

We haven’t visited the Shakespeare’s Head pub for a while. It is closed, of course, courtesy of Covid-19. Not that we have ever been inside, even in “normal” times. Perhaps we will do so once the pandemic is over, just to see what the inside is like.

The vine is looking sad

The grape vine that flows over the top of the pub’s garden, is devoid of leaves snd looks dead. It’s hard to imagine that this is the same vine that was full of leaves in summer and even produced bunches of tiny grapes. I hope it grows up again and once more charms us with its foliage and miniature grapes.

Myddelton Passage

Myddelton Passage is also built on what was once New River Company land. On one side is a long, old brick wall whose distinguishing feature, you may recall, is a large number of inscriptions of police badge numbers, carved into the bricks in the mid-19th century by lurking police officers.

Spider holes

Another feature of the wall that we spotted today is a number of holes with spider webbing around the entrance. These holes are excavated in the now crumbling mortar by what we call between us “tunnel spiders” but which in Britain are officially named Tube Web Spiders. We once found one in a wall in Thanet and when we tweaked the web, the resident spider dashed out, hoping to catch his dinner! On this occasion, we politely refrained from any such naughtiness!

Very soon we arrived at Myddelton’s deli when we bought coffee and I, as official Coffee Carrier could put on my gloves as carrying coffee stops me taking photos.

Tigger, however, took some more.

Tree blossom

One was of this pretty flower growing on a branch sprouting from a tree in Inglebert Street. How pretty and unexpected is that?

Is it trying to escape?

The second is this amusing photo of a wreath, hanging on railings. This is the same wreath that I referred to in Short, wet walk where I said it was the last wreath still surviving on someone’s front door. It looks as though it is now making a bid to escape! How far will it have travelled by the time we next pass, I wonder? Or will someone take responsibility for it? Time will tell.

The dire warnings of the weather forecasters of “100% probability” of snow once more proved false, at least for London. Not that I am disappointed by that, of course.

Sunshine in Pentonville Road

When we came to cross Pentonville Road, I took this photo to show the pale winter sunshine illuminating the buildings. More of the same, please!

Market stalls in Chapel Market

When we crossed through Chapel Market, I saw that the Farmers’ Market (not photographed) was in full swing and that the regular market was operating though with what looked like only a small selection of stalls.

I wonder how the “non-essential” stallholders are faring and whether this second lockdown will force some of them out of business. Even big companies are feeling the pinch, despite an upsurge in online buying, and closing branches. It must be even more difficult for smaller traders.

We usually go to Sainsbury’s “round the back”, through the car park, because we know that if there is a queue, we join it in Tolpuddle Road. (This branch has a bad record of late openings.) Today, a shock awaited us.

Queueing for Sainsbury’s

We are used to the queue turning the corner into Tolpuddle Road and even stretching past the bus stop but today it went much further, right into the car park!

The longest queue we have seen – so far

It extended along the wall of the store, then along in front of parked cars. Within seconds of us joining, more people took up position behind us. As Sainsbury’s now counts customers entering the store so as to avoid overcrowding (something I approve of in principle), I was worried that when the queue did start to move, we would be stopped at the door. In fact, all went well and we were counted in, like the sheep that we have become, thanks to Covid.

Busy Sainsbury’s

As was to be expected from the long queue, it was a busy scene inside Sainsbury’s. We knew what we wanted and each sped off to collect a share of the goods. This enabled us to complete the work in a short amount of time and to reach the checkouts while there were still relatively few customers. As we left, security staff dutifully counted us out!

The next port of call, as you have no doubt anticipated, was Mercer’s in Chapel Market. Tigger took charge of the shopping trolley and bag while I grabbed the cup carrier and hurried on ahead, fraying a passage, like an ice-breaker, through the crowd in the market.

On my way through the market

When I reached Mercer’s, there were already customers ahead of me and, while it is annoying to have to wait, I stifled my impatience by telling myself that it was better that they have plenty of customers as this enables them to keep on trading and staying in business to sell us our coffee!

In Mercer’s, I was amused by the music which was a song in French with the repetitive refrain “Où t’es, papa?” (“Where are you, daddy?”). In general, I find background music in shops and restaurants (not to mention films, where it often drowns out the dialogue) very irritating. I have no problem with peaceful quiet and deplore the apparently widespread addiction to noise.

One of several wagtails
Photo (clipped) by Tigger

The sad decline of the sparrow population seems to have created an empty ecological niche in towns which is gradually being filled by these little fellows, wagtails. They are very quick-moving and fun to watch with their signature wagging tails. Birds are sensitive to being stared at by humans (can you blame them?) and this one took flight on seeing that we were interested in him.

When we reached home with our coffee, we found Ari taking a nice long walk around the wall-ceiling join. As I write, she is in the diametrically opposite corner to where she started and is, like us, taking a well deserved rest!

This morning, I looked in the corner where we had found her yesterday but Ari was not there. I visually the line between wall and ceiling to the next corner, our “flood corner” deluged by our upstairs neighbour. This is also a favoured haunt of Ari.

Ari in the corner

Yes! There she is. Owing to the building’s architectural peculiarities, this corner is curved, not square. Perhaps she likes that feature.

To take the photo, I needed to illuminate the area but without using flash as Ari’s reactions show that she doesn’t like it.

Yesterday, I tried using the iPhone’s torch function with the camera but found that if I switched on the torch and then opened the camera, the torch closed down. This time I tried opening the camera first and then the torch. This worked and I was able to take the above photo. But, guess what: since I did that, neither of us has managed to run the torch and the camera at the same time! Making it work must have been some sort of fluke.

Back to “cooperative photos” (see Spider Ari reappears)!

See also Ari, the Spider.

Snow has been forecast for much of the country but in London we have rain, not heavy rain, but the slow, insistent sort. It’s cold too, at 3°C but with a “feels like” value of -1°C.

Nonetheless, we bravely set out for an admittedly short walk, calling in for coffee on the way – without that encouragement we might not have gone at all!

Pentonville Road – wet but busy

On arriving at Pentonville Road, we found it wet but busy.

Wreath – still surviving

In Claremont Square we see this wreath whenever we pass. Each time we expect it will have disappeared but it doesn’t; it continues to survive. Will it see January out and be here to welcome February?

A day for umbrellas

It’s a day for umbrellas, at least, so far. I hope it doesn’t turn into a day for snow boots.

Curvaceous Tree and companions

Do trees mind the cold weather and lack of nourishing sunshine? It’s hard to imagine how trees might feel, if they do. The bursting out of new leaves in spring certainly seems like celebration but that is probably a fantasy of my anthropomorphic soul! 🙂

Dull skies over Inglebert Street

Every scene was dull in this winter gloom. By now, my hands (for whom the air temperature certainly “felt like” freezing) were reminding me that I still need a pair of camera-friendly gloves. Research needed!

Myddelton Square garden

I peered over the railings into Myddelton Square garden. It looked soggy and – unsurprisingly – was deserted. Deserted, at least, by humans…

The pigeon colony

The square’s pigeons were in attendance and apparently finding something to eat in the muddy grass. Perhaps a fan of Rock doves aka feral pigeons has left some food for them.

Raindrops in a puddle

Rain falling into this puddle (where Tigger photographed the crow drinking – see Window boxes and a crow) describes the conditions more eloquently than my words can.

Waiting at Myddelton’s deli

As we approached the deli, we could see that there were people waiting outside. That was a bad sign if it meant that we too would have to stand and wait in the rain. It turned out that they were waiting for a customer and went away as soon as he emerged. There was a customer inside, however, and he seemed to be waiting for something. Happily, the assistant spotted us standing outside and brought us our coffee and the payment machine. Just as well that we wanted our usual order, eh? 🙂

Tigger held the coffee while I put on my gloves at her insistance, then we made a dash for home.

Hung up to dry

Reaching home, I once again had to hang my battered hat up to dry in the bathroom.

That, I think, is enough adventure for today. Now let’s wait and see whether the promised snow finally arrives…

This morning as we were having breakfast, Tigger spotted a familiar figure in a corner of the ceiling: Ari has reappeared!

Ari reappears

It’s almost two weeks since Ari (short for Ariadne or, alternatively ‘Arry – we don’t know his/her gender) was last seen. We began to think she had moved on but, no, here she is, in her characteristic “Pilates” pose.

Knowing that the flash disturbs her, we took one of our “cooperative photos”: I illuminated the scene with my iPhone’s flashlight function while Tigger took the photo. Ari seems to accept the flashlight but even so, we use it sparingly.

As this is my sixth post about Ari, I have collected all of the posts together in a compendium version, and will add any future Ari posts to it. Here is the link: Ari, the Spider.

Later…

Ari relaxes

Pilates finished, Ari relaxes. How long will she stay with us this time?