For someone like me who finds the cold hard to bear, the present weather is rather trying. We waited until lunchtime before venturing out, by which time, according to the Met Office, the temperature had risen to 3°C, the best we could expect today.

City Road

Tigger proposed that we take a stroll along Duncan Terrace with a view to photographing Christmas wreaths on front doors as she was sure we would find a good selection there.

First, though, we dropped off our cups at Jusaka to be picked up on our return.

The way to Duncan Terrace is to turn off to the left at the bus stop near the top of City Road. The above photo may perhaps give some idea of the cold and dull conditions.

Duncan Terrace

The first part of Duncan Terrace, as you may recall, has a single row of houses facing a central park or garden which results from the covering over of this section of the New River. I imagine that it must be a pleasant area in which to live. The dwellings are three-storey Georgian style houses built in stages from 1791.

Our first wreath

The houses, as is typical of Georgian and early Victorian housing developments, differ very slightly from one another in small details, such as the railings and gateways, tiling on the front path and around the doorway or ironwork around the windows. Some of these details have been lost owing to repairs and alterations but some still can still be made out – such as this gateway arch. The gate, though, is no longer extant.

“Wreath” of lights

I was amused to see that the front door wreath above was echoed by a “wreath” of lights in the basement next door.

I described these houses above as having three storeys whereas I suppose that, technically, they have four stories if we count the basements. Originally, the basement would have been the kitchen and food storage area looked after by the servants. The servants are of course long gone and many of the houses have been divided into flats with the basement now being an independent apartment. (That is not quite as claustrophobic as you might think as the basement stretches right through the house and has a window into the back garden.)

Hanging on the doorknob

Wreaths are attached to doors by various means. Here, they have simply hung it on the central doorknob. That’s quite sensible as it avoids damaging the door with some other sort of attachment.

You may wonder why nearly all the houses have front doors painted black. This is because many of them have listed status which requires that they be kept in their original condition and this implies that the doors be painted black.

Stars in the windows

In addition to a wreath on the door, this house has bold red stars in the windows. I like to see people exercising their imaginations creating their own schemes of decorations.

A scarlet bow

This wreath doesn’t show up well against the black door except for the scarlet bow which certainly does stand out.

Incidentally, you may notice that the front doors are not always exactly rectangular and set straight. This is because in London the ground is liable to subsidence, a fact that was not always sufficiently appreciated by 18th and early 19th-century builders. Houses often sagged unevenly and have been patched up in various ways. (Building regulations today require very deep foundations to prevent such subsidence.)

Looking along Duncan Street

We crossed the end of Duncan Street which provides handy access from Duncan Terrace to the shops and restaurants of Upper Street yet is long enough to insulate it from that noisy area.

Red berries

In a previous post, I said that fir cones and pine cones seemed to be an essential ingredient of Christmas wreaths. Those of Duncan Terrace have shown that that was a hasty judgement. The wreaths here show a wide variety of composition, both natural (such as these berries) and artificial (such as bows and trinkets).

Mixed composition

Wreaths also vary in size and complexity from the small and neat to the large, like this one that has more than a touch of the wild wood about it!

Hiding the letterbox

This one is also hanging from the doorknob and is exactly the right size to obstruct the letterbox. Let’s hope the postman is the understanding kind!

Colebrooke Row

We didn’t explore all of Duncan Terrace but crossed over the covered river into Colebrooke Row. This is even older than Duncan Terrace, having been built from 1768. The houses here are a little larger than those opposite and we expected rich pickings. In that, we were disappointed. We “scored” only one, that shown above.

A glimpse of the canal

Making our way back to City Road, we had this glimpse of the Regent’s Canal. At this point (under where I am standing), the canal enters the Islington Tunnel and re-emerges near King’s Cross.

Tigger drew my attention to a strong smell if woodsmoke in the air. We concluded that the source of it was the barges moored along the canal which use wood-fired stoves for heating.

Elia Street

We crossed Elia Street which provided a slightly ghostly view of some of the tall buildings of the City of London. Elia Street, built in mid-Victorian times takes its name from a nom de plume of writer and essayist Charles Lamb who lived hereabouts.

Ho ho ho!

In a block of flats, I saw these Christmas decorations. As I took a photo, the lights, which had been off, suddenly lit up. I have no idea whether this was by sheer chance or whether the owner, seeing me taking the photo, decided to improve the picture by switching on the lights! Your guess is as good as mine 🙂

A stench pipe

As we crossed the pedestrian area between City Road and Goswell Road, I noticed something that I hadn’t spotted previously though I should perhaps have done. Looking a little like a street lamp that has lost its top, it is in fact a stench pipe. (But see update in On the brink of Tier 3.) These were built mostly during the Victorian period as their design suggests. Their role was to prevent a build-up of unpleasantly odoriferous gases in Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s new system of sewers by venting them to street level, at a height sufficient, so it was hoped, to avoid incommoding passers-by. They are still performing their duties as originally specified! You will find a more detailed explanation here.

Inside Jusaka

And so we arrived at Jusaka where we reclaimed our cups, appropriately filled with hot coffee. Under Tier 2 rules, we could have consumed our coffee on the premises but as they keep their street door open and have minimal heating, it was too cold for me, so we sped home and drank it, garnished with Kit Kat, in the warm!

A pleasant conclusion to our outing.

I have heard people complaining that lockdowns and tiers are making life slow and boring. That’s not how it feels to me. Perhaps it’s my age, but the days seem to be spinning by ever faster. Once again it is Sunday and our day for shopping at the supermarket.

Pentonville Road

Pentonville Road was fairly busy although I caught it at a quiet moment in the above photo. There had been rain overnight, quite heavy to judge by the size of the puddles remaining, and now the weather seemed to be hesitating between rain and sunshine.

The Castle, preparing for lunch

Our way took us past The Castle and we saw that they were preparing to open for lunch. We both had the same idea at the same time: how about having lunch there today? (Did we? Wait and see!)

Santa Bus Driver
Photo by Tigger

Just then, a 73 bus turned the corner and Tigger spotted that it was being driven by no less a personage than Santa Claus! Is business so bad that he has to moonlight to make ends meet or is this a Christmas present for the real driver? We shall never know 🙂

Baron Street

This is Baron Street, looking very dull while the weather is trying to make up its mind…

Street musicians
Photo by Tigger

When we reached Chapel Market, we saw two street musicians performing. We wondered what the small plastic tent was for and decided it was to protect their amplifier from the weather. I’m not a fan of twanging electric guitars accompanying secondhand lyrics so we continued on our way.

Children’s furniture stall

This stall selling what looks like children’s furniture is new. At least, I haven’t seen it here before. It occupies a prime spot usually given to a crockery stall which had been demoted to the pitch next to it.

A good turnout

There was a good turnout in the market today, almost like old times. Approaching Christmas no doubt acts as an encouragement to stall holders.

Christmas trees

There were two rows if Christmas trees in White Conduit Street though whether they both belonged to one retailer or separately to two, I don’t know. Some of the trees were ready wrapped in transparent plastic.

We say “Christmas trees” but of course, the tradition of decorating one’s dwelling with greenery in winter dates back far beyond the 4th century when Christmas was invented. In fact, the religious festival was created in the hope that it would supplant the earlier pagan traditions. In that it was only partially successful and different traditions still exist side by side.

Awkward perch for a pigeon

On reaching Sainsbury’s, I went to fetch a trolley and, as I did so, something flew over my head. It was this pigeon which decided to perch, if that’s the right word for its awkward posture, on what seemed to be an impossibly small protuberance. I think it must have done this before and worked out how to position itself there but why it would do so is a mystery.

Surfing the aisles

We timed our arrival nicely: just after the queue had been absorbed but before the main rush of the day started. Progress through the aisles was fairly easy and we soon had the job done. We even found a checkout with nobody waiting. Bonus!

Back through Chapel Market

After shopping, we made our way back through Chapel Market.

The Farmers’ Market

We saw that the Farmers’s Market was in full swing but we had no need of their products. However, we did, as usual, stop off at…

Stopping off for coffee

…Mercer’s for takeaway coffee. (Yes, it’s a reused photo but you know what they say: “Waste not, want not…”). Today, there were people sitting in the coffee shop but we preferred to make for home and get ready for lunch.

The Castle

We had decided that we would go to the Castle for lunch. Knowing that they were limiting the number of customers in order to implement “social distancing”, I decided to try booking a table online. Unfortunately, when I filled in my details and clicked “Continue”, this gave me “Page not found”. Frustrating.

So I telephoned and was able to book a table. I received an email confirming that we had a dining slot from 12:30 to 1:30. Perfect.

The menu

We consented to consult the menu although we knew what we wanted: the vegetarian roast.

The vegetarian roast
Photo by Tigger

Actually, we should have looked more closely at the menu because today’s veggie roast had a twist to it: instead of gravy, there was something called Bloody Mary Sauce. Neither if us liked this very much but we will know for next time. Live and learn. Apart from that, it was fine. I don’t know how many vegetables there were in it but there were a lot, and many different kinds.

I think that will be the end of our outings for today. I’m off to make tea. How about you?

According to the Met Office, the temperature out in the street is around 6°C but I have to say it feels a lot colder. As soon as we stepped outside, I was looking forward to returning home!

St John Street at the Angel crossroads

On the positive side, it’s sunny, as you can see, though there are slowly drifting clouds that sometimes hide the sun.

We came this way round so as to see whether Jusaka was open. We were pretty sure it wouldn’t be, so sure in fact that we didn’t even bring our reusable cups with us. We were right: they were closed.

A familiar corner

We turned up Chadwell Street into Myddelton Square, familiar territory, yes, but I enjoyed the sunlight on these elegant Georgian-style houses, seeming to make them smile back at me.

Arboreal lacework

With the arrival of autumn this year, I have learned to admire the shapes of these old trees, revealed by the fall of the leaves. For how many long years have they stood where they are, absorbing rain and sunshine, stretching their limbs and branching out to take advantage of the available light? To them, we must seen to dart about like frenetic and short-lived insects, while they measure their hours on the slow clock of the seasons.

Church and trees

St Mark’s Church has been here since the 1820s and, while I am not religious, I appreciate the symbiosis, both actual and poetic, that exists between it and the trees. As the church and its gravestones have aged, the trees have grown and extended their canopies, weathering stonework and spreading branches measuring time together.

Chairs and tables at the deli

On the way to the deli, I remarked to Tigger that it was so cold that the coffee we bought there would have cooled by the time we reached home. When we arrived there, we saw that they had put out their tables and chairs. Tigger suggested we take our coffee here. At first I wasn’t keen because of the cold but here, on this corner in the direct sunlight, it was not too bad. So we had coffee and cake outside in the sun.

A view from the deli

The sun was quite low and from where we sat was reflecting off the windows, dazzling the view in some directions. Even so, it was quite pleasant sitting out like this, despite the cold.

Red bows

On the way home (not carrying rapidly cooling coffee!), we kept a lookout for new Christmas decorations. This first-floor window is embellished with red bows.

At least, I assume they are decorations for Christmas though they might have some other purpose.

Wreath with white roses

I also added to my “collection” of wreaths. Last time, I remarked that pine and fir cones seemed to be a standard ingredient of wreaths. Apparently not always: this one has green leaves and white roses. No cones.

And, yes, I was glad to be home and in the warm again, even though I had enjoyed my coffee on the pavement!

Lockdown has ended and we are now living in a world of Tiers. London has been placed in Tier 2, the “High Alert” Tier. Depending on where you live, you may be in a lower or even a higher Tier. If you want an authoritative guide to how the country is divided among the Tiers and what the rules are for each, then the Government’s own guv.uk site is your best bet.

Penton Street

We struck off along Penton Street – whose name, along with that of the Pentonville area (including the prison), derives from Henry Penton (1736–1812), MP and property developer. The weather was cold and grey, and I kept my hands in my coat pockets except when taking photos.

Shops are open

The first novelty, after a month of closure, was to find the shops open, not just those selling food and “essentials” but any and all shops.

Fashion boutique
Photo by Tigger

The fashion boutique is open for business and so is the wedding gown emporium…

Wearing a visor

…where it amused us to see that this dummy was wearing a visor, unlike this one…

No face, no visor…

…but as she doesn’t have a face either, I suppose it doesn’t matter.

Chapel Market (Penton Street end)

We entered Chapel Market at the Penton Street end. It looked pretty empty but, then, the market never does reach this far.

Indian Veg Buffet

At numbers 92-3 you find Indian Veg, a vegetarian buffet that I would perhaps describe as quietly famous. It has already survived a quarter of a century so must be doing something right. As well as being a restaurant it vigorously promotes vegetarianism and ethical living. I don’t think it has a website but here is a review by the Independent.

Decorated doors

Our attention was caught by these decorated shop doors. I don’t think they are actually stained glass though they almost look as if they are. Can you guess what business is transacted within? It’s a tattoo shop. In case you are wondering, no, I have no tattoos and in fact dislike the whole idea. I find the current fad for tattoos incomprehensible and the tattoos themselves disfiguring of the wearer.

Chapel Market – the first stalls

Further along the street, we came upon the first market stalls. In streets like Chapel Market, there is a kind of symbiosis between the stalls and the fixed shops. I’m sure the latter do more trade on market days as customers move between both.

Christmas trees

Once again, the Christmas trees were out in force. This stall had nothing but Christmas trees and some of the other stalls, selling other goods, also had trees. Market traders are adaptable folk!

Costa Coffee

I was curious to see the Costa Coffee shop as the Tier 2 rules seem to me undefined regarding coffee shops. Anyway, they were open and customers were allowed to sit inside. Well, now we know for our future outings.

Like old times…

We walked the length of the market and, as my caption says, it was like old times. There were stalls all the way down and no gaps. Most of the familiar weekday stalls were there, well stocked and ready for business.

The Angel crossroads

We walked on down to the Angel crossroads which proved to be very busy. Traffic was quite heavy in all directions. You might be able to spot our destination just across the road!

Jusaka

Yes, it’s Jusaka, our favourite local coffee place. Actually, it describes itself as a juice bar but our interest is strictly focused on the coffee!

We could sit in

Here too the tables had been set out once more and we were able to sit in and drink our coffee here in leisurely fashion instead of dashing home with it.

The easing of restrictions, though slight, is welcome but we are still in a dangerous situation and it may be necessary to impose lockdown again if cases of infection soar again as they have done before.

If the vaccines prove to be as effective as is claimed, then we can begin to hope to see the end of the pandemic in the not too distant future but there is yet a long way to go before that outcome is achieved. It behoves us all to be patient and to behave sensibly. The weak link in the progress towards success is, as always, human stupidity. And that, as we know only too well, is one disease for which there is no vaccine.

It’s another cold day but at least the sun is shining, which always makes things seem better.

Parcel delivery

As we strolled along, we were overtaken by this man carrying some parcels for delivery. By the time we caught up with him, he had already delivered two packages to two separate addresses and was already rushing off to somewhere else – testimony to how hard these delivery people work for their poor wages.

Christmas wreath

Nearby, we found another wreath to add to our “collection”.

Coal holes

I have often mentioned the basement “area” possessed by these Georgian-style houses but I may not have mentioned that they also own storage space that extends under the pavement in front of the houses. One of the uses of this storage space was as a coal cellar. At the time when the houses were designed and built, coal fires were the only means of heating and cooking was done on kitchen “ranges”, also fuelled by coal. So as not to have coal merchants tramping through the house with their sacks, coal was delivered to the coal cellar through a hole in the pavement. Many of these coal holes have been blocked up in modern times and have been filled with concrete or covered by paving but some still exist with their metal covers still in place.

Coal hole cover

Many different patterns of coal hole covers can be seen, made by many different manufacturers, some local and others made in other cities. This suggests that the covers have been replaced once or often.

Coal hole cover

Most, though not all, have the manufacturer’s name and location moulded around the edge of the cover. Unsurprisingly, this has led to people developing a passion for collecting covers, at least photographically, and displaying them on online forums.

Coal hole cover

In case you are wondering, no, I haven’t been bitten by the collecting bug 🙂 I do often wonder, though, whether any of these manufacturers still exist and whether they still make covers.

Scented blossoms
Photo by Tigger

We passed by St Mark’s Church which has a small garden where Tigger photographed a bush loaded with scented blossoms. Woefully ignorant as we may be, we don’t know the name of this shrub. Don’t hesitate to tell us if you know.

Incidentally, these blossoms thriving in a world of winter-bare trees indicates how out of kilter our seasons have become.

The church is open

The church was open again today and there were people inside. A notice was advertising a carol service some time soon – not that we will be attending 🙂 I expect that churches will become busy again from tomorrow.

Trees – bare but beautiful

In Myddelton Square garden, I admired the trees. This one was lit by the sun as by a spotlight. Though they have shed their leaves they are still beautiful, each unique in the way it has grown and formed its branches, apparently at random and yet with an underlying pattern they I can feel though not analyse.

Window decoration – topical or ironic?
Photo by Tigger

Tigger spotted this window with an unusual adornment. Hanging from the latch in the centre was… a surgical mask! We wondered whether this was a wry comment on prevailing conditions, a mask instead of a branch of holly or other traditional Christmas decoration. It makes a change from rainbows, the other popular window adornment.

Building works in Chadwell Street

In Chadwell Street, building work on this site has been going on for a long time. Usually the site is screened from view but today the screens were open and so I stepped in and took photo. I don’t know what is being built but to judge from the depth to which they have dug, I imagine it must be something big, a tower block perhaps. If so, it will be quite out of scale with the rest if the district so I hope my suspicion proves to be wrong. Tigger noticed that my taking a photo elicited angry looks from one of the builders. Why? Are they doing something they shouldn’t?

More decorations

Yesterday, I showed you this shop which had been decorated with ribbons and baubles on the windowsill. Today, the decor has been taken a step further with a red cross and giant tassel on the door. If this is the outside, what must it be like inside?!

Planter-bike rack in use

Also yesterday, I mentioned these combined planters and bicycle racks and said that I thought cyclists were generally unaware of their purpose. It turns out that I was wrong: there are at least two cyclists who know what they are for!

Coffee hearts

We if course wound up at Jusaka. The barista produced this pattern on the coffee: he must have been practising! Unfortunately, when you put the lid in the cup to take it home, this destroys the design. The photo will at least record it for posterity, though!