Today, for a change, was dry and sunny. If the temperature was about the same as yesterday, the sunlight made it warmer at least psychologically and perhaps also physically.

The Angel Crossroads

We stopped briefly at the Angel Crossroads to survey the pleasant sunlit scene.

No 1 Islington High Street
Photo by Tigger

Tigger photographed this, our favourite local building. It stands on the site of the original Angel Inn from which the neighbourhood is named, and is today occupied by a bank and other offices.

Jusaka, open again

Jusaka had been closed for the last two days and so we had not brought our reusable cups with us. They were open today and for once we had our coffee in disposable cups. I hope the planet doesn’t judge us too harshly.

It turns out that the man who served us is originally from Senegal so we were able to chat in French. He has also lived in Portugal and so is fluent in three languages.

Piccadilly

We took a bus next. I knew that Tigger had some plan in mind but not what, so I just waited for it to manifest itself while enjoying the ride and the views from the bus window. We left the bus at the place in the above photo, which is part way along Piccadilly.

Piccadilly is one of London’s main thoroughfares, lined with shops, restaurants and other notable institutions such as the Royal Academy. Originally called Portugal Street, its present name, which it acquired in the 17th century, comes from a house that once stood there. This was Pickadilly Hall, belonging to a tailor whose wealth derived from the sale of pickadills or pickadillies, a kind of lace collar.

Sanitise your hands here

A short walk from the bus stop is Waterstone’s, the bookshop. I think this is their largest store comprising 5 floors (plus mezzanine) and a cafe. This, apparently was Tigger’s destination and one I was happy to visit. At the entrance, as is standard in these times of Covid-19, is a hand-sanitiser dispenser. This one produces foam rather than the more usual gel.

As an aside, I have noticed that in many places, the sanitiser is very runny which suggests to me that it is being watered down in order to save money. This, however, defeats the object of having sanitiser in the first place. Perhaps the authorities should take note of this. I hasten to add that I had no such suspicions of Waterstone’s sanitiser.

A glimpse of the fourth floor

I have been in Watserstone’s in Piccadilly many times but I am still always amazed by the sheer numbers of different books on display. There must be thousands, or perhaps millions, of writers around the world labouring away to keep up this supply of titles. You could not, in one lifetime, reads all the books on one floor of Waterstone’s, let alone the whole stock.

The French language section

The shop has a very impressive staircase but we took the lift to the fourth floor. It turned out that Tigger, noticing that I had run out of French books to read, had decided to buy me a couple.

This kindness produced the delicious dilemma of what to buy. There was considerable choice from the classics of French literature to contemporary writers. There are authors that I like but it’s good to try others as well, so I eventually chose one of each.

Jermyn Street

We left Waterstone’s by the back entrance in Jermyn Street. This street is much quieter than Piccadilly but is also home to a number of exclusive shops.

Whittard’s tea and coffee emporium

Our next port of call was for Tigger. It was a branch of Whittard’s. Here Tigger explored the shelves and chose several different teas to try. These she brews both at home and at work where her tea is apparently appreciated by her colleagues!

Regent Street

We next found ourselves in Regent Street, once known for tailors. These days a mixture of shops and businesses inhabit it, some exclusive and many less so. As elsewhere, a number of premises were boarded up or empty, suggesting that their occupants have moved out, perhaps because the loss of business owing to the pandemic has proved fatal.

Exotic? Not so much…

Along the way, we spotted this figure. Anywhere else in Britain it might appear exotic but not here, among the shops selling luxury items and goods for export. Nonetheless, it seemed worth a photo..,

Burlington Arcade

We passed through the famous Burlington Arcade, replete with boutiques whose window displays do not show any prices. (“If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it..”)

The arcade was built in 1818 and styles itself as “the original department store”. It was set up by George Cavendish, First Earl of Burlington, on a garden of his. According to legend he did so because he was tired of passers-by tossing their oyster shells onto his property. For more on this, see here.

Piccadilly once more

The arcade let us out into Puccadilly once more, thus closing the circle of that part of our outing. We walked to a nearby bus stop in front of the Royal Academy and caught a bus back to the Angel.

I expect you are wondering what books we bought at Waterstone’s, so here they are.

Michel Bussi, Mourir sur Seine

I have read other books by Bussi and so expect I will like this one as well. A “polar” is a detective story while the title, Mourir sur Seine (“Death on the Seine”) is probably a pun on mourir en scène, “dying on stage”. I will find out the exact meaning of that in due course!

Robert Sabatier, Les allumettes suédoises

Robert Sabatier is a writer new to me. The book, Les allumettes suédoises (“Swedish matches”), has been translated and made into a film, so I hope that will prove to be a good one as well.

In this age of electronic books, reading a book printed on paper that weighs in your hands, and gives off that special smell that books have, has become a special experience and one to look forward to.

It’s another cold and wet day today. The following snippet of the weather forecast will give you an idea of it.

Met Office forecast

It took an effort to make up our minds to go out and do the weekly shopping. By the time we did, it was near enough noon when we could feel justified in going for lunch first.

Baron Street

We made our way along Baron Street, narrowly managing to avoid being swamped when a bus ran through a large puddle, spraying the pavement.

Cafe Sizzle

We went to Cafe Sizzle which we found moderately crowded. At the door were what have become standard equipment for restaurants and cafes: a bottle of hand gel with a notice instructing customers to gel their hands and a printed form and pen with a notice asking customers to leave their name and contact details. For the more technically up-to-date, each table has a QR code which you can use with your mobile to access a website and leave your details there instead.

Farmers’ Market in Chapel Market

Outside Sizzle and along this end of the street was the Farmer’s Market. This takes place only on Sundays, and not every Sunday at that. Whether the stalls are really run by people who can plausibly be called “farmers” I do not know though I am somewhat dubious.

Chapel Market

The stalls of the ordinary Chapel Market were all grouped at the other end of the street, leaving a long space between it and the farmers, like a no-man’s land between opposing armies. This was mainly because there were relatively few stalls operating, far fewer than on a good Sunday when the market can be very busy. I suspect the weather put many stallholders off from attending.

Because it was later than when we usually go to Sainsbury’s, we found it busy. The usual notices requested us to maintain two metres separation from one another but when the shop is as crowded as it was, such an injunction is impossible to obey.

The shopping done, we headed home. That will be it for today. We have no urge to confront the weather and will spend the rest of the day at home.

Yes, during yesterday’s outing we made the classic mistake of forgetting Tigger’s umbrella in one of the shops.

T2

Fortunately, she remembered which shop and telephoned them from the bus on the way home. They promised to keep it for us so our first call today was to that shop – the T2 tea emporium.

Catch the number 8 here

That job done, we looked for a bus to take us on the next stage of our outing. The first bus stop that we reached was closed because of road works and it needed a longish walk to find the next one.

The weather, as you can see, is cold and wet again, not conducive to long exploratory rambles.

St Dunstan-in-the-West
Photo by Tigger

The bus didn’t take us quite where we wanted to go so we started walking again. Fortunately, the rain held off, more or less. Thus we arrived at Fleet Street, once the heart of the newspaper industry, and passed in front of this ornate church with its fine clock. St Dunstan-in-the-West was first founded in the 10th or 11th century but was rebuilt in its present form in 1831. You can find more about it here.

Its clock’s bells are struck by humanoid automatons but unfortunately, we just missed its noon performance.

Drinking fountain

Set in the church railings is a drinking fountain bearing the installation date if 1860. The inscription tells us that it was gifted by Sir James Duke, sometime MP of the ward. No longer functioning and now devoid of its cups, the fountain was no doubt of great public benefit in its day as well as helping the cause of temperance. More about it here.

Prince Henry’s Room

Across the road stands this venerable building with the slightly curious name of Prince Henry’s Room. I don’t think Prince Henry ever set foot here but it was in early times known as the Prince’s Tavern. Built in 1610, it managed to survive the Great Fire of London (1666) and is all the more precious for that reason.

City of London Griffin

In the middle of the road in Fleet Street stands this column topped by a griffin. It is one of a set that stand in streets leading into the City of London, marking its boundaries. (NB these are griffins and not dragons, as so many sites wrongly call them.)

The Royal Courts of Justice

We entered (the) Strand, another of London’s more famous thoroughfares. There is argument as to whether it should be called The Strand or simply Strand. Perhaps its most renowned inhabitant is the massive Royal Courts of Justice, built in the 1870s and opened by Queen Victoria. More about that here.

Twining’s

This is where we were heading, to the tea emporium of the legendary Twining’s tea company. (And yes, they do also sell coffee and drinking chocolate,) Though now owned by Associated British Foods, it is one of Britain’s oldest tea merchants and has occupied the Strand premises since 1706.

We had come here, as we had often come before, so that Tigger could add to her collection of teas.

Inside Twining’s

For such an old and famous company, the interior of the shop is curiously utilitarian. It is long and narrow and can become uncomfortably crowded, especially in the tourist season. Today, though, we were the only customers during our visit.

Tigger’s selection
Photo by Tigger

While most of the shelves are stocked with boxes and tins of both loose tea and teabags, at one end there is a cabinet of unboxed tea bags and one can select as few or as many as one wishes of each kind. This is ideal if you want to try the various sorts and flavours of tea available. Tigger’s selection is shown above.

Walking to the bus stop, Tigger suggested that, before going home, we might indulge ourselves with coffee and cake. One of our favourite places was nearby, the Delaunay Counter, a Viennese-style cafe. Sadly, they were closed until later this month.

We caught a bus back to the Angel where we thought we might call in at Jusaka. They too were closed!

Coffee and cake from Saint Espresso

However, we did find the local branch of Saint Espresso open and bought coffee and cake (complete with wooden forks) to take home with us.

Our dull day’s outing was not devoid of interest and ended on a sweet note (literally – the cake was high in sugar).

This morning was my first chance to try out the new toaster (see yesterday’s post). The old one had rather short slots, meaning that I had to press down on the bread to make sure it went down. The new one has nice sized slots and the bread dropped down easily.

There is a dial with six gradations of toasting time. Not being sure how long my bread needed, I chose number 3. When the toast popped up it was slightly pale so I sent it down again, waited a short while and then pressed the release button. This bears the image of an upward-pointing arrow head and is conveniently illuminated. This time, the bread emerged evenly browned. Perfect job! Tomorrow I will try setting it to 4.

The weather today is not very nice. It’s cold and wet. We spent the morning indoors until lunchtime. Then we went out for a short expedition, starting at (did you guess?) Jusaka. Coffee consumed, we took the bus.

Tottenham Court Road

We came to Tottenham Court Road, an interesting shopping street, though rather damp and miserable today. This street used to be a good place to come for shops dealing in computers and general electronics. Many have disappeared since then though there are a few left.

Hema
Photo by Tigger

Our first call was to this intriguing retail outlet, Hema. This chain is Dutch and sells a range of moderately priced items from crockery and biscuits, through stationery to make-up and novelty goods.

Inside Hema

Tigger bought a few items and even has a loyalty card for the store. How’s that for being organised? 🙂

T2

Our next call, having managed to safely cross a by now busy street, was the a branch of T2, a chain selling tea and what has become known as “teaware”, that is, teapots, cups and jugs, infusers, infuser mugs, etc. The company, I believe, is originally Australian but has made a success of things here as well.

Tigger and I both like our tea but our preferences differ. Whereas I drink a blend of teas known as Russian Caravan, Tigger enjoys variety and keeps a stock of different teas.

The Rising Sun
Photo by Tigger

From T2 we passed this fine old pub, The Rising Sun, now a Grade II listed building.

There has been a pub on the premises since the 18th century but as we see it today it was rebuilt in 1896 in a style that Historic England describes as “Elaborate Art Nouveau Gothic”.

We could have spent longer in Tottenham Court Road but, what with the dull conditions and the fact that we had done all that was needful, there seemed to be little point.

Top deck, 73 bus
Photo by Tigger

Just beyond the pub is a stop where we boarded a 73 bus. According to Covid-19 rules, double-decker buses are limited to 30 passengers, though I don’t know whether the driver keeps a tally. In any case, the lower deck was full and so we climbed upstairs.

The bus followed the familiar route to our stop at the Angel and home.

And now, I’m off to make a nice cup of tea!

I almost always start the day the same way. I set the kettle boiling to make tea and slap bread in the toaster. I did the same thing today – well, almost.

I put the bread in the slots and pressed the lever… which came straight back up again as soon as I let it go. I checked the power point to see that it was turned on – it was – and tried again. The bread came straight up again and this time I noticed an ominous green flash inside the toaster.

I breakfasted on “raw” bread while meditating on the problem. We have had that toaster for several years now and so it is well out of warranty. There seemed to be two possible solutions: (1) find an electrical repair shop to see whether they could mend it and (2) dump it and buy a new one.

I couldn’t think of any electrical repairers in our neighbourhood and, in any case, it’s likely that the cost of repair would be at least equal to the price of a new toaster. Solution 2 seemed the more viable option.

As for the old toaster, we have a reliable way of disposing of defunct electricals and even furniture: we put it in the front garden. We live on a main road and the gardens are continually watched by the “garden fairies”, as Tigger calls them, mysterious beings who, usually in the dead of night, make off with anything they think they can use. We have disposed of TV sets, computer printers and even a Welsh dresser and a gas cooker by this means. I’m pretty sure the old toaster will disappear in pretty short order. If it doesn’t, I will carry it down the road to a set of bins that are there for clothes, shoes and, yes, electrical cast-offs.

Tigger did not have to go into the office today but had to “attend” a meeting via the Internet. When this was over we had lunch and then set out to replace the toaster.

We started with coffee at Jusaka and then set out for the Angel Centre, where there is a branch of Argos, the catalogue store.

Argos in the Angel Centre

Covid-19 has transformed the operation of this store as it has everything else. First, you find a terminal that is working (all but a few have been turned off to enforce social distancing) and do a search on it for toasters. Up come the pictures and specifications of the models they sell, along with indications such as “In stock”, meaning that you can have it straightaway, or “Order and collect tomorrow”.

We found a model that was cheap (less than £20) and available immediately. We then proceeded to order and pay for the article. Yes, Apple Pay is accepted, along with other electronic payments, including the now old-fashioned method of typing in your credit card details. The terminal then produces a paper receipt.

You take the receipt to a human operator and then take a seat while your item is fetched.

Flying Tiger

Afterwards Tigger wanted to take a look in Flying Tiger, which, as you probably know, is a chain that sells mainly Scandinavian goods and changes its stock often, in response to the season. At present they are stocking many items to do with Hallowe’en and even a few for Christmas. It’s a fascinating collection but I never find there anything I could conceivably need or want. Even so, it’s fun to take a quick look.

Building works in the Angel Centre
Photo by Tigger

I had to photograph Argos and Flying Tiger from an awkward angle because the middle area is fenced off for building works.

We had stuffed the toaster in the shopping trolley and now started trundling it home.

Chapel Market

On the way we passed along Chapel Market, which, you remember, is the name both of the street and the market that operates there every day except Monday. The busiest days for the market are Saturday and Sunday but even for a weekday there were not many stalls, although it was becoming late and I suppose some stalls might have shut down by now.

Autumn skyscape
Photo by Tigger

Tigger took this photo of the autumn sky along the way.

The new toaster

And here is the new toaster, ensconced amid the clutter we humorously call “the kitchen” (which is also our dining room and our lounge).

The instructions with the toaster tell us to run it several times at full heat without any bread in it. I am doing so and tomorrow shall try it out for my breakfast toast. The proof of the toaster, as they say, is in the crunch.

How long will this one last, I wonder?