Sunday is traditionally the day when we do the week’s shopping at Sainsbury’s. During the lockdown, Tigger coped on her own but since last week, I tag along too, as I always used to do.

The store opens at 11am on Sunday and that’s when we went, knowing that it is relatively uncrowded at that hour. Following the rules, we wore face masks in the shop. So did most of the other customers, though some were wearing them incorrectly. Why? There is plenty of information on how to place them so no one can plead ignorance.

If you are not going to wear the mask correctly, then at least have the courage not to wear it at all. Nobody is impressed by you leaving you nose uncovered or wearing the mask wrapped around your chin. You just look like the idiot that you are.

Most of what we wanted was on the shelves, though with some notable blank spots. Don’t blame Covid-19 for this though, because missing items has always been the besetting sin of this branch of Sainsbury’s.

Watching the world go by from Jusaka

Having completed the task, we stopped off at Jusaka for coffee and a rest from our labours. We sat on the soft seats at the back (those stools are a bit hard on the derrière, believe me) and watched the world go by outside. And there was plenty of world going by, too. The streets were quite busy for a Sunday morning.

The shopping awaits

The shopping – trolley plus bag – sat and glared at us throughout and we were aware we would have to deal with it eventually.

We at last bestirred ourselves and set off for home. We passed close the the so-called Angel Building on the corner of St John Street and Pentonville Road.

Moth on the window
Photo by Tigger

On one of the large windows, Tigger noticed this moth resting and took a photo of it. It is of a different species from the one seen in our front door yesterday but what species they are, neither of us knows. Must ask for a book on butterflies and moths for my birthday! I used to enjoy a closer relationship with these interesting creatures, as recounted in Garden tigers.

Garden tiger moth

Though butterflies receive the most attention from people, there are in fact far more species of moths in the world. Estimates vary, but according to some counts, there are ten times more moth than butterfly species. There’s a fact to keep in mind for the pub quiz night!

On Thursday and Friday, Tigger went into the office to work. On both days, I remained at home on my own, a rather novel experience these days. Is it true that “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”? Definitely!

On Thursday we had our evening meal brought in. We ordered dough balls and pizza from PizzaExpress to be brought to our door by Deliveroo.

We know PizzaExpress of old but this was our first experience of Deliveroo. You order online and pay with your card and are given an estimated delivery time. A progress bar appears, showing the meal being prepared and then out for delivery. The delivery time slipped by 5 minutes but that’s acceptable.

The only downside is that whereas in the restaurant, you eat your starter and then they bring you your pizza, still oven hot, with home delivery, both arrive together and by the time you start on the pizza it is already cold. I suppose you could put the pizza in a warm oven – if you have one.

The heatwave seems finally to have abated and not a day too soon. How pleasant it is to feel cool and comfortable!

We allowed ourselves a slow start today and stayed put until lunchtime. Tigger proposed going out for lunch. I wasn’t too keen in the idea at first but then reflected that as our “firsts” so far have included bus rides and train rides perhaps it was time for the “first” of eating out.

Upper Street

We set out to look for a cafe that wasn’t too crowded. Our walk took us along the High Street to Liverpool Road. The above photo shows how busy the main road is. Traffic volume has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Chapel Market

We turned along Liverpool Road and then into Chapel Market. The most noticeable feature here was the extended empty space along the right-hand side. Usually, there would be stalls side by side along both sides and the empty space seemed rather strange.

Lurker
Photo by Tigger

What’s this? Boris Johnson lurking in an optician’s shop? Ah well, just another dummy among dummies, I suppose.

Sizzle

We found our way to Sizzle, a cafe in Chapel Market that had become one of our favourites because the food is well cooked and the prices moderate. It wasn’t too crowded and the food was as good as we remembered it to be.

Resting moth
Photo by Tigger

The weather was decidedly dull and was threatening rain. Neither of us felt any urge to wander so we returned home. On the front door, this tiny moth was taking a rest. We were careful not to disturb it. It will fly off about its business when it’s ready. Just like us, really!

Charles Baudelaire 1821–67

Note: the figure 89 is of course a reference to the French Revolution which broke out in 1789.

In memory of Brian Juden, a fine scholar of Baudelaire and of much else.

Yesterday, apart from my “quick dash” for coffee, we stayed at home because the heat dissuaded us from venturing out.

Today, Tigger went to work… on the settee. In other words, she was, to use the modern acronym, “WFH”, working from home.

This kept her occupied until 5pm and then we decided it was high time we went for a walk.

Jusaka

We started by going to Jusaka for coffee. As it was late, they were closing up when we arrived but kindly allowed us to drink our coffee on the premises while they were cleaning up.

Chadwell Street

When we emerged to continue our walk, the sun was already low, casting an evening atmosphere over the scene. I took a few photos as we went and though there is nothing here that I have not already shown you before, I am posting them for for my own pleasure at least.

Myddelton Square

We walked along Chadwell Street and into Myddelton Square. There were not many people in the central gardens but the children’s playground was pretty busy. The excited shouts of children were mingled with the calls of parakeets in the trees.

Flushed with success?

Parked in the Square we spotted this plumber’s van. Nothing remarkable about that but note the licence plate: FLU 55H. How long did the owner have to wait for that combination to become available, I wonder?

Cat takes the air

I have already photographed the cats that live in this house and we always look out for them whenever we pass this way. Today, only one was visible, taking the air at the open window. S/he didn’t react to us in any overt way but maintained a lordly detachment as this pair always do.

Looking past the church to River Street

You might be able to make out my “curly tree” despite the evening shadows. It’s so quiet here now that a group of pigeons are calmly prospecting for food in the road.

Claremont Square

This is a view along one of the sides of Claremont Square, in the direction of the setting sun. It looks very quiet and peaceful, enough to make you forget for a moment the changes to the world brought by the pandemic.

Pentonville Road

Pentonville Road was busy as it usually is at this time on a weekday. The buildings on the other side of the crossing are lit by the evening sun.

According to weather forecasts, the heatwave will start to subside from tomorrow. I for one hope they are right. Much as I dislike winter cold, I would welcome some cooler weather now.

The hot spell continues and has brought life to a virtual standstill, at least for us, as neither of us fares well in the heat.

Around mid-morning yesterday, Tigger bravely made a quick dash to Saint Espresso in Pentonville Road, to buy our daily coffee. Apart from that, we spent the day in front of the electric fans.

After lunch, as we had not done this week’s shopping, we fired up the Sainsbury’s Chop Chop app and ordered our permitted 20 items. In due course, the doorbell rang and I was handed our two bags of groceries by a cheerful young man wearing a motorcycle helmet. I don’t give compliments easily but I have to say that this is a really good service and I think it worth the £4.99 fee.

This morning, it was my turn to perform the quick dash coffee run. By the time I had bestirred myself, it was after 10am and 10am is when Jusaka opens these days. (During the pandemic, trade has fallen off somewhat and they have restricted their opening times to match).

At that time in the morning, it was quite pleasant outside and I enjoyed my little walk.

That is probably the extent of our activities for the day and I expect we will spend the rest of it estivating.