I had this little email conversation with my brother, John. He says he doesn’t have much anxiety about this crisis and, if it goes on another year he won’t mind too much. (Total paraphrase so forgive me, John.)
I can weather it, I know I can. However, John and I have very different circumstances. He lives in the Southern California suburbs, where pedestrians are few, houses are detached and at the end of their personal driveways, supermarkets are enormous barn-like affairs, his wife Liz sleeps into the mid morning while he is up with the lark for some alone time, they each have a car, and they live in a five bedroom house, with two bathrooms and two living rooms, and a front and back garden.
I think I could have less anxiety there, despite my surburbiphobia! Instead I live in a congested city where even in zone 2 I rarely see no one outside my window, on the top floor of a terraced house which houses four sets of tenants. There’s no access to the garden and the scrap of front yard is the entrance to the lower floor flat. There’s no car but several busy buses and trains. We have two rooms – the bedroom and living room and we are home all day together.
So, as the title says, wandering is mostly in my mind. And, yes, my mind wanders. Like the time I was in the streetcar in Toronto and looked up for a minute, completely confused about where I was and where I was going. Scared me. The doctor said, it happens. And it’s only rarely happened since.
My mind can also wander to all sorts of fabulous and frightening things. I’m switching from full doom to full ‘rosy outlook’ mode, but mostly settling in between – things are and will be different. That’s the way of the world. It’s just a bit more surreal than usual, that’s all.
But I do physically wander on the days I’m not worried so much about it. My friend Susanne has used #walkablecity #walkableneighbourhood on her Instagram account and I am really grateful that I can echo that sentiment. Continue reading “Wandering is mostly in my mind”
There are up days and there are down days. Days I have big hope and days I despair. The worst thing is fear, followed by lethargy, or maybe lethargy is the worst thing. I’ve had to face the dilemma of being an already fearful person in a genuinely fearful situation. Knowing others are in it too can be comforting but adds a layer of reality. Phobias are defined as fear out of proportion to the threat. So, yes, I find my phobic self reasserting itself more these days but ‘out of proportion’? Hmm, not sure.
I’ve heard that we agoraphobics have ‘an advantage.’ That’s because we’re already familiar with panic and the symptoms of generalised anxiety, but we’ve gathered an enormous toolkit of coping techniques that help us navigate and live our lives more fully. Well, yes and no. So I’m trying to push aside the ‘what if’ thinking and ride over the waves of fear and helplessness, because there are so many things I can still enjoy and experience. It’s just different now.
It’s Thursday and I haven’t been out since Sunday. On that day I was feeling wobbly but I went anyway. My phone and my camera were there to keep me company, and I wasn’t going very far. I did a bit more and a bit less than expected. I’d count that as a success.
My goal was to visit Gillett Square, Bradbury Street, Winchester Place and Marks and Spencer – a short itinerary on an increasingly warm day!
The little garden they built opposite my flat is looking a bit messy but it’s really grownPassing St Marks church on my way to Kingsland Road
Bradbury Street was a bit of a bust since I’d forgotten that places were closed on a Sunday. With so many shuttered fronts, I wasn’t sure if they were closed for Sunday or closed for good. I’ll have to go back and find out. For some reason, despite living in Hackney for so long and just a very short walk from Kingsland Road, Dalston, we discovered Bradbury Street only about a year ago. It’s not hidden – it’s a step away from Dalston Kingsland Station and has its back to Gillett Square – but for some reason we hadn’t wandered along it.
Bradbury Street is a short – 110 metres long – street which is lined with restaurants either side. They’re all small and unpretentious, and only one is a chain – Honest Burgers. There’s more than a hint of the Caribbean here, and jazz, and doing your own thing. And I’ve never eaten here! I’ll come back to see what’s surviving soon, take more photos, and perhaps try the home made patty I’d seen advertised in one window a year or so ago.
Heading down Bradbury StreetBanke’s Kitchen was open, with one customer. It’s described variously as West African and Nigerian, and has apparently been here 26 yearsHouse of Momo. I took a quick look. Momos weren’t on my list, though. It’s on the corner of Bradbury Street and Boleyn RoadPeeking down a mews at the top of Bradbury Street. The new round building is behind Dalston Kingsland Station overground station
I went in from Boleyn Road to Gillett Square. The square was created as part of a plan to develop the Bradbury and Gillett Street by Hackney Co-operative Development and others. Started in 1998, it opened in November 2006 as the first of 100 new public spaces for London.
Stamford Works yard is at the Boleyn Road end of Gillett Square. There are a few cafes in here and the large Jones and Sons restaurantThe remnants of whatever building was here. If this were a Roman wall, I’d be feeling differently. As it is, it’s a reminder that people were displaced while the developers profitedThis mosaic of mirrors, reflecting at different angles, is a highlight in Gillett SquareMy back is to Boleyn Road, looking towards Kingsland Road. The square is large and there aren’t nearly as many people as you’d have seen pre-pandemicIn 1999 HCD built ten market pod kiosks along the south side, to lend it the air of a new town square here. These are normally all openThe Dalston Culture House contains the Vortex Jazz Club. The ground floor cafe is usually busy, serving burgers. The club is struggling to survive but there are live events online. I’ve always wanted to attend a klezmer performance. Maybe now?New 1-2 metres signs on the ground‘Gestures of a Square’ Mural by Li-Hill. Begun near the end of July. ‘Photos of people during this process, frequenters of the square, became the subjects of the mural.’A few people lingered. Usually there are a lot more.
If you cross Kingsland Road from Gillett Square, you hit Ridley Road Market. It’s not open on Sundays right now and is still on my list to look at more closely. However, my brother John had told me that on his Google Streetview explorations, he’d seen the Hip Hop Raised Me mural in Winchester Place. As soon as I saw it, I knew I’d seen it many times – it’s not on my Favourites List, but it’s a large piece off the main road.
Hip Hop Raised Me mural in Winchester PlaceThe mural wraps around from Winchester Place
John had also noticed Colveston Primary School. It’s on Colveston Crescent, just off Ridley Road. It’s described as ‘a close-knit and friendly one-form entry primary’ and it looks like a little village school. It has a focus on creative arts – music, drama, art and it’s housed in a grade II listed building – I’m still chasing what makes it so, although it’s obviously a remarkable building. The railings are especially noted online but I didn’t discover this until later so missed the point.
It isn’t easy to see the whole school in one go. From across the road I’d be able to get an interrupted view, with all the fencing and railings from the market, but there was no way through, so that will have to be another day – I hope next week.
What followed was a quick trip into the not-too-busy Marks and Spencer for fruit, vegetables and a pork pie! Nothing too exciting to report. I walked through the back streets to my bus stop and then home.
Back Streets to my bus stop on Balls Pond RoadMy favourite doors along my street. A chaotic and colourful welcome home
In the UK, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak came up with a scheme to help restaurants and encourage people to ‘dine in.’ It’s called Eat Out to Help Out. On any Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday during August you can eat in a restaurant for 50% off to a maximum of £10 a person. We’ve talked about taking advantage of this and waver between being very interested and not interested at all. I’m still not sure we will do it. I suspect not but the month has just begun.
I have a plan to take little corners of the local area and explore them with my camera. They aren’t likely to be things or places I’ve never blogged about before, but this is my exploration radius now.
Yesterday I was meeting two friends outside in Dalston, so I gathered a list of things I needed to do and buy and off I went.
My route. If anyone knows how to just draw a line without all the external stuff, let me know!
Sandringham Road is opposite my flat and goes up to Dalston, where it stops. Along the way there are historical and older parts, and the council buildings – houses mostly but some flats. It’s residential until you reach the top, where there are a few cafes and you are facing the Rio Cinema.
My first stop was to see the Donk wall art again. I like the idea it’s in my neighbourhood on a wall that was crying out for something
St Mark’s Rise is an interesting point along Sandringham Road. Its name is taken from the very large church at the corner, St Mark’s.
From Wikipedia – St. Mark’s Church: St. Mark’s is a large Victorian church primarily built in the period 1864–66 to a design by Chester Cheston. It is reputedly the largest parish church in London, larger than Southwark Cathedral, capable of hosting congregations of 1800-2000 people[12] and its great size has earned it the nickname, the “Cathedral of the East End””. The residential area around the church is also of high architectural quality and has accordingly been designated the “St. Mark’s Conservation Area”.
This seems to be another spot where there’s a lot to be learned, just a couple of minutes’ walk away.
St Mark’s Vicarage. Romantically, I’ve dreamed of living in such a warren of a house – at least that’s how I think of it
St Mark’s Church, constructed in the Early English Gothic style between 1864 and 1880. This very large church has a unique feature on the tower – a turret barometer, the only one in England and perhaps the only working one in Europe.I always look towards Independent Place, the complex where my sister rented while staying nearby. There must be history of this complex but I haven’t found it yet
Why Christmas in July? Is it that cold? Well, it has actually been quite cool up till today. We’ve even had the heat on sometimes, but today is a hot one, 27C – very warm for London. And I can’t open the window for some reason. It’s not too bad, though.
Well, see the last photo for the reason for the name of this blog entry.
I’ve taken some photos in the last few weeks so here goes with the mini stories behind them.
Two doors on what must have workers’ cottages on Seal Street or April Street, on the way to the doctor’s office. The owners of this land still have streets and areas named after them
Inside the doctor’s office, gone are all the rows of chairs and instead there are some widely spaced chairs – maybe five in all. I sat alone waiting to see a doctor. The door was firmly closed and I was admitted after giving my name over the intercom, and instructed to use hand sanitiser on my way in.
In the middle of a pandemic, a plumber visit is something else! Hours of sitting with a mask on, hoping he wouldn’t need to use the toilet (he did) and wondering if it was rude not to offer him a cup of tea.
The little things can make you smile. Like this marked down Cornish pasty that served as lunch that day. I love a bargain.
Not everyone really cares about staying away from others. It’s worrying but almost heartening at the same time – looks so ‘normal.’
Things can seem dire at times. Lockdown was eased up. Twice. Yet infections are rising. I get confused, decide they do what they want and it’s probably all arbitrary, but there’s nothing to do but follow my instincts and hope for the best. My instincts tell me to stay close to or at home whenever possible. No reason to do otherwise most of the time really. A few times, though, I have ventured out. Last week I even went outside of Hackney for the first time.
There doesn’t seem a lot to say either, since days blur into each other in terms of what I do and manage to achieve. However, I’m still taking photos and these remind me that life isn’t just one big Same Old Same Old after all. So let’s see where the photos take us.
This rare Victorian post (pillar) box is one of two in Stoke Newington. Stoke Newington is home to two rare hexagonal “Penfold” pillar boxes, which are Grade II listed. They are named after its designer John Wornham Penfold, and installed between 1866 and 1878. We found it on a longer walk than I’d planned back in the last days of June. While my legs weren’t happy, it was lovely to see some things I may have seen before but forgotten about.
I liked the lettering on this house near the pillar box. I need someone to translate it for me, though.
I spotted some capers in this little shop and cafe. I also saw some great looking bread so I queued and got both.
I’ve meant to look into this, but the truth is that I have nowhere to plant the seeds. I love wildflowers and the idea of bees and beehives and honey, despite my fear of being stung
I’m always attracted to shops that do things like this. I think I’d like to this eclectic, this quirky, this surprising
Butterfield Green, small and hidden away in the back streets of Stoke Newington
I like these houses on Church Walk, the pedestrian way with no homes opposite. It makes it feel like a secret
We found allotments behind an iron barred fence. I’ve always wanted one but doubt I could manage it any more. I’d go for a rooftop terrace with some lovely planters full of herbs, some vegetables, and flowers. Happy!
Choudhury is apparently a prolific Thai restaurateur and chef. I have yet to find out who Paulo Remedios is
There are never any words for stories like this. Tragic pandemic loss of life and a beloved old cobbler shop at Newington Green
The Newington Green cobbler shop where Kamil Ahmet and his son, Ahmet Kamil, worked. They were both victims of Covid-19. The cobblers is in the oldest surviving terraced houses in London. Built in 1658, they are at 52-55 Newington Green
