Fri 1: The battery in my bathroom scales blipped out, and it's an awkward flat size, so I had to go out to buy a new one. My first thought was Woolworths, dammit, my second was Maplin, dammit, and eventually after half an hour's wandering round Stratford I found one in Wilko. Sat 2: Gosh it's chilly. I wonder if this will be a record-breakingly cold February... Sun 3: Walked along the Grand Union Canal from Paddington to Greenford. At Old Oak Common I spotted two dozen of the purple trains they're not using to run Crossrail at the moment, idling in the depot.
Mon 4: Olivia Colman is damned good in the damned good film The Favourite, isn't she? Not a chance of an Oscar, obviously, but damned good. Tue 5: I do not enjoy the art gallery experience when, on entering the room, the attendant gets up from their chair and watches me looking at the art, then sits down again when I leave. Wed 6: A man started knocking repeatedly on my front door, saying something about coming inside to make a video, so I ignored him and thankfully nextdoor let him in instead (and then he went away). Thu 7: Yes, there is another pre-Worboys roadsign in Sydenham.
Fri 8: Well that's not the Song For Europe I'd have picked. The clubby one was so much better than the histrionic chav. Sat 9: As part of today's explorations I needed to go from Abbey Wood to Paddington, so bemoaned the fact that the purple trains aren't operational yet. On the bright side, by diverting via the DLR at Woolwich, then taking the Underground, I can confirm that I was charged the Crossrail fare :) Sun 10: One joy of early February is that even if the clouds don't clear until 4pm, there's still time for an hour-long walk before sunset. Mon 11: Proving that software is less reliable than a librarian with a datestamp, I managed to renew three books at the Idea Store for 36 days rather than the more usual 21. Staff behind the counter were as baffled as I was. Tue 12: Schoolchildren on the top decks of buses at hometime are just as loud as they always used to be (but not necessarily badly behaved). Wed 13: Emily emailed saying she had "a guide to photography in London I feel would be of great value to your readers". I checked out her webpage and her photo of Oxford Street was actually a street in Oxford, so I don't believe she was the expert she claimed to be. Thu 14: Brixton's Market Row is teetering on the brink between authentic local provenance and gentrified cuisine.
Fri 15: Whitehall has been brought to a standstill by two simultaneous demonstrations - one a group of angry schoolchildren campaigning against climate change, the other a bunch of angry older taxi drivers sitting in a queue of diesel vehicles. Sat 16: One of the little trains from the Ffestiniog Railway was pushed intothe centre of King's Cross station overnight, and I was pleased to see it being photographed by more people than Harry Potter's Brick Wall. Sun 17: The odd thing about my Art Pass is that so far nobody has checked the date on it, just waved me through. Mon 18: I haven't taken out the recycling for so long that there were ten empty 4-pint milk bottles in my pink bags. Tue 19: Whilst at the top of a tall building, I managed to unexpectedly bump into a friend I first met at the top of a tall building in 2009. Wed 20: I saw Dot Hill on a map of London and realised I'd never heard of it, let alone been there, so I rectified that and can confirm it has quite good views of estuarine wind turbines.
Thu 21: That awkward moment when someone accidentally copies you into their private text message and it arrives by email. Fri 22: Some ladies from the new management company for our block of flats decided to clear up our communal noticeboard, taking down all the grubby useful notices and replacing them with pristine bland exhortations, so now nobody remembers what the code for the bins is. Sat 23: This month's edition of The Parish Magazine, Grantchester, includes a double page interview with BAFTA nominee James Norton. Sun 24: Went to Baker Street to see the London Transport Museum's 1938 stock train on one of its last ever inner London journeys. But Baker Street was busy with photographers, so I went to Euston Square instead and that proved much emptier.
Mon 25: On the warmest winter's day on record I walked a decent chunk of the Regent's Canal, peering up at London Zoo's African wild dogs for nothing. Tue 26: On the warmest winter's day on record I walked London Loop section 5 again, including the heights of Riddlesdown, gliders landing at RAF Kenley, the secluded beauty of Happy Valley and the full hump of Farthing Downs, and it was glorious. Wed 27: On and around Hampstead Heath shorts are being worn, the magnolia trees are flowering, cherries are in blossom, bumble bees are collecting, topless sunbathing is occurring, but ice cream vans are sadly lacking. Thu 28: Pizza Hut's salad bar still serves up those tiny flavourless cubes of beetroot that once helped make 1990s dining so exciting.
