Wed 1: A new series of Doctor Who works better on New Year's Day than Christmas Day, unless you enjoy watching it alongside relatives who aren't really interested. Thu 2: Having been forcibly upgraded from gas to electric cooking, I've had to buy new saucepans. Thankfully, at least at the start of this decade, department stores still exist. Fri 3: Post-Christmas 'reduced to clear' bargains at my local supermarket included Brussels Sprout crisps and Gingerbread Matchmakers. Even at 50p a box, they won't have disposed of the entire stash of the latter in four weeks time. Sat 4: Swiftly recognised that The Masked Singer is all promise but minimal delivery. Sun 5: The two blokes who joined me at the very front of a Northern line train reeked so highly of cannabis that the driver unlocked his door to check that nobody on board was smoking. And they weren't, but blimey, the smirk on their faces after the door closed. Mon 6:The book I'm reading at the moment:Gnomon by Nick Harkaway. A massive tome in tiny type, a truly epic multi-dimensional saga set in a post-surveillance society. Fizzed with ideas. Featured an unexpectedly high number of sharks. A tough read, but I'm pleased I battled through it. Tue 7: Sellfridges, the punning white goods outlet in Stoke Newington, closed a few years ago. It's now a cosmopolitan vegan takeaway.
Wed 8: It's just as well I measured my fridge before ordering a new one, because otherwise I'd have assumed it was the usual width and it absolutely isn't. Now to run down the supplies of food inside so there's hardly anything left by next week. Thu 9: Some of the camellias in the Isabella Plantation within Richmond Park are already in bloom... and being buzzed by bees. Fri 10: These days, when pottering in the outer suburbs, it falls to McDonalds and KFC to provide the public service of a public convenience. I would have busted without them. Sat 11: Engineering works on the Metropolitan line this weekend meant that the Croxley North Curve was in regular service, so I went and rode it because eight year-old me would have really wanted to do that. Sun 12: I don't know about you but I've been to every borough in London so far this year.
Mon 13: The foot of the ramp where the Greenway connects to the River Lea is usually a bit muddy, but this winter the entire towpath is squelchy and flooded, and nigh impossible to get past in pristine trainers. It's never been this poorly maintained before. Tue 14: My new fridge arrived today, replacing a 20th century model. I'd forgotten how useful it was to have a) a handle that isn't broken b) a light inside which illuminates when the door opens. Wed 15: I waited until almost the last moment to go and see the final Star Wars film. It ticked all boxes, but would have been a much better story if it had left a few unticked. Thu 16: I thought Winter Lights at Canary Wharf was good but not as good as last year (which is what I think every year). Fri 17: When I fired up iPlayer on my smart TV today a message appeared telling me that they were withdrawing the service in a month's time. I've had my smart TV six years and it's already obsolete. Yes, I know I can 'fix' the problem by paying extra for some bolt-on gizmo, but the future's arriving much too fast.
Sat 18: I enjoyed the House of Life exhibition at Willesden Library showcasing the heritage of "the Rolls Royce of London's Jewish cemeteries" (which is just up the road by the bus garage). The founders of Tesco and H Samuel are buried there, as well as several Rothschilds. In excellent lottery-funded news, the cemetery will be opening itself up to the public later this year, so watch this space. Sun 19: Atmospheric pressure hit 1050.5 hPa in South Wales today, which is the highest recorded in the UK since 1957. Aberdeen has the UK's record high (1053.6) recorded on 31st January 1902. UK barometers have only topped 1050 on six occasions since. The 1049.6 recorded at Heathrow tonight is the highest recorded in London for over 300 years. In Europe very high pressure usually only happens in midwinter, for which read January.
Mon 20: The queue to see Bridget Riley at the Hayward Gallery was very long, so I went and bought my ticket in the Royal Festival Hall instead, then swanned past most of those waiting. The exhibition was very good, although I enjoyed the 1971/72 version more because she was still in her black and white phase back then and 2019/20 only had one room in monochrome. Tue 21: I have now eaten all the mini Toblerones I got for Christmas, but not the big one (nor the box of strawberry Quality Streets). Wed 22: I don't enjoy discovering white hairs where previously there hadn't been any. Thu 23:The book I'm reading at the moment:The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. I can see why this thriller topped the bestsellers list, a niche-perfect whodunnit set amongst a group of uni friends during a conveniently isolating Highland snowstorm. Fri 24: Ripping the plastic wrapper off a CD jewel case still takes as long as it ever did. Sat 25: The new exhibition at Bow's Nunnery Gallery is called Lightboxes and Lettering, and focuses on the pre-digital era of printing in Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. It's a window into a recent but fast-departed world, with a mix of photos, printed materials and workers' testimonies. If you enjoyed the plastics industry version last year, this is as good. Nearest bus stop: Bus Stop M. (open until the end of March, closed on Mondays)
Sun 26: I got caught up in the crowds surging towards the final of the Netball Nations Cup at the Copper Box, although I was unable to take seriously a team named after a private medical insurance company playing in a tournament sponsored by the same private medical insurance company. Olympic ideals are long gone around here. Mon 27: It took almost four weeks for an organisation to send me a promotional email with the title '2020 Vision' (and only four seconds to bin it). Tue 28:The book I'm reading at the moment:By The Pricking Of Her Thumb by Adam Roberts. A follow-up to The Real-Town Murders (which was better), this dazzlingly inventive UK sci-fi tale unwinds into an essay on the nature of money. It is based in Reading, though. Wed 29: This year's exhibition at Two Temple Place is 'Unbound', a celebration of seven 'visionary women collecting textiles'. It's an inspired theme - not just a lot of beautiful fabrics and elegant dresses but an insight into the social and cultural importance of selective accumulation. Exhibits have been whisked in from key museums in places like Halifax, Manchester and Chertsey. The accompanying text is informative and illuminating without ever lapsing into meaningless art-jargon. I enjoyed my visit much more than I was expecting, which I suspect also applied to the crowd of silver-haired ladies milling round me. (open until mid-April, closed on Tuesdays) Thu 30: The man sitting next to me on the Central line whipped out his phone and started editing Jeremy Corbyn's Brexit Day press release, so I was aware "Britain is now at a crossroads" several hours before the rest of the country. Fri 31: What a sad, miserable day.
