Thu 1: In numberplate-spotting news: a) today I finally spotted a 'suffix A' which means I've completed my Reverse Chronological sequence from 2021 back to 1963 and it only took 11 weeks, twice as fast as last time. b) yesterday I finally spotted an E2 registration in the E2 postcode, and somehow that took six months. c) tomorrow I'm finally going to spot an H18, which means after four months there are only three initial pairs left (W20, X16 and Y13). Fri 2: I checked and yes, it turns out my first jab was from one of the three AstraZeneca batches sourced in India which the EU doesn't currently recognise, so that's continental travel potentially scuppered. Sat 3: There are still signs in the Blackwall roundabout subway directing pedestrians towards 'Jubilee line replacement boat services to North Greenwich and the O2'. These last operated in 2010.
Sun 4: If you had a go at my Guess the US states quiz, the 11th state was spelt out by the first letters of the answers to the other 10, which was California, and that was the real question. Mon 5: A visitor entered my flat who wasn't a workman come to fix something - my first since 2019. We had tea and jaffa cakes. Tue 6: My headphones and iPhone have started playing up, suddenly switching off or reverting to the start of the programme I'm listening to, repeatedly. I understand it's a known problem whereby a dodgy connection makes Voice Control kick in even if you've got it switched off. It's very annoying. Wed 7: Jeppe Hein's marvellous MirrorLabyrinth at the East Village has been fenced off and padlocked because "there are edges to the installation that could cause injury" and because "running is not advisable" and because the maze can "confuse and disorientate"... but mostly because obsessive health and safety trumps art.
Thu 8: I am not a fan of squeezy bottles of tomato ketchup, particularly after several weeks of use when the deformed plastic's gone all concave and won't squeeze any more, and OK glass wasn't exactly brilliant either but at least you could bash it out. Fri 9: This is where I was going to tell you the story of the Dangleway's two misleading queues, but then I went and wrote about it just before the end of the month so it isn't unblogged. Sat 10: The latest addition to my weekly BBC Sounds playlist is Grant Stott's Vinyl Collective from BBC Radio Scotland, a two hour show where everything's on vinyl. Last night's programme opened with the 12 inch of Dr Mabuse by Propaganda, and not many shows dare do that. Sun 11: I took a look round some of this year's Sculpture in the City exhibits and, although it had its moments, the fact you haven't read a post about it is indicative of my overall lack of enthrallment. Mon 12: My electricity company have sent me a letter saying they haven't had a meter reading since November, like it's now my fault.
Tue 13: In Maryland I spotted a red Hyundai with bЯO⅃ ƎHT ƧI ƧUƧƎႱ on the sun visor, and JESUS IS COMING SOON REPENT NOW on the bonnet, and even smaller print Your Choice Heaven or Hell Don't Forget on the doors, and I cannot imagine this ever having the desired missionary effect. Wed 14: I was at the checkout in Tesco when the fire alarm sounded, and my cashier looked somewhat agitated but kindly gave me a few seconds to finish paying, and she was out of the door on her way to the muster point in the car park before I'd bagged up. The person behind me in the queue wasn't so lucky and had to abandon her groceries on the belt. Thu 15: I tried inserting £20 into a TfL ticket machine which said it took notes, and it very much didn't. The same thing happened at another station. It's like they don't want my money. Fri 16: Following a frozen pea spillage I thought I'd better clear out the U-bend under my kitchen sink, and other than the peas it was surprisingly clear, so that was good. Sat 17: I see the platforms at Canning Town station now have giant Thunderbirds-sized numbers on them.
Sun 18: Moorgate's new Crossrail entrance has opened... essentially a bank of a dozen ticket gates under a new office block, so nothing special. So far you can only turn right, but maybe in six months they'll let you descend into the purple depths down the escalators on the left. Mon 19: I celebrated 'Freedom Day' with a walk up the Olympic Park and back, and not many other people had chosen this option. Tue 20:5 things I threw away while tidying the spare room: a 3D photo of the Eiffel Tower cut from the back of a cereal box, 'Position Changing for the Violin' by Neil Mackay, a paper cup from Walt Disney World, a pack of werewolf postits free with Sugar Puffs, a 'Bacon and Sweetcorn Jacket' recipe card from the Safeway Recipe Collection. Wed 21:5 things I kept: a Charles & Di wedding silver crown (estimated value £1), 'My Recorder Tune Book' by Freda Dinn, a plastic stencil for drawing the outline of Great Britain, the studio script for 'Houseparty' featuring Bunty James (transmitted on ITV 9th December 1968), a fingerprint kit received free in exchange for wrappers from Double Agents sweets.
Thu 22: While out exploring the 50 year-old stations on the Victoria line I also dropped by Stockwell Bus Garage to worship at the postwar concrete temple, and it's impressive how much of the ribbed interior you can see from outside. Fri 23: I watched the Tokyo Olympic Opening Ceremony, because you only get to watch 20-ish in your life, and far too much of it was the athletes' parade despite there being far fewer athletes, and I was only intermittently wowed. The pictograms were the best bit. Sat 24: Our week-long heatwave has broken and it's time to put the shorts away and maybe that was summer. [last week 32°C max, 6mm of rain and 85 hours of sun; next week 24°C, 60mm, 24hrs]
Sun 25:Seven things I saw in Beckenham Place Park: a fibreglass squirrel, freshly mown hay on Crab Hill, a ridiculously long queue for bacon & egg brioche, copious new directional fingerposts, a 55 million-year-old outcrop of flinty bedrock, bee-bedecked lavender, a new lake that's had to be fenced off because otherwise the council couldn't charge people to swim in it. Mon 26: If I'd walked past Pudding Mill Lane station five minutes later I could have been in the background of the live BBC London lunchtime news report. Tue 27: I stood in the middle of Wanstead Flats beside the bit they've fenced off to protect the skylarks, and listened to the skylarks, and that was glorious. Wed 28: The arcade round the back of Liverpool Street station (tube, not rail) is the place to go if you need a shirt dry-cleaned, a watch repaired, a key cut or a box of lunchtime nosh. It is also ridiculously quiet. The ramen restaurant is called Shitamachi which probably isn't helping.
Thu 29: My iPhone has now suddenly decided to refuse to recognise that any headphones are plugged in, and no amount of twiddling will convince it otherwise. Sound only plays out of the loudspeaker which makes it useless for listening while out walking. Maybe now is the time to fork out £100+ for bluetooth earbuds, but I'll probably buy a replacement £9 adapter instead. I miss the simple non-expensive days of the 'headphone jack'. Fri 30: The Newspoint kiosk on the ground floor of Westfield Stratford no longer sells newspapers, because it only takes ten years for your raison d'être to become obsolete. Sat 31: I received my NHS Covid pass in the post this morning (a sheet of paper confirming which vaccines I've had and when). They said it might take five working days but it only took three. I have nowhere to wave it yet, but it might be useful.
