Wed 1: There were only 10 other people on Hackney Marshes, but between them they had at least 40 dogs. Thu 2: A man with a Yorkshire accent stopped me by Bus Stop M and asked "Excuse me mate, is that Bow Bells church?" and I had to disappoint him by saying no. It's an easy mistake to make given there's a Bow Bells pub down the road. My response seemed to satisfy him and off he went, alas before I could add that there's a direct bus from here to the real one. Fri 3: A poster outside London Fields station alerts passengers that a new timetable begins on Sunday 12th December, but then says "There are no changes to train times". I downloaded it to check and they're right, the only difference is the date at the bottom of every page.
Sat 4: I've not been in the West End on a Saturday evening for aaaaages and blimey the streets were busy. I'm told the woman who sat behind me in Pizza Express was really famous but I spent two hours looking the other way so have no idea who she was. Sun 5:Doctor Who: Flux was fun but dense and complex but over-threaded and enthralling but inconsequential, plus I kept saying to myself "but the Williamson Tunnels don't look like that". I hope next year's three specials wrap up Jodie's arc satisfactorily. Mon 6: On Lea Bridge Road I saw a very large dog on a lead walking the other way so stepped into the cycle lane to avoid it, but it jumped up at me anyway and I did not enjoy the experience. Its owner did look a bit sheepish afterwards, but that was too late mate. Tue 7: This year's double issue Christmas Radio Times is out (and purchased). It costs 25p more than last year and £3.60 more than 20 years ago. I can do you a graph of that...
Wed 8: It's fascinating watching the government implode, or at least the PM unable to explain away a party that never happened, or at least the wider public waking up to the fact he's a slippery liar, and today's leaked video/PMQs/press conference combo might prove to be a turning point. Thu 9: My two iPlayer recommendations this month are Winter Walks and Walking with..., in which celebrities take a stroll through gorgeous landscapes while filming themselves with a 360° camera (but not Take A Hike, which is just Come Dine With Me with scenery). Fri 10: I stupidly assumed it would be easy to buy a woolly hat in Stratford, given it has two large shopping centres, but it took five attempts before the friend who needed one finally tracked down a decent purchase, and only then were we allowed to start our windswept walk. I did not wear a hat throughout. Sat 11: Hawksmoor have opened a double decker floating pavilion at Wood Wharf with a restaurant on the top floor and a bar underneath. They claim it has the glamour of a high-end ocean liner, but from the outside it looks like an island prison with sunloungers.
Sun 12: In the Olympic Park the first daffodil of the season has opened. It's very much in line with first daffodils in 2018 and 2019 but a couple of weeks later than 2020. It does look very lonely though. Mon 13: In Spitalfields I saw historian and campaigner Dan Cruickshank walk up to a front door, unlock it and step inside. I'm pleased to report he lives in a pitch perfect period property in a pitch perfect period street. Tue 14: While I was picking my Christmas cards in WH Smiths, a man walked over and asked the assistant "Do you have any Christian Christmas cards?" She pointed out a box with a manger design in the centre of the display. "Shame I can't use the 3 for 2 offer," he said. She pointed out two further boxes on a lower shelf. I couldn't decide whether he was whingeing snidely to an Asian employee (who got the better of him) or just short-sighted. Wed 15: "Can you come over for dinner tonight rather than tomorrow?" said BestMate with four hours' notice, and somehow I still managed to churn out 1000 words of blogging reportage before walking over and knocking a glass of red wine across his sofa. Thu 16: It may just be a London thing at present, but it does feel like an inordinately high number of friends/acquaintances are testing positive this week. Fri 17: Today the Abba Arena by Pudding Mill Lane station is getting its ABBA added to the front.
Sat 18: The big prize Christmas crossword is really early this year, and although I've pencilled in two dozen clues I still have no idea what the theme is. [Don't worry, it'll all fall into place on Christmas Eve - tick] Sun 19: The rainbow waistcoat that's been in the shopwindow at Alberts gentlemen's outfitters in Whitechapel for the last two years has finally disappeared, so I guess someone with a lurid dress sense finally stumped up £19.99. However the Millennium NYE braces remain unsold for £9.99. Mon 20: I still haven't decided whether to go to Norfolk for Christmas or whether that would be too risky for those concerned, and the government aren't helping by not deciding anything one way or the other. Tue 21: City Hall (by Tower Bridge) looks rattlingly empty now it's been vacated. Meanwhile the new City Hall (by the Royal Docks) clearly isn't ready yet. The How To Find City Hall page on the Mayoral website is currently an unhelpful mishmash of the two locations. Wed 22: In Plaistow I crossed a quiet street immediately in front of a small independent bakery, outside which was a small stall of handmade gift-wrapped candy cane hearts overseen by two young children. They looked incredibly excited when they thought I was coming over to buy one, and incredibly downhearted as soon as they worked out I wasn't. I fear they had no chance of selling out.
Thu 23: The six houses at Mulberry School Shoreditch have great names, but simultaneously the most vacuously random set of buzzword house mottos I have ever seen. Fri 24: I managed to get a 7 point question correct in the PopMaster Champions League Final, but would otherwise have been soundly thrashed (indeed long before getting anywhere near this stage). Sat 25: On my Christmas Day walkabout I passed through Spitalfields, the Barbican, Smithfield, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Soho, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden. It wasn't as quiet as last year, nor alas as dry, but the experience was just as memorable. I then managed to get home in time to put the turkey joint in the oven and have dinner ready for the Queen, before following that up with a Christmas pudding 9 years past its Best Before date. I missed out on laughter, presents and pigs in blankets, but on the positive side I did have the box of Black Magic all to myself. Sun 26: These Egyptian geese kindly posed on a wall with a misty Millennium Dome behind them, and that turned out to be my Instagram photo of the year.
Mon 27: While compiling my annual 'blog index' I discovered I've accidentally written the same rail-related post twice this year. It was a bit more detailed the second time around, thankfully, but none of you noticed either. Tue 28: I opened a bag of peanuts three days ago and I am seriously impressed that I haven't finished them yet. Wed 29: A highlight this morning has been trying to direct a delivery driver with a washing machine, a sat nav and no geographical understanding to the front gate of a block of flats I haven't lived in for 22 years. Thu 30: I'm enjoying Wordle, a daily guess-the-5-letter-word game which is a bit like Mastermind but with letters. So far I've got every word right in four guesses... (OK, both words right in four guesses). Fri 31: If you thought 19 years of daily blogging was obsessive, tonight I'm filling in the last page of my 2021 diary which means I've now completed 45 uninterrupted volumes, and that is an achievement worth raising a glass to.
