Sun 1: I sat opposite a scruffy homeless bloke on the District line. "Oh he's asleep." "Oh his fly is open." "Oh is that his...?" "Oh god it is!" "Oh he's shifted slightly." "Oh god it's sticking out more." "I should probably alert a member of staff."
Mon 2: The former Nestlé factory by Hayes and Harlington station is now Hayes Village. The hoardings include the disclaimer 'Photography is indicative only', so if you look beyond you can see it's just the usual stackyflats and nobody is enjoying baguettes and quiche on a stripy picnic blanket. Tue 3: A new borough-specific news portal has launched in East London, the Barking and Dagenham Star, from the team that already bring you Newham Voices, Waltham Forest Echo, Enfield Dispatch, Haringey Community Press and Barnet Post. If you live locally it might be worth keeping tabs on.
Wed 4: Took BestMate for a walk from Kilburn to Hampstead. Near the end we passed through the Branch Hill estate, three Modernist stepped terraces designed by Benson and Forsyth for Camden council, which on completion in 1978 were "the most expensive council houses in England". We may have walked up and down SpedanClose longer than was strictly necessary, sorry. Thu 5: I heard voices through the wall in my kitchen! I have never heard voices through the wall in my kitchen in 25 years of living here. I wondered what the hell my neighbours were up to. My best guess is that there was a workman in one of their cupboards. Fri 6: Ended up in Wimpy after another walk and they upsold me an egg, sausage and bacon muffin without the egg, which is odd because I can't find that particular item on the menu. Cafe breakfasts are a right pain when you don't like eggs.
Sat 7:Streetmap came back after four weeks offline, phew. The reason for its disappearance was that it's based in Cornwall and "Storm Goretti took out our power and internet connectivity". When connectivity was finally restored all the advertising that supports the site was borked and they thought they'd have to shut down permanently, but a crowdfunder has since raised a year's running costs so all is well again, hurrah. Sun 8: Idea for clickbait article: Is this the only London bus route regularly held up by geese on the road? Mon 9: Ooh, a zebra crossing has appeared outside Bow Tesco, so after 25 years I can finally cross safely without forever looking out for supermarket car park traffic. Thanks Ian!
Tue 10: Citing the Online Safety Act, Flickr requested I verify my age via some American app thing. I emailed and said I joined Flickr 20 years ago thus must be over 18, QED. They said they're not allowed to accept that as evidence. The law is mad. Wed 11: I happened to be on the Crossrail platform at Whitechapel as the weekly Fire Alarm test took place. They announced in advance it was a test. However a train then arrived and the doors opened just as the platform lights brightened and the scary message was broadcast. Passengers looked somewhat uncomfortable. The train doors then closed before the announcement that the Fire Alarm test was over. They really ought to be able to time this better. Thu 12: I wonder if this annoys you as much as it annoys me.
Fri 13: Today is the first of three Friday 13ths this year, a total which hasn't happened since 2015 and won't happen again until 2037. Sat 14: I'm reading the new Mick Herron Slough House novel, Clown Town, which is the usual rug-pulling tour de force. Stayed on the train past my intended stop because I still had 2 pages to finish... oh I see, he's just leaving us hanging then. Sun 15: I said I wasn't going to carry on doing this. But I really will stop now.
Enf
10
Harr
10
Barn
10
Hari
10
WFor
10
Hill
10
Eal
10
Bren
10
Cam
10
Isl
10
Hack
10
Redb
10
Hav
10
Hou
10
H&F
10
K&C
10
West
10
City
10
Tow
46
New
43
B&D
10
Rich
10
Wan
10
Lam
10
Sou
10
Lew
10
Grn
10
Bex
10
King
10
Mer
10
Cro
10
Bro
10
Sut
10
Mon 16: You can tell TfL are concerned about their old DLR trains becoming life-expired before the new trains are ready because they're cutting all Bank-Lewisham services from three cars to two for just one week during half term. Expect more of this. Tue 17: If you're a provincial bus user you might appreciate busatlas.uk, a website with 28 pdf maps showing principal inter-urban bus routes across most of England and Wales. The project started in 2019 and maps are incrementally added and revised. Here are Somerset and the Midlands, for example.
Wed 18:Hackney council have just introduced a traffic filter on Amhurst Road outside Hackney Central station. It's operational 7am-7pm daily and only buses, cyclists, permit holders, emergency services and bin lorries can pass through. As a user of public transport I should be all for it, but in this case all I can think is how circuitous the detours are and how congested they're going to get. Thu 19: I spotted this exceptionally Essex car in Gants Hill, which is not in Essex.
Fri 20: The latest selection of ridiculously over-optimistic tourist leaflets in my local Tesco includes a glossy Visit Liverpool brochure and a 32-page booklet listing what's on at the Princes Theatre in Clacton. Nobody in E3 is planning on heading there, even if Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is really good. Sat 21: The redevelopment of Stroudley Walk, E3, has reached the 'dozens of mature trees arrive by lorry' stage. This is to create a 'vibrant public pocket park'. I just wish they'd hurry up and reopen everything because through access has been blocked for the last four years and it's a right pain locally.
Sun 22: My new debit card is portrait rather than landscape. Also the 16-digit number's on the back and is no longer embossed. I should be grateful they haven't hidden the numbers yet. Mon 23: I got an email reminder to renew my Senior Railcard, and maybe that has finally made me feel old. Tue 24: I'm looking to buy an air fryer and have my eye on one that's £40 off. But not today, I'll go to Argos tomorrow. Wed 25: Oh for goodness sake, the price of the air fryer has increased by £50 overnight. Stuff that then.
Thu 26: After four episodes at the Bridge Cafe in Acton, The Apprentice's defeated candidates have finally been sent to Sandy's Cafe again. It appeared in the previous series as Lisa's Cafe but was rebranded in January last year. You'll find it on Hercies Road just round the corner from Hillingdon station. I still haven't been in for a cuppa. Fri 27: The thing about the Gorton and Denton by-election is that it's now obvious who was going to win but it wasn't obvious beforehand. Expect the same unpredicatble tactical voting in hundreds of constituencies in the next election, delivering who knows what. Sat 28: Londonist has updated its excellent list of 74 free London museums, should you ever need inspiration for a cheap cultural day out. I've only been to 60 of them... so far.
Also Wed 25: Bugger, not again. Also Thu 26: My hyacinth is still leaning. Also Fri 27: The magnolias are in bloom in Old Malden, in February. Also Sat 28: The fifth 1st class letter in the Royal Mail Experiment finally arrived, one whole week late.
