SomersTownLisa

London Life
2022-10-15 18:20:03 (UTC)

A week in August

21/08/2022
I was going to cycle on my Hybrid to the Junior ParkRun, but the back wheel was still stiff so I ran and only just got there in time. (Ivy tried to ring me). I was marshalling at the far corner. There were only five runners this time, down from the average of about twelve. I went to get the bus, but as one wasn’t due for NINETEEN minutes I sat at a side-street café, only to see a unadvertised bus come by while I was drinking my coffee. However, the 19-minute one did arrive, and I at Muswell Broadway I ran to catch a connection which I didn’t expect to reach.

At the vegan café, I caught up with Simon and got a croissant but didn’t think of taking one home for Jack. At Crouch End, from the tasks we were offered I volunteered to pull out a lot of stakes holding a fence together. Another CA volunteer asked me to help with raking as it was “more important”, but he wasn’t in charge, or an organiser, and I replied that I’d been asked to do this task. One stake was particularly stubborn, but a lady who came back form another task with Caitlin pulled it out immediately. I had done a lot of the work digging out the earth and loosening the stake, so it was annoying not to be able to finish the job, which I would have achieved myself, only not as quickly.

I mentioned to Caitlin that the people there are very pushy about which job we should do (there was another occasion where they wanted me to do a job on my own rather than work with someone else; Caitlin agreed she comes for social reasons. And just after I’d said that, a woman took us to a site where she wanted us to block a fence hole with the fencing I’d just taken down, but she spent a lot of time explaining why she wanted it done and it looked like quite a complicated job. Caitlin said we wouldn’t have time, but on my way back another woman stopped me and asked me to help her roll up some gauze.

I stayed at the picnic until nearly 14:00. The older lady who’s in charge said I used to come regularly but hadn’t been for a while, which was untrue; I’ve always been irregular. This sort of comment puts me off coming after an absence. I disappeared without saying goodbye to Caitlin (who told me she has trouble keeping her weight down, which astounded me), because they were trying to persuade us to do another task.

I got the bus back, and as it was convenient and I wanted some ingredients, I went in Sainsbury’s, the big one in Camden Town which is too large and some things, such as lentils and stock, are hard to find. I was using the automatic tills, but when I tried to buy a pepper, it told me I’d got the wrong item. A man came to help me, but when it happened with another item, no-one was available so having wasted fifty minutes in the shop, I gave up and walked out. They make sure there are large queues at the manned cash tills, so you use the automatic tills and get this. I went to Parkway Greens, where I should have gone in the first place, and got most of the things I needed in thirteen minutes.

When I got home, instead of doing any cooking I spent most of the time tidying up and washing up, before Jack’s return.

22/08/2022
Went to Neighbourhood Organic for lunch, though they’ve stopped doing our favourite dish. We sat inside because of Jack’s temporary wheelchair, and afterwards went for coffee at The Fields Beneath. Earth Foods was shut for some filming, but elsewhere I got some ingredients including vegan cheese, which I used to make cheese and lentil loaf for Jack’s tea. I had 25 portions of five meals made a while ago, which took some time to eat, and I made mushroom risotto last week.

The task in Bethnal Green was cancelled so I cycled to Packington Park. Nurj was there before me, and Anne soon arrived. Most of the others had met at the Arsenal stadium and arrived together; I didn’t know many of them. I did some watering with Anne, Alison and a bloke; there were really too many of us to fill our buckets from one hose. I went to do a litter pick. The others came over after clearing a room in the Centre. I had a nice moment with one of the girls, laughing about the “inconsiderate” lack of litter. I took home two large salad bowls from the food bank which were at their sell-by date.

23/08/2022
Wanted to get a 17:00 train to Crawley, but had to run from the Tube to catch it, which reminded me how much I enjoy running (I've been injured). After logging into the wi-fi, I realised it was a Thameslink train which I could have got direct from St Pancras. It took a while, because of a safety inspection at Horley, so I didn’t have time for a sit-down meal at the Loving Hut, which was in a surprising location, for a vegan restaurant, in a small parade near some very ordinary houses. I got a “prawn” wrap and some prawn crackers.

In the ground I was tempted by their offer of a vegan Bombay potato pie, so I was full up after that. It was nice to visit an old-style, small ground with the menu chalked on a blackboard and cans of drink available. I went and stood at the side and soon saw John M arriving. He went and stood near Chris F but they didn’t seem to notice each other. I had Chris’s family in front of me, and I stood with Steve Q and the bloke I met abroad and keep seeing at home games (but whose name escapes me).

I ran back to the station, hoping to catch the 22:08 Thameslink, but it was cancelled, as I thought it might be, and instead I got an earlier train to Victoria. The run felt all right, but my foot hurt afterwards. It was quite hard to find the entrance, and at first I crossed a bridge which just took me to the street opposite the station, rather than to a platform.

26/08/2022
For only the second time this week I went for lunch with Jack, sitting by the canal at a full outdoor café at Camley Street. Jack went out with Paul in the evening and I had to help him onto a bus, though the first one that arrived had children’s buggies on (One lady got off so we could get on, but the other still blocked the space). I couldn’t help him manoeuvre the wheelchair, in case the bus took me with it. I spent most of the evening finishing the Top 100.

27/08/2022
I couldn’t do a ParkRun as I had to help Jack get out of the flats in his temporary wheelchair, but got a train from St Pancras to Loughborough Junction at 11:12 for a task. I spent most of the trip texting my brother. I was worried that his season ticket hadn’t arrived after I sent it to him, as I was sure he’d acknowledge receipt, but it seems he’s been away. I was early for the task at Camberwell, and waited at the gate then when it came to the meeting time, I looked round and everyone was there behind me!

I had a nice chat with two girls I hadn't met, Tracey who'd been working in Sudan, and lovely Lindy. I just had time to get to the Design Museum, where it was the last day of their football design exhibition, before heading for Arsenal for a 2-1 defeat.




Ad: