A non-chronological look back at a week that felt like it was 90% work – but maybe in hindsight wasn’t so bad. I did get out for a couple of walks and bike rides at least.

A Sunday afternoon walk to Greenwich Park to take in the view and have an ice cream (soft serve on a cone, with flake).

View from in front of the Wolf Statue looking over the Queen’s House and Old Royal Naval college towards Canary Wharf

 

New graffiti on the way to the Met Car Pound – executed a bit better than much of what we see around here.

‘End Boris’

A couple of foxes seen on an evening stroll. They’ve always been pretty visible in the neighbourhood but lockdown conditions seem to be suiting them very well.

Taped up artwork on a Westcombe Park bus stop. No other clues to its meaning or provenance to be seen. To be encouraged, though, I think.

‘The It Girls’

Closer to home, a Painted Lady butterfly in my front garden, and a new felt ‘pot’ for tomatoes in my back garden. Having had one abortive trip lockdown to the garden centre, leaving after seeing the queue snaking round the car park in the full midday sun, my gardening supplies have come via the internet with all of the randomness and suprise in what actually gets delivered that that implies. It’s worked well enough so far, though. Some new sedums arrived shortly after a 24 hour downpour, leaving me feeling slightly foolish as I went round the garden with a watering can after planting them out.

 

A short evening walk round the block after a torrential downpour. Nice to see the old phone box light working.

 

A Father’s Day morning bike ride with my daughter and a couple of friends along the Thames Path towards Thamesmead and back again, starting in very light rain and ending in full sun as we climbed the hill from the river back up to Charlton. Building up to a longer ride to Erith Pier before the summer’s out, I hope.

A cycling end note: last week I mentioned the scheme to close off Blackheath’s South Row to cars with a note of optimism. That optimism is, like the scheme, now temporarily suspended... In the meantime, Greenwich Council have announced the ‘details’ of the safe walking and cycling schemes to TfL for funding, but so far this just seems to be a list of routes or road names, with nothing to explain to the public what is actually planned. As lockdown eases and the roads get busier, it feels very much like an opportunity to really make the neighbourhood more pleasant for walkers and cyclists is being missed.