From today, Wednesday, in England we are allowed to take exercise for “unlimited time” and allowed to sit on benches in a public space. So that means I can go out and sketch. I quickly did so today, in case these permissions are revoked in the coming days.
Walking round the City was a joy: the air is clear, and the streets are empty. Mostly, the people about are working on construction sites, of which there are quite a few in the City. Construction workers are visible as they are wearing their special hi-vis outfits. I walked about enjoying the architecture, and the air, and the birdsong. I came to a small empty parklet: Mitre Square. A notice said that here was the site of the Priory of the Holy Trinity, founded 1108. There’s not a sign of it now. The nave of the abbey is now Mitre Street, said the notice.
I sat on one of the benches and drew the view.
I enjoyed the sequence of TV aerials – Spire – Cupola.
A woman in a face mask with a child in a face mask appeared. They both removed their face masks. She carefully placed a plastic bag on the bench, and then she sat down. The child wandered about. Then they both ate apples, and the child continued to wander about while the woman interacted with her mobile phone. A man came out of one of the nearby offices and stood on the grass, did some stretching for a few minutes, stared into the distance, and then went indoors again. While all this was going on, a large van backed onto the square, and a man unloaded a lawn mower. He then proceeded to cut the little patches of grass on the square. At the same time, two street sweepers arrived. They swept part of the square, then went to have their break. This was logical, as the person mowing was spreading grass cuttings everywhere. After he had finished, which only took about 10 minutes – it is not a large square,and there is not much grass – the street sweepers came back and swept up after him. Then they went away, and the woman and child went away, silence descended and I had the square to myself again.
In the square was a strange statue called “Climb” by Juliana Cerqueira Lake. It was white and, according to the notice, it was a cast of the tunnel she made by burrowing through a cylinder of clay. You can see it on the left of this photo:
Today’s announcement:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52530518 downloaded 13th May 19:17
Map of where I was:
Jane Sketching 
I miss London. No idea when we will open our office but I guess it will be months.
Until then I have your little sketches.
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Thank you for your kind comments cybaea. I am so glad the sketches give pleasure. It’s great to be able to get out and about again.
There are a lot of empty offices round here, and all the cafés are closed, except for a few doing takeaway.
The construction sites are operating at full force, it seems, building projects getting finished. And there are roadworks, everywhere, all working hard and occupying entire streets: water, broadband, cycle lanes, installing drinking fountains, changing road layouts. I think you will be surprised at all the changes when you come back.
On my wandering round the City in the past few days, the largest contingent of workers at the moment seems to be construction workers and street cleaners.
I will continue to post pictures and show what I see.
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