alexist

1) We have now got a 6th bookies shop opening in Finchley Central. All in a pretty short stretch of Ballards Lane (ok, one is technically in Regents Park Road, but it's the same street, just with a different name). This includes 2 branches of William Hill and 2 Ladbrokes. Why?? Then again we have 5 pharmacies. (4 independents and Tesco. Plus Superdrug, but that doesn't have a dispensary so I don't count it.)

2) it's bloody freezing in here!! 15C when I came in. Now only up to 16.5 (have turned heat up more).

3) trouble finding dried morel mushrooms today--the shop where I've bought them before didn't have any. (they had other dried mushrooms, just not morels).

A month or two ago, I noticed that the revamped Waitrose in Finchley Road had been officially renamed to Waitrose Finchley Road (instead of John Barnes, the store that used to be on the site). The old store didn't actually have the branch name on the front; the new one does.

Today I was going down Finchley Road and noticed that the signs in front now read "Waitrose John Barnes".

I actually decided to stop off there on the way home (instead of the Waitrose near me). Woo. Very nice. It's huge now (took over the Habitat which had been next door).