Goodbye Blustons, Kentish Town Road – now residential?

Most of us in north London will know of Bluston's ladies' coats and gowns with its wonderful old-style shop front and walk-in/walk-around windows on Kentish Town's main high street.
Bluston's offered ladies of a certain age nice cardigans and day wear. However, the sign above suggests its earlier heyday of party dresses, evening gowns and cocktail frocks conjuring up an altogether different kind of clothes shop (scroll down to the bottom for an pic that hints at that).
My pictures in the mosaic below tell a story from 2008 to last month:

The top row shows how the shop looked up until until the end of last year displaying clothing around the £10-20 price mark. It was always a wonder how it survived so long. We've all known that closure was imminent but we all wanted it to stay there as is because we were fond of it. But market forces dictated differently.
In May last year I'd read a report in the Camden new Journal that after the owners left the shop would reopen as a clothes shop retaining the same name.
In December 2016 I noticed the premises next door had closed (Lidl) with the windows covered in newspaper (first pic second row). This had been a branch of Lidl which I believe has since moved across the road. However Blustons windows were still full.
Walking past it last month I found it locked up with the windows empty. I peered in through the glass to get a better look. Another lady (here in a yellow coat) was also intrigued and we both stopped to discuss it. Then we noticed a dog wandering about in there. It was whilst we were reading the hand-written sign on the window (written out in italics below) that a man came out to chat to us about it. It turns out he and others are squatting the premises because they are homeless. He says they respect the property and its historical features and just want somewhere to live.
Other people stopped to join in the conversation and we all chatted for a while about the amount of empty shops premises everywhere and empty rooms above them all going to waste which in time become damp and dilapidated due to not being maintained and subsequently unfit for purpose.
So, let's watch this space and keep our fingers crossed.
I wish him, his friends and the dog well. I wish the shop well. I hope there is a happy outcome to all of this for everyone involved.

Michael Albert was the owner of Blustons – click here for some of his tips

I'd love to find more archive/historic images of the store both inside and out but I am coming up short. The only evocative image I have found of exterior to give a hint of times past is this, when Ted Baker recently used it as a display space. 

If you can't read the words on the squatters' sign it says:

This is a non-residential building – Section 144 Laspo does not apply.

Please be aware

– That this is our home and we intend to stay here.

– That if you want to get us out, you will have to apply for a possession order.

– Any attempt to enter this building through threat/violence is a criminal offence and is punishable by a £5000 fine/ 6 moths imprisonment.

_That there is at least one person in this building at all times.

Signed the Occupiers

Jane's Advent Calendar – 3rd December

The Three Greyhounds public house, Old Compton Street, W1

The name of this pub is a reference to the hunting dogs that were used to chase hares in this area of London when it was a royal hunting ground.

Tufnell and Dartmouth and Waterlow Parks

Out for a afternoon stroll recently, I found myself at the Tufnell Park Station junction. Crossing into Dartmouth Park Hill to take a snap of the Boston Arms looking wonderful against the crisp blue winter sky, I realised I had never walked the full length of that road, so up the hill I ventured...

Dartmouth Park Hill is actually two hills; heading northwards from The Boston, there is one ascent, then a flat bit, then up it goes again all the way to where it meets Highgate Hill opposite Hornsey Road. 

Just past Dartmouth Park Road, on the flat bit, is an old in-wall Royal Mail letter box. I stopped to take a crappy out of focus picture and wondered if the rather impressive chunky post that surrounds it was built especially to hold the red metal or was part of a pair of gateposts, as per the two larger ones near the junction of Lady Margaret Road on nearby Tufnell Park Road. I wonder if it/they could be part of the Earl of Dartmouth's original estate buildings?

I then crossed the road to look at what can be seen of the covered reservoir. There's not much visible from street level just a metal ventilation pipe, some nice sloping grass and a non-slip surface. The two tanks cover rather a large area though despite what this map shows only a small piece of land around the edges is actually parkland.

Opposite the reservoir is a house that looks like a hangover from the 1970s – the bright yellow walls and purple front door look more completely out of place. I am sure it wasn't this colour a few years ago – I may be wrong, but, being so bright I am sure I would have noticed it before.  

Looking down Chester Road I stopped to to admire the spire of St Michael's, Highgate Village, hovering like a beacon above the trees and houses.

I continued up the second hill section, past the old original buildings at the rear of Whittington Hospital and then entered Waterloo Park. 

A gorgeous little dog amused me and others as she ran up trees. She didn't appear to be chasing squirrels, just having fun. She'd get perhaps 3 metres up, turn, jump down and then run up the next one. Lovely.

I then exited the park into Swain's Lane opposite the Highgate Cemetery entrance and was half way up the hill before I realised that I still haven't walked the full length of Dartmouth Park Hill.

Dangerous dogs

Dangerous dogs and what to do about them is in the news again lately.
"They" are discussing the problem of mauled babies, aggressive curs, dogs bred for fighting etc. Microchipping and owner registration come high on the list of solutions.

Dog-related pics taken in, around and above London

Today's dogs don't want to be aggressive, but some have been specifically bred to be so. It seems to me that the problem of aggressive dogs comes down to ownership in the first instance.  

I have just come back from another holiday in Turkey where there are many lovely street dogs of all shapes and sizes. In all the years I have been going there I have never seen any aggressive behaviour from them. Most pet dogs are also allowed to go out on their own to mix with the other dogs. It's really lovely to see such calm friendly, relaxed animals, hanging out with their mates, or running off somewhere doggily important, coming home later for their dinner. Mostly they fall asleep under chairs or in the middle of the road! 

They have managed over the years to 'train' themselves to get what they want from humans (food and companionship) without the need for leashes or lessons. If another dog they don't like comes near, there is a raising of hackles, a bit of a staring competition and some low growling, then one backs down and wanders off.
The only mildly-aggressive behavior I have seen concerning Turkish dogs is when owners have their dog on a lead and another dog wanders over to say hello and have a friendly sniff... the owner of the leashed dog starts pulling their dog back thus sending out messages that the owner is scared and needs protecting from this invader. It's a vicious circle. The leashed dog usually barks and strains at the lead whilst the free dog stands looking confused, then wanders off to find some dog better to play with.
I watched this exact situation happen last week when a man with a beautiful big, soppy 6-month old dog sat down for coffee at a seafront café but he "had to leave" because she was "badly behaved" and was "never any good near other dogs". A good example of how an aggressive animal can be created. I tried to talk to the man to explain that his tugging on the lead was sending out the wrong messages to the dog, but he didn't want to hear me, preferring to wallow in the perverse idea that he had a difficult animal to contend with and was some kind of super hero having to deal with her. I found it so sad. Especially for the dog, who was just a big puppy and was missing out on doing dog stuff.
I have also not noticed any dog faeces on the pavements in Turkey. Nor in the roads or on the beaches. This is probably because dogs much prefer to leave their messages in special corners where other dogs will find them. Sort of canine letterboxes. The dogs who only get taken out on a lead once or twice a day have been holding onto their payload for hours and must be busting by the time it's walkies. Having had no other dogs around to learn from, they often drop it at the first sniff of fresh air which, unfortunately, might be in the middle of a pavement (don't get me started about those cruel and insensitive owners who then drag their dog along whilst the poor animal is performing an act of nature).
I like dogs.