Dear LPG,

I am proud to be able to say that I have got to grips with learning how to do more than make phone calls with my smart phone during the past year.  I feel a sense of personal achievement, because I can now get in touch with family overseas via WhatsApp, and I have also learnt to take a picture and send it to them from time to time.  I am getting quicker at taking successful snaps; practise makes perfect as they say. I can now boast many pictures of my cat, the view of my back garden and me. 

But it has been a long time since we have been able to do so many things.   I have not been anywhere unless it was vital, for what seems like ages, but the days of ‘no visitors’ and ‘no leaving your home’ are slowly coming to an end and I ventured out a little further from home than I have for a while the other day. 

I was not alone, I was offered a lift by one of my sons and I have to say that it did feel a little strange to be in a car again, seeing sights that have been out of bounds for so long, although the streets were not as deserted as I thought they would be.    

One thing that was noticeable were the many shops that are not there anymore.  We drove through Catford where Boots and Argos were conspicuous by their absence.  Our route also took us down Northover and Verdant Lane where there was more traffic than I thought as we got to its junction with Whitefoot Lane.  It was then, as I was looking around, that I noticed the oddest sight.  As I looked at the petrol station on the corner, I noticed a row of laundry mat washing machines without a building or a seat to sit on, and the traffic lights allowed me sufficient time to put my new skill into practise and take a snap. 

Washing is something that so many of us do at home although I can see the advantages of not having to worry about getting your clothes in a machine before the shop closes for the evening.  We people who have a machine at home just put a load on between telly programs and then we let the dryer, or the washing line do the rest, although I have been known to take the sheets down to one of their drying machines on a wet day. I suppose the advantage is that you can do your washing at any time, and the one I saw was on the forecourt of a petrol station which is open 24 hours a day, but I have misgivings about where you would sit and wait for your wash if you chose the middle of the night to get it done, and just how willing the petrol pump attendant would be to leave the security of his booth and come to your defence if you were attacked while watching your clothes going round in a tumble dryer.

I suppose that the next time I pass that way it will not surprise me as much as it did the first time, or there will be no traffic and I will not have time to focus on it.   But this time, I found it an interesting addition to post Covid-19 Lewisham…

OA, Bellingham

LPG found a little information…

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