Doors 263 – Doors from Highgate, London, November 2023 (Part II)
The trip to my old stomping ground of Highgate Village in November last year, where I spent my teenage years, was both surprising and nostalgic. Naturally in my youth one door seemed to be much the same as another, and I never looked beyond their functionality, so ‘discovering’ these Highgate doors as an older and wiser person was more than a passing pleasure.
This second selection of doors hints at the time of day, early afternoon, as the low autumn sun was casting shadows, and the light was fading. There is no theme to the doors this week, just another eclectic display captured during an hour-long walk. I sound the whole thing a slightly ‘out of body’ experience, struggling to get to grips with the fact that I walked these streets most days of my life to and from school.
I hope you enjoy this week’s doors as much as I did.
There is a bonus story about the Highgate Pantry, which used to be Wylies Bakers Shop, when I lived there. A school friend and I used to run the school Zoological Society, which was a very grand name for a brick out building where we used to house small pets, such as rabbits, mice, gerbils, rats and an Axolotl called Wobert. We looked after school pupil’s pets during the holidays too sometimes.
Feeding the animals was always a bit difficult and supplies would run low, so we hatched the idea of asking Wylies bakery if they had any leftover food which we could use to feed the pets. To our utter surprise, they were more than happy to give us ‘stale’ bread, buns, pastries and the like at the end of the day in a large brown paper sack. So roughly twice a week we’d collect our sack to feed the animals. Naturally, being teenage boys with a creative streak, we’d select out the best buns for ourselves, which we’d eat and share with school friends, the rest went to the small mammals. For a couple of years, the Zoological Society became very popular indeed.
Another week draws to an end. More to come from Highgate next time.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
by Scooj
Natural adventures 
Handsome examples
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Thank you
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You’re welcome
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Love the pink door and also the similar yellow and green door. The black door in between seems out of place.
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The black door I don’t think is in use, it had no door furniture at all.
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Oh, what a waste of space.
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Great doors, Steve and I love the story about the zoological society. Your heart was in the right place. Were you old enough before moving to visit the Prince of Wales pub?
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I visited all the pubs in Highgate, both before and after I was old enough! We were blessed with so many in a very small area.
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Good man!
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Great sharing Stephen, I really enjoyed all the doors. Afternoon light adds a homey feel (for me) to the images. Loved the pink facade and door…lovely in every way.
The Prince of Wales Pub looks like a great place for famous people to meet, relax and exchange ideas.
Thank you for the heartwarming share on the Zoological Society. I appreciate.
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Thank you for reading it. I have been longing to tell the Zoo Soc story and this was the perfect opportunity.
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Awesomeness!!
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Great variety
cjsmissionaryministry@gmail.com
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It isn’t just the afternoon light; it’s the nostalgia. You are so right that we see with different eyes later in life — and not just doors. Your story about the Zoological Society is hilarious, but what a great idea it was. The photo of the Highgate Pantry was a great idea too; I almost couldn’t leave that one. I’d be through that door in an instant.
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Thank you so much for the kind words and for reading the story. I am glad you enjoyed the post. Before that shop was pink, and was Wylie’s bakery it was varnished wood if I remember rightly and looked very old fashioned, almost Dickensian.
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I can only imagine!
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