Pomegranates and TV Legends

You can't quite tell, but this sushi restaurant on our high street has its windows painted for Halloween. I like this picture because of all the activity, but it's not great for seeing the windows, so here's a closeup:

I always appreciate a fox in my Halloween decorations!

By the way, several commenters have asked what I mean when I say "high street." In England, the "high street" in any given community is simply the main commercial corridor -- kind of like "Main Street" in America. In our case, our "high street" is called West End Lane. It's not physically more elevated than surrounding streets or anything like that -- it's just where all the shops are.

I got out with the camera late yesterday morning and took a walk through Kilburn, along their "high street," which is part of the major north-south corridor (and old Roman road) known as Edgware Road. Consequently it is much longer, larger and busier than ours.

I passed this peculiar little place entirely devoted to pomegranate juice. The inside was positively packed with pomegranates. I wouldn't think that would be enough to sustain a business, but Kilburn (and Cricklewood, just to the north) have a lot of residents of Middle Eastern origin, so maybe they help keep it prosperous.

Bailey continues to bounce right back after her surgery. She's a ball of energy, pretty much back to normal, and Josh, her dog-walker, will start taking her out again on Monday.

Like everyone else, I was sorry to hear about Patrick Stewart's death. I'm even more surprised that he has gone before original Star Trek captain William Shatner, who's still with us at age 95 -- almost ten years older than Stewart. Maybe all that hand-to-hand combat with the Gorn helped keep Shatner in good physical shape?

He and George Takei, who played Sulu, are the last remaining members of the bridge crew from the original "Star Trek" series.

(Two other '60s TV icons still with us at age 95: Barbara Eden of "I Dream of Jeannie," and Barbara Bain of "Mission: Impossible.")

Yesterday morning as I was walking Bailey, a guy stopped me and pointed to her and said, "Full staff or half-staff?"

It's a good thing he was pointing at the dog, or I might have thought he was talking flagpoles. "Full staff," I said, though honestly I'm not sure Bailey is 100 percent Staffordshire terrier. I'm almost certain, because I see no signs of any other breed, but I suppose we ought to get her DNA done if we really want to be able to answer that question.

"She's beautiful," he said, and walked on. I suppose that's really all that matters.