You can park directly outside our shop for 30 minutes, up to 4pm and on the other side of the road between 10am and 7pm.

Worth bearing in mind that parking in Islington, like everywhere in London, is unnecessarily complicated and designed with one eye on profit, rather than simply reasonable traffic control in mind. We campaigned hard - very hard - for years, to enable our customers to park outside our shop.

But so that you don't get caught out, here are the rules..

Upper Street is situated on a Red Route. It is owned and operated by Transport for London. Its hours of operation are Monday to Saturday between 7am and 7pm, during which time, some restrictions apply.

ON OUR SIDE OF THE STREET: There is a parking bay directly outside our building in which you may park for up to 30 minutes between 7am and 4pm. Next to the parking bay is a loading bay in which you may load for 20 minutes between 7am and 4pm. You must be seen to be loading or unloading.

ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE STREET: There are similar marked boxes for parking, loading and unloading on the opposite side of the street and which operate between 10am and 7pm - so if our bay is full, park across the street.

Outside of the hours mentioned above and on Sundays and Public Holidays, you may park anywhere including single red lines without penalty.

HIDDEN CAMERA ENFORCEMENT: They sacked all of the traffic wardens a few years ago and now enforce the bays with cameras and you will get a ticket if you don't follow the rules. They also have the rather aggressive looking Robocop style 'Community Support Officers' who ride around on those weird, futuristic-looking 3-wheeled mopeds who swoop occasionally.

The roads off Upper Street are owned and controlled by Islington Council. Parking restrictions apply Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6.30pm and Saturdays between 8.30am and 1.30pm. You can park only in designated parking bays which operate on a pay and display or pay by 'phone basis. There are lots of them. Parking in Islington parking bays costs around £5 per hour. Outside these hours and on Sundays and Public Holidays, with the exclusion of Disabled bays, you may park anywhere including Resident and Business bays and single yellow lines without penalty.

NEVER PARK ON A DOUBLE RED OR A DOUBLE YELLOW LINE AT ANY TIME