My late friend Peter Powell would have been terribly sad to see the removal of the Islington floral displays, having been a keen advocate of the earlier Brighter Islington campaign and the green schemes that followed.

This was a mean-hearted cut that represented a drop in the ocean in overall council expenditure.

I feel sure that it was a purely symbolic move, designed to make people feel more miserable.

– Andrew Gardner, chairman, Islington Archaeology and History Society, via e-mail.