On setting out this morning, we passed the Angel Building and, tucked away in the corner of a double-glazed window, Tigger spotted this resting moth. With its reflections, it made an interesting picture.

Resting moth
Photo by Tigger

We took a bus to go to Walthamstow. It’s a longish ride from the Angel and so, when we stopped at Leyton to change buses, we took a coffee break at a branch of Costa.

Costa

The streets of Leyton were very busy and most shops were open.

Fruit and veg

Almost in front of Costa was this large fruit and veg stall. They stocked a wide range of goods and everything looked fresh and of fine quality.

High Street

On arriving at our destination, we dived into the High Street. This is pedestrian-only and is lined with shops and, today, with market stalls. It was very busy.

Tigger had some purchases to make and we visited several shops but I won’t bore you with that!

Shopping centre

We entered the nearby shopping centre. There is more than one in Walthamstow though this is possibly the one that rejoices in the highly imaginative name of The Mall. (Yes, I am being ironic, in case you weren’t sure 🙂 )

After the fire
Jonathan O’Dea
Unveiled July 2020

As we walked through the shopping center, we came upon this object. Yes, it’s a work of art. Entitled After the fire, it is by Jonathan O’Dea and was, according to this account, inspired by seeing the mall on fire.

Our walk through the mall was merely in order to reach a certain destination that we had in mind:

Gökyüzü Turkish Restaurant
Photo by Tigger

We had planned to come to the Gökyüzü Turkish Restaurant for lunch. We have been here (and written about it) before and hoped it would still be as good. Happily, we were not disappointed.

Red Lentil soup
Photo by Tigger

I started, as I always do, with lentil soup. Turkish lentil soup is the best and Gökyüzü’s is a classic of the kind. Yes, the red floater is chilli sauce.

Mantarli Hellim
Photo by Tigger

This was Tigger’s starter. Mantarli Hellim is pieces of mushroom and halloumi cooked with parsley. Delicious! (Yes,I tasted it 🙂 )

Ispanakli Beyaz Peynir
Photo by Tigger

As our main course we shared the above pictured pide. This is a crispy pastry base with halloumi, mozarella, peppers and various other things. (Don’t worry, all these dishes are vegetarian!)

We once made the mistake of ordering a pide each. Fortunately, the waiter brought only one and having shared this, we found that, with the starters, it was enough!

To drink we had ayran, which is a yogurt drink, similar to the lassi served in Indian restaurants, except that it is salty and without spices.

After this, there was only one thing to do – head for home!

Walthamstow Central Bus Station

We walked to the bus station and caught a 55 to Clapton Pond and changed there to a 38 which brought us the rest of the way.

It may seem a long way to go for a little shopping but lunch alone made it worthwhile! I am sure we will make the same trip again in the future.