To judge from the weather forecasts, snow is no longer on the menu and even this morning’s yellow alert for ice has been removed. Skies continue grey and at 3 pm the light levels were more appropriate to evening. It felt very cold, too, and by the time we reached Myddelton’s deli, my fingers were stinging with cold.

Traffic at the Angel crossroads

The roads continue busy, partly because gas engineering works have reduced Pentonville Road to single file for vehicles.

Gloomy St John Street

Today we took a turn along St John Street where I took this photo to show the dull conditions though the camera (which has a mind of its own) has lightened the sky, falsifying the effect.

Rosebery Avenue

We entered Rosebery Avenue, home of the Sadlers Wells Theatre, forever associated with the “father of clowning”, Joseph Grimaldi (see A visit to Wilmington Square).

Abandoned supermarket trolley

This is one of two supermarket trolleys abandoned in this street. How selfish people are. Who do they think will return it to the store? No wonder many supermarkets require a refundable deposit to use their trolleys.

Spa Green

We walked through the small park called Spa Green. It’s looking a little bedraggled at the moment, partly because of the season and partly, I suspect, because of lack of maintenance during the pandemic. It is home to some well established mature trees as well as shrubs and, in the right season, flowers.

One of the fine trees

Here is just one of those trees, winter-bare, showing its complex growth of branches. Spring will dress it again in green finery.

New growth

This plant was just one of several already showing new growth.

New flowers
Photo by Tigger

This one was even bolder, bravely showing off a flower!

Red berries
Photo by Tigger

Tigger captured a view of this plant with bright red berries.

Spa Green War Memorial

Victory, atop the war memorial, with her escort of pigeons, was still waving her laurel wreath despite the millions who have died in wars since she was put in place.

Old Waterworks Laboratory

I poked my phone through the railings surrounding what used to be land owned by the New River Company and, later, by the Metropolitan Water Company to photograph this fine building that is now residential, but once housed the MWC’s laboratory.

Sadlers Wells Theatre

This is a glimpse of the above mentioned Sadlers Wells Theatre, so called because it was found to have been built on wells that once provided water for St John’s priory in Clerkenwell. The fact that the water was found to be iron-rich was what caused the area to become known as a spa. The fad for “taking the waters” ceased long ago and only the names remain as reminders.

The Shakespeare’s Head

We haven’t visited the Shakespeare’s Head pub for a while. It is closed, of course, courtesy of Covid-19. Not that we have ever been inside, even in “normal” times. Perhaps we will do so once the pandemic is over, just to see what the inside is like.

The vine is looking sad

The grape vine that flows over the top of the pub’s garden, is devoid of leaves snd looks dead. It’s hard to imagine that this is the same vine that was full of leaves in summer and even produced bunches of tiny grapes. I hope it grows up again and once more charms us with its foliage and miniature grapes.

Myddelton Passage

Myddelton Passage is also built on what was once New River Company land. On one side is a long, old brick wall whose distinguishing feature, you may recall, is a large number of inscriptions of police badge numbers, carved into the bricks in the mid-19th century by lurking police officers.

Spider holes

Another feature of the wall that we spotted today is a number of holes with spider webbing around the entrance. These holes are excavated in the now crumbling mortar by what we call between us “tunnel spiders” but which in Britain are officially named Tube Web Spiders. We once found one in a wall in Thanet and when we tweaked the web, the resident spider dashed out, hoping to catch his dinner! On this occasion, we politely refrained from any such naughtiness!

Very soon we arrived at Myddelton’s deli when we bought coffee and I, as official Coffee Carrier could put on my gloves as carrying coffee stops me taking photos.

Tigger, however, took some more.

Tree blossom

One was of this pretty flower growing on a branch sprouting from a tree in Inglebert Street. How pretty and unexpected is that?

Is it trying to escape?

The second is this amusing photo of a wreath, hanging on railings. This is the same wreath that I referred to in Short, wet walk where I said it was the last wreath still surviving on someone’s front door. It looks as though it is now making a bid to escape! How far will it have travelled by the time we next pass, I wonder? Or will someone take responsibility for it? Time will tell.