After a rest, we decided to go out for lunch. Cafes and restaurants are still closed or providing only takeaway food and we therefore needed to decide, firstly, where to buy our meal and, secondly, where to eat it.

The answers to these two questions were Chapel Market and Culpeper Park, respectively.

Chapel Market, wet with rain

It had been raining, as you can see from the above photo, but was not actually raining when we set out so we hoped for the best.

While Tigger went to the Crown Fish & Chips Bar to order chips for us both, I went to Greggs to see what they had that was both hot and vegetarian. The only thing available was a sort of roast vegetable pasty so it had to do.

Then I returned to the chippie to wait with Tigger for the chips to be cooked. (It always takes longer than you think.)

“My friends” at Culpeper Park

We took our lunch to Culpeper Park as this was fairly near and we hoped the food would still be hot when we arrived there. I photographed the pigeons (“my friends”, according to Tigger) because at that moment, the sun was shining and this group looked relaxed and contented.

Culpeper Park

The problem was going to be that of finding seats that weren’t wet with rain.

Culpeper Park is a dual structure: there is the public park which is open during daylight hours and, adjacent to it, the Culpeper Community Garden. This may or may not be open on particular days. It was open today so we went in.

A pleasant place to sit

The garden is quite big and its structure complex, with pathways to follow between different types of habitat. Near the entrance is a lawn in which there is a bench and three chairs in fixed positions together. We chose these chairs as our place to have lunch.

The pond

There is a pleasant pond nearby. It is at present protected by a light barrier and notices asking people not to touch it as it is the breeding season. By now, it was beginning to rain again, as you can see from the picture.

Flowers

After lunch, we went for a look around the garden. There are flower beds, trees and shrubs, a pond and several areas where cultivation is taking place. It would be worth going back for a longer look when the weather is more propitious.

Flower beds

There are winding paths, some of which are quite narrow. They lead you through the many different habitats. These include flower beds like the above.

Cultivation of plants

There are areas like the above where cultivation is taking place. These have a very professional look to them.

Loggia or covered path

We walked along this loggia or covered path which, I imagine, will eventually be covered with greenery.

It was raining fairly insistently and so we decided to go straight home. However, we had some chips left. What should we do with them? Yes, we gave them to “my friends”.

Feeding the pigeons

Some people may deprecate feeding the pigeons but the alternative would have been to put them in a bin which is likely to attract the attention of rats and other denizens of the park, perhaps including pigeons. It made “my friends” happy and shared a little birthday spirit with them.

We made our way home via Chapel Market. On the way, we called in at Mercer’s for coffee to take home.

We shall spend the rest of Tigger’s birthday at home relaxing.

Happy birthday, Tigger!

I mentioned previously (see To Exmouth Market) that Thursday was an exception to the other days this week but did not explain why. The reason is that today is Tigger’s birthday and she has the day off from work.

Accordingly, we decided to start off by having coffee in Percy Circus though the weather was less than ideal, being grey with occasional moments of sun or rain.

The reservoir

As we left the house, Tigger received a video call on her phone from a friend, which she attended to as we walked.

Tree stump as table
Photo by Tigger

I mentioned the other day how sorry I was to see that this tree had had to be cut down. At least one person has found a use for it: as a table or work bench.

St Mark’s Church

We passed by St Mark’s Church, still closed, of course. The sky was promising rain, as you can see.

Your slip is showing

We noticed that the house number of this door had slipped. Or are they trying to make it into a pound sign (£)?

Approaching our first goal

Here we are in Amwell Street, approaching our first goal. Ssh! You know where!

So much choice
Photo by Tigger

At Myddelton’s deli, we bought our usual coffees and Tigger proposed cake as well. (Well, it is her birthday!) There was a lot of choice, both cakes and savoury items. We eventually made our selection.

Flowers
Photo by Tigger

As it wasn’t actually raining, we decided to make for Percy Circus and consume our coffee and cake there. Tigger photographed these flowers along the way and…

Camellias

…I photographed these beauties that a reader kindly told me are camellias.

Prideaux Place

We passed along Prideaux Place which seems a very quiet and pleasant residential street with a mixture of houses and 1930s apartment blocks.

Percy Circus Garden

Thus we reached Percy Circus with its central garden where we like to sit and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. “Our” bench was occupied but we didn’t mind choosing another one for a change.

A peaceful garden

We drank our coffee and ate our cakes and looked around at the trees and flowers. Many of the trees are very old and bear marks recording their history.

An inhabitant of the garden

This is one of the inhabitants of the garden. What stories could it tell of the times through which it has lived?

The pattern of age

The bark of this tree bears a complex pattern like an inscription in an ancient unknown language. Would that I could read it!

Daffodils around a tree

We started back by walking through Bevin Court. There are daffodils everywhere and I photographed these growing around the base of one of the trees.

Flowers in the grass

I made this gif of flowers in the grass because their movement seemed to add to their lively beauty. They seem to say that, despite the weather, the spring is really here!

We returned home but with the intention of going out again later. If the weather permits, we will have lunch outside. Will the weather co-operate?