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?