Having put away the shopping and had lunch, we went out again. The sun was now hidden by clouds and it felt unpleasantly cold. We would go for just a short walk because it was already past 2:30pm and Myddelton’s closes at 3pm on Sundays.

Cloudy sky

This picture shows the conditions, cloudy but dry so far.

Reservoir flowers
Photo by Tigger

Tigger photographed these pretty flowers through the railings of the Claremont Square reservoir.

The Curvaceous Tree

Yes, it’s the Curvaceous Tree again but I have become very fond of it. If it were possible to have a tree as a friend, I would choose this tree.

Cat glimpsed

In Myddelton Square, we always look out for the two cats. We hadn’t seen them for a while though we knew that they still lived here. We both spotted one of the cats and I took this photo but…

The cat
Photo by Tigger

…Tigger, with her better camera (in the iPhone 12), took this close-up.

Window box

We admired this window box with pretty flowers and variegated leaves.

Myddelton Square Garden

I took this photo over the railings of the garden in the square. There were some people sitting in the garden but very few, no doubt because of the cold.

Perched in the trees

I was amused to see that most of the garden’s pigeons were perched in the trees though I’m not sure it’s any warmer there than on the ground.

Open a day too soon

I have previously mentioned this barber’s shop (one of three in Amwell Street) because of the “to let” sign outside. I wondered whether it referred to the shop or the residential accommodation. That question answered today: not the shop. We were surprised to see the shop open and the barber inside, wearing his working overalls. They are not supposed to open until tomorrow so he’s jumping the gun.

Skyscape
Photo by Tigger

On the way home, I was carrying our coffee, and so Tigger took this skyscape photo. It looked as though it could rain so we were happy to hurry home.

Cake and cream

With our coffee, we had the remainder of the “Easter Cake” but with a little addition: cream! How luxurious!

That’s it for today but as Tigger is scheduled to work Wednesday to Friday this week, we have two more days added to the weekend. I just hope the weather improves a tad. That would make it perfect.

It’s Sunday once again and thus the day for shopping. As I have mentioned often enough, we go to the local Sainsbury’s store for this. We long ago acquired a joint-account Nectar card which gains us “points” on our purchases. These points are translated into a monetary value that can be set against your future purchases. Of course, the amount gained on each purchase is minuscule but we save them up throughout the year and use the credit to offset the extra spending at Christmas and the New Year.

Each week, Sainsbury’s/Nectar sends us a list of products. If we buy these, we earn extra points. Now, of course, this is a primitive form of “social engineering” whereby, seeming to make us gifts, they are trying influence our buying choices and make us buy more than we would otherwise. This may be one reason why an estimated 25% of the food bought by families is thrown away, i.e. wasted.

So, the points game consists of a deep strategy whereby we try to purchase the offered items but only as long as they are products we would buy in any case. We consider it valid to buy more than we would otherwise do, but only as long as the products will keep and we will use them up eventually.

Last year, our Christmas shopping bill was paid for in its entirety by our saved points, so it’s not a matter to pass over lightly.

Sunny but cold

Perhaps I should set a quiz, showing you photos of familiar places from my posts and inviting you to name them. But if I did that, I would have to offer prizes and I’m too miserly to do that! 🙂 Yes, above is Baron Street. As the caption says, the sun was shining but it was rather cold.

The Farmers’ Market

The Farmers’s Market was in full swing and I can’t imagine that tomorrow’s relaxation of the lockdown rules can make much difference to it. This is all to the good, of course, because the food supply is crucial to our health and even survival and every food supplier whose business fails is a matter for concern.

The main market

The main market was not as busy as I would have expected. The usual fruit and fish stalls were present and the key-cutting stall but that was about all. Perhaps there will be a renaissance next week.

I queue therefore I am

Is it true that the population divides into two groups, those who shop at Sainsbury’s and those who shop at Waitrose? Of course not, but it sometimes seems like it. Waitrose opens later than Sainsbury’s on Sunday so we have a chance to see “Waitrosers” still queueing while we are on the way home. No sniggering in the ranks, please!

Fairly busy

After our shopping run, I sped ahead to buy the coffee. I stopped to take a photo and Tigger, hauling the shopping, caught up with me so I hurried on again.

At Mercer’s, I found a couple queueing outside and had to wait with them. Tigger caught up with me and proposed taking the shopping home and coming back to meet me.

There was a long wait because the couple ahead of my wanted food as well as drinks but I was served at last.

When I emerged, Tigger had not arrived yet. I stopped to take this photo but, having the cup holder in one hand, I had only one remaining hand to take the photo. Unlike Tigger, I have not yet mastered the art of one-handed photography: sorry it’s a bit jerky.

I met Tigger again on the way home.

Will we sally forth again later? Wait and see!