When we had finished lunch, there was still time to reach the deli before they closed at 3 pm.

Cloudy but no rain

It was cloudy but the rain was still holding off so we thought we could take our coffee into Myddelton Square Gardens and perhaps feed the denizens thereof. We looked for the cats both in Claremont Square and Myddelton Square but drew a blank in both. (Cat fanatics us? Hm, well, maybe… 🙂 )

The pigeon colony on the grass

When we reached the garden with our coffee (and a jar of birdseed), we found the pigeon colony relaxing and socialising on the grass as they are wont to do when the park is quiet. We settled down and…

Pigeon mêlée

…threw some bird seed. Instantly, all the pigeons converged on the seed and the waft of their flight blew over me like a sudden gust of wind.

Squirrel appears…

Because we had chosen a bench close to trees, it wasn’t long before some squirrels showed up. The plan was to distract the pigeons by throwing quantities of seed and, while they were occupied, feed titbits to the squirrels. What could possibly go wrong?

…and disappears

Curiously, the squirrels seem nervous of the pigeons and if the pigeons go for the food you throw to the squirrel, the latter lets them have it. I suppose we can understand their point of view if we imagine competing with pigeons six feet tall!

“Have you something for me?”

The trick is to select larger items, such as slices of dried banana, that the pigeons can’t manage, and therefore ignore. When the coast is clear, the squirrels may see them and pick them up.

“Is it here somewhere?”

Surprisingly quickly, the food was all used up. The squirrels waited around for a while, hoping more food might appear.

“I’ll bid you adieu, then”

Finally, convinced that no more goodies were forthcoming, the squirrels faded into the foliage.

Discreetly withdrawing

The pigeons too began to drift back onto the grass to pick up where they left off when we came. So we also, having finished our coffee, stole quietly away.

We had not seen the last of the square’s indigenes, however…

Electra doing the rounds

Yes, it was Electra, doing her daily circles round the square. I managed to catch her passing by.

A last look on the way home

We, however, turned for home with a last look back down Mylne Street to Myddelton Square. Tomorrow is another day and will bring its own activities.

Today is Fathers’ Day, a fact that I became aware of yesterday when a card from my son dropped through the letterbox. That was pretty good shooting, given that we do not yet have Sunday deliveries of post. I also received a text from him this morning.

Though Fathers’ Day was celebrated by the Catholic Church in medieval times, its modern incarnation apparently originated in 1910 in the US, from whence it was subsequently imported into the UK, along with much else, both good and bad. More on this will be found here.

I’m not sure that I particularly deserve to be celebrated for my role of pater familias but I’m grateful nonetheless, and admiring of my son whose achievements in life far exceed mine.

Forecourt of the DoubleTree Hotel

As the above photo shows, today is cloudy, damp and cool. At about 11 am we as usual made our way to the local emporium of food and domestic supplies known as Sainsbury’s. This is a weekly chore but, strangely, one that I quite enjoy, though I have never worked out why.

The Farmers’ Market

Though it was not actually raining, the weather seemed to have a slightly inhibiting effect on activity in the market. The Farmers’ Market was less crowded than usual, I noticed.

The cafe has tables outside

The Millennium Cafe had, a little optimistically perhaps, put chairs and tables outside but there were no takers, apart from the group gathered under the canopy.

Closed to traffic, White Conduit Street

Signage around the market tends to be sporadic at best. Today there was a “Road Closed” sign banning vehicles from White Conduit Street, a sensible enough precaution but the first time I had ever seen one. The potted plant stall was present as usual but with a much reduced display. The gentleman in motor-cycle gear is probably a food delivery man awaiting a call because there is usually a gaggle of them waiting here in White Conduit Street.

Sainsbury’s was fairly busy

Sainsbury’s was fairly busy, perhaps because we were a little later than usual or because people preferred to shop under cover rather than out in the open in the market.

Collect your daily bread here

Tigger has the shopping run down to a fine art and knows exactly what to buy and where to find it. This includes playing the points game. We soon had everything we needed and headed for the checkout.

Queueing at the checkout

Perhaps for the reasons mentioned above, the queue at the checkout was longer than usual but we waited patiently for our turn and this came commendably quickly despite the loaded trolleys ahead of us.

Hurrying down Liverpool Road

Leaving Tigger with the shopping (I always feel a little mean about that despite my role as coffee-fetcher), I hurried off down Liverpool Road and…

Making my way through the market

…into Chapel Market, which seemed a little busier now, perhaps because the rain was holding off.

Looking through the window in Mercer’s

There was no one ahead of me in Mercer’s and I was served straightaway. Then coffee in hand, we made for home.

According to the forecast, the day will continue cloudy with the threat of rain. After a rest and lunch, we will see what we can make of the afternoon.