I recounted how we had had shopping delivered to the house on Sunday (see Tigger unwell) but as Chop Chop limits you to 20 items, we still needed to make up the difference. We made a plan to go to Sainsbury’s this evening.

Tigger let me know by text when she boarded her second bus at Liverpool Street Station. That was my signal to set out for Sainsbury’s with the shopping trolley.

Busy Pentonville Road

I crossed the busy Pentonville Road. The sun was still shining but clouds were gathering. According to the Met Office, we could expect rain and perhaps a thunderstorm. To be on the safe side, I put a light rain jacket in my handbag.

Chapel Market is closed to traffic

As it’s a market day, Chapel Market is closed to traffic and this pub and cafe had tables out in the street.

The market was virtually empty

The market itself presented a very different appearance from when we pass through it on Sunday. All the stalls had been cleared away except this one belonging to the fruit and veg shop. Mercer’s, on the left of the photo, was closed, so no coffee for us today!

The bus stop

Tigger’s bus arrives

Tigger’s bus would arrive at this stop, conveniently sited outside Sainsbury’s, so this is where I came to wait. I didn’t have ling to wait before her 153 hove into sight.

Sainsbuary’s = not very busy

Sainsbury’s was not at all busy and so we sped round the shelves easily and were soon ready to confront the checkout queue. Shortly after, were out in the street, job done. My reflex was to shoot off to Mercer’s for coffee and I had to remind myself that there was no point as they were closed.

Passing through the market

As we walked back through the market, clouds were gathering and the light was fading. It began spitting with rain: would we make it home before the downpour?

The electrical goods shop

On the way, we passed Ryness, the electrical goods shop. In the fading light, its windows made a pretty display.

And yes, we did make it home before the downpour. I hope the rains, not to mention the thunderstorms, make themselves scarce as Tigger is free on Wednesday and Thursday and we will want to make the most of them.

I’m glad to relate that by Sunday evening, Tigger was feeling a lot better. (See Tigger unwell.) This week, Monday was a working day for her and, accordingly, she went off into the City to fulfil her role. I, on the other hand, stayed at home all day because I had been informed that the scaffolders would return to complete their unfinished job. (See Scaffolding interruptus.) Guess what: yes, they never came.

Tigger is working again today (Tuesday). SoI have come out for a little walk on my own in familiar territory. I am writing this while sitting on a bench in Percy Circus and conversing by text with Tigger in her City office.

Myddelton Square, west side

It’s another hot and sunny day today with temperatures in the upper 20s Centigrade, though the forecast predicts rain and even thunderstorms this afternoon. That will be a nuisance as we have to go shopping this evening.

Inglebert Street

From the square, I turned along Inglebert Street.

The “Never give up” tree

In that street I photographed the tree stump that I mentioned in my post Never give up. Despite being cut almost to the roots, it is still putting out new branches and these have grown apace since my previous photo. It’s a symbol of determination against the odds.

Looking down Amwell Street

I crossed Amwell Street and entered the sloping Great Percy Street.

Great Percy Street

This broad but quiet residential street, with its handsome Georgian-style terraces, descends to the busy King’s Cross Road but, happily, I was not going that far, only to the trees that you see in the background of the photo.

Flourishing window box

On the way I stopped to admire this window box which is flourishing and seemingly has ambitions to take over the whole window.

Cumberland Gardens

I passed the charming cul de sac called Cumberland Gardens, with the defunct Percy Arms pub, now residential, on the corner.

Percy Circus Gardens

There are many squares in Islington, often with gardens in the centre, but here is an interesting divergence from the pattern. As its name, Percy Circus, indicates, the houses here are set in a circle, with a circular garden in the centre.

Sitting in Percy Circus Gardens

I chose a bench in the central area, under the beautiful tree that presides over it. In this agreeable and peaceful setting, I have written this post up to this point. In a while. I will make my way up the hill to home. Which way shall I choose to go?

A last look back

When I decided to leave this quiet haven, it was with a last look back. “My” bench is the one on the right.

Path to Holford Gardens

To start back, I took this path leading off the Circus. If it has a name, I don’t know what it is. It leads to a small park called Holford Gardens.

The next path

This in turn leads to another path which is also nameless, as far as I know.

The “Cliff of apartments”

It leads past what I previously described as the “cliff of apartments” that is Bevin Court.

Looking rather sad

This grassy area in front of the building was left to grow freely during the spring and became a wild meadow of tall grasses interspersed with flowers. It was beautiful. Now it has been mown and looks rather sad, its beauty destroyed.

Cruikshank Street

I next climbed the gentle slope of Cruikshank Street.

A charm of their own

The houses in this street are not in the Georgian style that characterises much of this neighbourhood, but they have a charm of their own.

A view from Claremont Square

My final view is from Claremont Square, showing a familiar scene with St Mark’s Church prominent. I was soon home where I had lunch and settled down to await Tigger for this evening’s trip to the shops.

Tigger woke up feeling unwell this morning – no, it’s not Covid-19, happily – and preferred not to go shopping, as we usually do on Sunday.

By mid-morning, Tigger did feel well enough to enjoy a cup off coffee, so off I went to buy some.

It’s another sunny day, likely to reach 32°C later, which would probably have dissuaded us from major expeditions, anyway.

Pentonville Road

I crossed a moderately busy Pentonville Road on my way to a coffee shop.

Saint Espresso

I was heading for this coffee place in Pentonville Road run by Saint Espresso. There was a couple sitting outside and a food delivery messenger hovering by the door but no other customers. I was served quickly by friendly staff.

Sainsbury’s Chop Chop

As we were not going to the shops but did need a few things, we fired up the Sainsbury’s Chop Chop app. We ordered our permitted 20 items and received a delivery “window” of 1 to 2 pm.

Opening the app

Because I pay with Apple Pay on my phone, our address is entered automatically.

Track your order

The app has a section called “Track order” where you can follow the progress of your order (pull down and release the screen to update). It’s only when it reaches “Out for delivery” that you have to stand by to receive your goods.

There is a charge of £4.99 for this service but in circumstances such these (or if, for example, you have to self-isolate) it is worth the cost.

At this point, Tigger told me she was feeling a lot better though she thought it better to stay at home today. That’s fine by me just as long as she becomes well again.

Delivered!

The goods arrived at 1:30, well within the predicted window. There were a couple of hiccups: one item unavailable and one substitution. This can happen, and even if we had gone to the shop ourselves, the missing item would still have been unavailable there.

In the meantime, we have had our lunch and will entertain ourselves indoors for the rest of today. We can leave tomorrow to look after itself.

Depending on how well you can bear the heat, today is either pleasantly warm or horrendously hot. As neither of us respond very well to hot weather, we decided to take things easy.

Sunshine in Myddelton Square

We made our way to the deli but took a turn around a sunlit Myddelton Square.

Outside the deli

We found a table outside the deli and drank our coffee there.

Amwell Street, the lower end

When we had finished, we walked back to Myddelton Square but first I took a photo of the lower end of Amwell Street, the part that I photograph less often.

Sunlight and shade in the gardens

It was pleasantly cool in Myddelton Square Gardens. We looked for a bench in the shade.

A view from the bench

We found a shady bench in the centre of the park. Perhaps because of the heat, the resident pigeons seemed very lethargic and took no notice of us. I put out some seed but there were no takers.

A scramble for food
Photo by Tigger

At last, a single pigeon noticed the seed and flew down to claim it. That was the signal for a general rush of all the others. I looked for “my friend”, the one-footed pigeon. I offered seed and this provoked a scramble.

Feeding on the ground

I tried to attract “my friend” but he seemed reluctant to fly onto my knee, so at first I offered food in the ground.

Feeding from my hand

Eventually, he remembered – or recovered his nerve – and flew onto my knee. I’m sure he remembered me.

An interloper

Previously, the other pigeons had been less keen to land in my knee but today many more were ready to try. They have gained confidence from the one-footed pigeon’s example.

“My friend” tucking in

Having only one foot to grip with, my friend finds it difficult to perch and tends to slide of off my knee. He has now learned to move onto the top of my knee where it’s easier to stand.

Party crasher

It was noticeable that today more pigeons were prepared to crash the party.

Pigeons on both knees

Repelling an interloper

A last look at “my friend”

We were now ready to leave. There’s no way to tell the pigeons this, of course. They remain continually hopeful.

A final scramble

I emptied the remaining seed from the jar into the ground, provoking a final scramble.

Nuts for the squirrels

Tigger had brought nuts for the squirrels but the squirrels had not appeared. So she thought to leave some nuts wedged in the bark of trees. The squirrels will find them there.

Walking through the gardens

We walked through the gardens that were bright with sunshine.

Flower bed

A corner of the church

An old favourite, the Curvaceous Tree

We passed through Myddelton Square on our way home and so I photographed my old favourite, the Curvaceous Tree, silhouetted against the sunlit houses.

As my last two posts were text-only, I thought you might like a few photos even though they are of scenes I’ve already shown you.

As has become a habit on Fridays, we met at the bus stop in St John Street, when Tigger returned from work, in order to go to the Banana Tree for supper.

No 1 High Steet

On my way there I photographed this famous and handsome building from a slightly unfamiliar angle. Notice the green plant that has taken root on the dome, showing how tenacious life can be even in unpromising environments.

Two in hand

This cyclist was riding one bicycle while towing another. It doesn’t look a very safe way to go on.

The Banana Tree

The Banana Tree restaurant was in the shade and as it is painted in dark colours does not show up very well. We have been here so often now and always have the same food so that they know what we want without us having to ask!

Inside the Banana Tree

As it was still quite early, there were very few customers in the restaurant, which was fine by me.

The Angel crossroads

I took this last photo as we passed through the Angel crossroads on the way home. Five roads meet here, all of them major thoroughfares, and so the junction is always busy.