By the time we had come home, put away the shopping and enjoyed a little rest, the hands of the clock were edging towards lunchtime. They were also approaching the hour when Myddelton’s deli closes. (They close early on Sundays.)

Tigger therefore proposed that we go out now and lunch later. As a sweetener, she added that we could have “a little something” at the deli. Agreed by a majority of two!

An ominous sky

The weather forecast indicated the possibility of rain later. As the photo shows, a bank of dark cloud was swiftly gobbling up the blue and white sky of earlier in an ominous fashion.

The Curvaceous Tree

We nonetheless took the traditional turn around Myddelton Square, on the lookout, as always, for the two cats who live there. While we were doing so, I took a photo of what I think of as my arboreal friend, the Curvaceous Tree.

Cat sighted!
Phot by Tigger

Tigger’s sharper eyes detected a cat in the depths of the room and she managed to take a photo of it. Cat score = 1.

“A little something”

At Myddelton’s deli, we bought our usual coffees and the proposed “little something”, to wit, a croissant for me and a Portuguese custard tart for Tigger. Note the fine and elegant tableware!

The sun came out

Suddenly, seemingly against the odds, the sun came out. This brightened both the environment and our spirits, so that we now hurried along to Myddelton Square Gardens to chance our luck with the squirrels. As usual, I occupied the pigeons in the hope of leaving the terrain clear for Tigger and the squirrels.

I was soon engulfed in pigeons. They have tipped the wink to one another and all of them now seem ready to perch on my hands and knees in hope of titbits. As usual, though, I concentrated on the lame ones.

Feeding one of the lame pigeons
Photo by Tigger

After a while, the promise of the weather forecast was borne out and it began to rain. So we shut up shop, euphemistically speaking, and made for home.

It occurred to me that I have begun to embody the role of the protagonist in my short story Pigeons. Ought I to be alarmed by this, I wonder? Whether I ought or not, for now, the idea just amuses me!

It’s another cloudy day but warm without being uncomfortably hot (around 19°C). As we usually do on Sunday, we performed our weekly shopping trip to Sainsbury’s.

Living on a mattress
Photo by Tigger

As we reached Chapel Market, we saw that the dumped mattress, that I mentioned yesterday, was still in place and that the man we saw lying on it was sitting on one end of it with the remains of food and other odds and ends in front of him. It seems, then, that he is a homeless person who has taken up temporary lodgings on the mattress. How long will he be here before he decides to move on or is forcibly moved on by the police?

The Farmers’ Market

The Farmers’ Market was present though the green tent on the left actually belongs to a cafe which serves customers outside when the weather permits.

The main market, busy too

The main market was busy too and the Millennium Cafe (on the right) also had customers at its outdoor tables.

Sainsbury’s

We were later than usual today but Sainsbury’s wasn’t too crowded. We each had a list of things to buy and had soon finished.

Queueing for the checkout

We joined the queue for one of the checkouts and though there were several customers ahead of us, as there is one queue for each pair of checkouts, we didn’t have long to wait.

At the checkout

There are still screens between the checkout assistants and customers but other screens are gradually disappearing. Whether this is a wise procedure in view of the steadily rising numbers of infections remains to be seen.

On my way through the market

I hurried ahead through the market to buy coffee but did stop to take the odd photo.

Through window at Mercer’s

I had to wait at Mercer’s as the couple ahead of me ordered food as well as coffee and all food is freshly prepared to order. While waiting, I photographed the scene from the window.

You may notice that something is missing. The short road beside Mercer’s is usually occupied on Sundays by a plant stall selling plants. They have attended assiduously throughout the pandemic but have been absent in recent weeks. I can’t help wondering why and whether they will eventually reappear.

Mattress man
Photo by Tigger

As we passed the mattress again on the way home, we saw that its inhabitant was still there and I expect we shall continue to see him for a while yet when we pass this way.