White Lion Street

The day was wet and cloudy but we had things to do so off we went to Sainsbury’s as usual. This photo shows the dull conditions. Raincoats were a must.

Farmers’ Market

Despite the rain, the Farmers’ Market was operating but with noticeably fewer customers than usual.

No customers outside

The cafe had its tables outside but, unsurprisingly, there were no takers.

Stall outside the fruit shop

Some of the shops in Chapel Market also maintain market stalls. This one, belonging to the fruit and veg shop, added a welcome dash of colour to the scene.

Inside Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s wasn’t very busy, either. People were perhaps putting off shopping till later, hoping the rain would stop in the meantime.

At the checkout

The scene was more active at the checkouts because these, of course, form a kind of bottle neck. Even so, it didn’t take us long to complete this familiar formality.

The market, not busy at all

Usually, I have to zig-zag through the market to avoid people rushing this way and that, but today I strolled through without difficulty.

Coffee!

I bought our usual coffees and we hurried home to enjoy them.

Later, we had lunch and prepared for our next outing.

Aboard the 214

After lunch, we went out and started our journey by catching a 214. The rain had stopped and there was even sunshine from time to time. According to the forecast, there would be no more rain. Do you trust weather forecasts?

Cloudburst
Photo by Tigger

We changed to a 205 and then, as we were passing along Bishopsgate, the skies opened and there was a cloudburst. Were we destined to be soaked?

The sun shone

We had to change buses again at St Botolphe Street and were expecting the worst. But guess what? By then rain had stopped and the sun came out!

Reflecting the sky

This photo shows the wet pavements, so wet that they are reflecting the sky like mirrors, a blue sky with white clouds lit by sunshine! Crazy British weather.

Arriving at Asda

We were travelling to the large Asda store at Crossharbour in the Docklands. The journey seemed very long but we eventually arrived and could stretch our cramped legs at last. Asda closes at 5 pm and it was already 4:30 so we had no time to lose.

In Asda

This store is quite large and you could waste time trying to find what you seek but, fortunately, Tigger knew exactly what she wanted and where to find it, so we had soon finished. Now, though, we had to confront the checkout.

At the checkout

The people ahead of us had a lot of purchases but they were processed fairly quickly so the wait was not long.

A view from the bus stop

We went to the bus stop where I just had time to take this photo of buildings in Docklands before our bus arrived.

Canary Wharf shopping centre

We left the bus at Canary Wharf Station where there is a large shopping centre. We had come here, not for shopping, but for coffee.

Starbuck’s

The nearest coffee place was Starbuck’s. I am not keen on Starbuck’s but perhaps it was time to give them another chance.

Coffee at Starbuck’s

Don’t say I didn’t give them a chance. The coffee was as bad as I remembered. I drink mine black and this was like a cup of hot water that had seen a coffee bean from a distance. I took a couple of sips and left the rest.

Sculpture

Leaving Starbuck’s, we made our way to the nearest bus stop. Again we were lucky with our timing as I just had time to photograph this sculpture before the bus arrived.

Aboard the 205 for home

The first bus took us to Aldgate where we changed (again with scarcely a wait) to a 205 that carried us the rest of the way to the Angel and home, thus concluding our adventures for today.