We started the day with a stroll into Chapel Market. The weather was cloudy-sunny and cool.

A quiet morning in Chapel Market

The market was fairly quiet, perhaps because of the relatively early hour. We went into Marks & Spencer without finding what we wanted and then gave our attention to the main purpose of our visit.

The pet shop

Our destination was the pet shop where we bought a bag of nuts for the birds and squirrels.

Light reflected from the windows

We walked along St John Street where we were struck by the appearance of light from the sky reflected onto the paving by the windows of the Angel Building. At first sight, it looked as though snow had fallen just in that area because the reflected light was so bright.

Sunshine in Chadwell Street

As we walked up Chadwell Street, the sun came out and it felt like a pleasant summer day. It was not to last, of course, because of the cloudy conditions causing the sun to play hide and seek.

Road works and traffic lights

On reaching Amwell Street, our first call, of course, was at Myddelton’s deli where we bought coffee. We sat outside and watched activity in the street. There are currently works in progress: Thames Water is digging up the road, leading to single-lane traffic and the installation of temporary traffic lights.

Colourful cushions

After our coffee break, we moved on to Myddelton Square Gardens. On the way, I photographed the colourful cushions in the window of Timorous Beasties. Yes, I’ve photographed them before but they always attract my attention.

We set up shop in Myddelton Square Gsrdens and, as usual, my task was to keep the pigeons busy while Tigger tried to tempt the squirrels down from their trees.

A squirrel appears

To my surprise, while I was occupying the pigeons, a squirrel came along. The trick was to keep the pigeons on one side while tossing nuts to the squirrel on the other. Complicated but possible.

Climbing up the bench

The squirrel became bold enough to climb up the bench in search of food though any movement of mine caused him to flee away.

Squirrel eating

I managed to keep the pigeons at bay while taking this rather nice photo of the squirrel eating nuts.

Pigeons sunbathing

When the sun came out, some of the pigeons retired to a grassy area to take their ease, sunbathe and socialise. We also sat quietly for a while, sharing the peaceful atmosphere and then we gathered up our belongings and returned home for lunch.

The day is cloudy-sunny and pleasantly warm, so we must make the most of it. But first, an important task.

Laundry!

We had to take a load of laundry to the dry cleaner’s in Amwell Street.

The Never-Give-Up tree

Along the way, I photographed the Never-Give-Up tree which is flourishing.

Having dropped off the laundry we of course crossed the road to Myddelton’s deli where we enjoyed coffee and discussed what to do next.

Waiting for the bus

We settled on a visit to Waterlow Park and returned home to collect the makings of a picnic.

Aboard the 214

Waterlow Park is in Highgate and the way to Highgate is by the single-deck 214 bus.

Highgate Village

The bus delivered us to Highgate Village which seems quite a pleasant neighbourhood though the road is rather busy with traffic. The High Street is lined with shops and cafes.

Costa Coffee

We stopped off at Costa Coffee for refreshments.

Waterlow Park

We walked down the High Street to the entrance of the park. It is a very varied and pretty park.

Old drinking fountain

We passed this old drinking fountain. It no longer works, of course. The old ons rarely do.

One of the three ponds

The park has three ponds and we visited this one which is fenced in and surrounded by boardwalks. I was not impressed by the state of the ponds which seemed dead.

Hills and valleys

The park has varied terrain with hills and valleys and a mixture of open grass, trees and flower beds. We found a shaded bench where we sat and ate our picnic.

One wood pigeon…

There were a lot of wood pigeons in the park. Unlike Myddelton Square Gardens, where the wood pigeons are stand-offish, here they were quite happy to accept food from people. First, there was one wood pigeon, then…

Several wood pigeons…

…there were several. One was rather a bully and tried to chase the others away but they avoided him as best they could and gained their share.

And feral pigeons too!

With a flurry, a group of feral pigeons arrived to compete for food. While the wood pigeons gobbled up the larger items, the ferals could only manage the smaller bits.

Trees and grass in Waterlow Park

There were stretches of grass with people sitting on it and a variety of fine old trees.

Highgate Cemetery

Waterlow Park shares a boundary with Highgate Cemetery. Opened in 1839, this is a very large burial ground and contains some famous graves such as that of Karl Marx.

Drinking fountain

We came upon a second drinking fountain. It has an inscription but the letters are worn and mostly illegible. Needless to say, it no longer works.

Flower bed

There were beds of flowers here and there.

Main gate, Highgate Cemetery

We left Waterlow Park by an exit opposite the main gate of Highgate Cemetery in Swains Lane.

Swains Lane

We set off down Swains Lane. It was a long walk though being downhill helped.

Holly Village

We passed the picturesque Holly Village, built in 1865 as a small, pseudo-village housing estate for well-to-do folk. More information will be found here.

Roni’s

We reached the end of Swains Lane at last and stopped at Roni’s for coffee. We chose a table outside and sat for a while, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

Eventually, we made our way to the nearby bus stop and caught a 214 for home.

Aboard the 214 for the Angel

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.