We were inclined to take today gently after our long ramble yesterday. As it happened, we didn’t need a huge amount of shopping, just a few things to keep us ticking over.

The Farmers’ Market

We followed our usual path through Chapel Market to the supermarket.

In Sainsbury’s

We had soon worked through our short shopping list.

At the checkout

Because we made good time, we reached the checkouts before these became busy.

Going through Chapel Market

I hurried through Chapel Market to Mercer’s, arriving to find a fairly long queue ahead of me. When Tigger caught up with me, she suggested, because of this, that we give Mercer’s a miss, something I was happy to agree to.

We made for home, put away the shopping and set out again, this time heading for Myddelton’s deli.

Is that a cat I see before me?

As we descended towards Myddelton Square, Tigger spotted a shape on the pavement near the church. It looked rather like a cat.

Definitely a cat

It definitely was a cat. We thought of greeting the cat politely with a view to possible friendship but said feline was preoccupied by other matters and, beyond perfunctorily noting our presence, paid no further attention to us. We soon spied the reason why: there were several squirrels playing chase-me in the trees, enough to attract any cat’s interest!

Cat disappears

The cat now disappeared, no doubt wishing to pursue its studies of squirrel behaviour from a new angle. I have little fear that the cat will catch any of the squirrels: no matter how agile the cat, squirrels are many times faster and have the advantage of being able to run up trees at the least hint of danger.

Someone’s feeding the pigeons

As we passed the garden, rapid movement of the avian colony attracted our attention. Yes, someone was feeding tje pigeons!

Outside Myddelton’s deli

We found a table at the deli and settled there with our coffee.

Croissants too!

We had of course had breakfast before going to Sainsbury’s but when Tigger proposed croissants with our coffee, I wasn’t going to be a spoilsport, was I? 🙂

Prideaux Place

After coffee, Tigger expressed a wish to see the fallen tree too (see Coffee later for a reminder). We walked down Wharton Street and then through Prideaux Place.

Percy Circus

We passed through Percy Circus that we visited often during lockdown “exercise” outings. Tigger remarked that just being there made her feel peaceful, a feeling I share.

Fallen tree behind the flowerbed

We went up the path to Bevin Court and I took a photo across this flowerbed with the fallen tree behind it.

Captivating flowers

I was so captivated by this group of flowers that they seemed worth a photo all to themselves.

The casualty

The tree, or what remains of it, was still where I saw it last. Perhaps they are going to leave it there as a “bug hotel”.

The debris make a border

The branches cut from the trunk have been laid out with some other pieces of wood to form a border round a bed of plants.

Side view of Bevin Court

We continued up the path, past Bevin Court. This building fascinates me for some reason, perhaps because I find myself wondering what it is like to live in such a large block.

Panorama front view

I took this panorama view of the front of the complex. The gardens with their trees certainly improve its appearance.

We, however, now made our leisurely way home with lunch in view!

We went for a walk, a bus ride and another walk. It was a day mixing fun with frustration. Here are a few photos taken along the way.

Myddelton Square Garden

We walked round Myddelton Square (failing to see any cats) and made our way to the deli…

Lloyd Baker Street

…where we grabbed a table and there drank our coffee. I took a photo of Lloyd Baker Street – note the elegantly poised bag of rubbish.

Finally closed

Afterwards, we walked down Amwell Street and saw that the school seems to have finally closed. It will probably be transformed into “luxury apartments”.

Rosebery Avenue

We reached Rosebery Avenue and waited for a number 19 bus.

On the 19

We now embarked on a longish ride to our next destination.

Duke of York’s Square

Duke of York’s Square was crowded. Some event was taking place though I know not what.

The green invaded

Even the green, which I think is the sports field of a school and is usually empty, had been invaded by people.

Camels and pyramids

There were models of woolly camels and pyramids but what part, if any, they played in all this, I do not know.

Duke of York’s HQ
now the Saatchi Gallery

We had come hoping to visit the Saatchi Gallery which we haven’t seen for a long time. However, we found a queue and tickets being shown – obviously a special exhibition requiring tickets, so we gave up on it.

The whole area was uncomfortably crowded and so we jumped on a bus again, hoping to find pleasanter surroundings further along.

The Thames at Battersea Bridge

The bus brought us the the southern end of Battersea Bridge. The view shows the Thames at low tide with Albert Bridge in the background.

Two Swans
Catherine Marr-Johnson

Stopping only to renew acquaintance with Catherine Marr-Johnson’s flying swan sculptures, we walked east along the Thames.

Ransome’s Dock

We passed Ransome’s Dock and…

Albert Bridge

…approached Albert Bridge.

Entering Battersea Park

This brought us into Battersea Park.

Heron and cormorant
Photo by Tigger

From here, we spotted a heron and a cormorant perched on a pontoon floating in the river.

On top of and…

…under Chelsea Bridge

We passed by Chelsea Bridge and…

Old Battersea Power Station

…came to the old Battersea Power Station, famous in its day, and now being repurposed as a “mixed usage” site.

Black Sheep Coffee

By the time we reached this branch of Black Sheep Coffee, we were ready for a rest and refreshment. I reserved the only vacant outside table by sitting at it and Tigger went in to order.

Coffee and croissant

Tigger bought me coffee and a croissant. Note the elegant tableware: Covid has accustomed us to the use of throwaway cups and plates.

An ugly area

Unfortunately, this brought us into an ugly area where huge amounts of rebuilding are taking place. It was also unpleasantly crowded and I had but one preoccupation: to get away from the horrid place.

New tube station: Battersea Power Station

We reached a main road and a bus stop. Nearby was one of two new tube stations, so we had to take a look. This one bears the imaginative name of Battersea Power Station.

A bus – any bus

A bus came and we boarded. I didn’t care what bus it was as long as it took us away from there.

A detachment of cavalry
Photo by Tigger

The things one sees from a bus… Tigger managed to snap a detachment of cavalry trotting by. Whatever next?

Demonstration

Though we had caught a bus, our troubles were not quite over because as we passed the US Embassy, we ran into a demonstration, quite a well attended one with flags and banners. This slowed the traffic to less than a crawl. (What demonstration, you ask? No idea.)

Passing Lambeth Palace

We eventually made it past the demo and by the time we reached Lambeth Palace, the traffic was again running normally.

Near Elephant and Castle

Our bus rudely dumped us at Elephant and Castle, the driver saying he wasn’t going any further. We took another bus but this too stopped dead supposedly to change drivers but with no new driver in view.Tigger proposed walking to Waterloo where we could catch a bus for home.

Giant spider

On the way, we met a 6 foot tall spider, lurking on Waterloo Millennium Green. Fortunately, it wasn’t a real spider but a sculpture. (I’ll try to find details later.)

The bus stop under the bridge

We reached Waterloo Station and the stop under the railway bridge where our bus calls.

Aboard the 341

The 341 arrived and I could sit back and enjoy the ride back to the Angel – and a rather late lunch!

Re-edited with corrections, September 26th 2021.

Tigger is of course at work today though we do keep in touch through the wonders of modern communications technology, specifically, the iMessage app on our iPhones.

Fortunately, I had an errand to run. I say fortunately because that caused me to bestir myself and go out when otherwise I might have stayed indoors. The weather, too, was warm and sunny and it would have been a pity to miss it.

Sunshine in Cruikshank Street

My errand took me to our GP surgery where I had a question to ask. In view of the pleasant weather, I decided not to go straight there but to make a detour. I walked down Cruikshank Street where I took the above photo.

Cruikshank Street is, I suppose, a pretty average sort of street for this neighbourhood but when I walk along it, it feels pleasant and I like it for that reason.

I also had another motive for coming this way. In a post entitled We slipped in, I recounted the sad fate of what I called the Leaning Tree that I had photographed several times before. On that occasion, we had found that it had fallen down, whether because of the wind or because of malicious action, I do not know. I wanted to know what had happened to it since.

Bevin Court

I passed in front of Bevin Court, that “cliff of apartments”, which was looking fairly cheerful in the sunshine.

The path beside Bevin Court

I took the pretty path that runs down beside Bevin Court and leads to the public garden where the Leaning Tree has its abode. On reaching the place, this is what I found:

Recumbent tree trunk

The once living tree now presents this sad picture of itself. Unsurprisingly, it has been partially cut up, in the first place to release the fencing which will need to be repaired. What happens next? Will they leave it in place for wildlife to use or will they cart it away?

Myddelton Square Garden

Having visited the GP surgery, I returned via Amwell Street. I had it in mind to buy coffee at Myddelton’s deli and sit at a table outside to drink it. Unfortunately, when I arrived, all the tables were occupied and none of the people seemed ready to leave, so I gave up on the idea. Instead, I went to Myddelton Square and sat for a while in the garden on a bench in the sun, watching the people and the pigeons. Then I returned home.

As we ate out yesterday, we will be eating at home this evening but I am going to meet Tigger at Liverpool Street Station in the hope of finding a coffee shop still open. Perhaps, I will get my coffee after all! Let’s wait and see!

——————————

Just before 6 pm I went to the bus stop in St John Street.

Aboard the 153

I boarded the 153 and ended up on a seat above the rear wheels which gives a rather bumpy ride. This bus takes me exactly where I want to go – to Liverpool Street Station – and has the advantage of rarely being crowded. It surprises me that more people don’t use it.

Liverpool Street Station

I left the bus at the station and waited for Tigger who soon joined me.

Soho Coffee

Tigger led the way, burrowing through the crowds, to Soho Coffee.

Inside Soho Coffee

Strangely, it was virtually empty of sitting customers perhaps because most people were buying takeaways before continuing their journeys.

Coffee at last

And I had my coffee at last! 🙂

Back through the crowds

Afterwards, we burrowed our way back towards the upper level and the bus stop.

“Our” bus arrives

We arrived just in time to miss a bus. I photographed the next one arriving which would be “our” bus after the driver had enjoyed his statutory rest period. Can’t begrudge him that.

A draughty canyon

Waiting for our 153 in this bus station involves standing in a canyon between tall buildings. That’s not too bad in this weather but in winter it becomes a draughty canyon and cold.

On the bus for home

The bus came eventually, of course, and soon we were being carried through busy streets. The sun had set and the scene, if not quite of nighttime, was close to it.

Now we have supper to look forward to and then the weekend. How will we spend that? 🙂

Tigger has been working all this week and I have stayed at home, not feeling motivated to go anywhere or do anything much. This evening, Tigger left work at 6 pm and we agreed to meet at Liverpool Street Station, in order to to have supper out.

On the 153

Accordingly, just before 6 pm I went to the stop in St John Street and caught a 153.

The Friend Street stop

We didn’t travel very far – just to the next stop, in fact – before the bus came to halt. A recorded announcement told us that “The driver has been told to wait at the stop for a few minutes.” This is one of the more annoying little habits of Transport for London that, at seemingly random intervals, makes buses stop and wait a while before continuing. Sometimes the announcement continues “…to even out the service”. But, given that at other times you will see two or even three buses with the same route number all running along happily nose-to-tail, I don’t believe their excuse.

Liverpool Street Station

The bus eventually started up again and this time ran without incident to its terminus at my stop, Liverpool Street Station. At this time of day, the station is crowded as commuters, employed in the City, make their way home. From above, the main concourse looks like an overturned ants’ nest.

Having travelled here by another bus route, Tigger at last joined me and we set out to find supper. Eateries like Leon, Pure and Pret A Manger were all closed by now and restaurants would be expensive. The solution was to go to a pub.

I was surprised how busy the pubs all were: packed inside and with crowds of customers outside on the pavement. I’m used to seeing City pubs like this on Fridays but not in Thursdays. Fortunately, Tigger had an idea where to go.

The King’s Arms

She led me to the King’s Arms in Wormwood Street, though in fact we entered by a side entrance accessed through an alley. This brought us to the stairs leading down to the basement which, though busy, was not as busy and noisy as the main room on the ground floor. I was served fairly quickly though there was a long wait before the food arrived.

In the basement

This is where we came and the low angle of the photo derives from the fact that I was sitting in a low but comfortable armchair!

Halloumi and chips

Pubs often don’t have much choice for vegetarians but this one had halloumi and chips on the menu. Good enough!

Walking along Wormwood Street

Afterwards, we walked back along Wormwood Street. It struck me that, to quote a phrase, “the evenings are drawing in”: darkness already falls noticeably earlier. Autumn is upon us and winter is not far behind…

Liverpool Street Station

We turned up Old Broad Street which leads to Liverpool Street Station. Beside it is the bus station, where we pick up the 153 whose terminus this is.

A 153 was lurking

When we reached the stop, we could see that there was a 153 lurking. We didn’t know how long we would have to wait as bus drivers have a statutory rest period (15 minutes, I think) here before starting again. As it happened, we didn’t have long to wait.

Aboard the 153

We boarded the bus and rode off through the City night. This time, there were no long pauses at bus stops to “even out the service” or other dubious excuses. Other than a few holdups for the inevitable road works, we were carried home in a timely fashion.

Back at the Angel

The bus brought us back to our angelic neighbourhood once more. The crossroads was busy as was only to be expected at this time of day with car-driving commuters making for home.

Tomorrow is another day of work for Tigger and then comes the weekend. I am conscious that time is precious (we each have a limited supply of it) and I try not to wish it away but to make the most of the minutes and hours. I shall, though, be quite glad to enjoy the two days we spend together before the cycle starts again.

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