We didn’t set out until 11 am by which time the temperature had risen to around 0°C. We dressed warmly for our expedition and I put an extra jacket on under my overcoat. As a result, I felt the cold only on my face and hands. (I wear gloves of course, but have to bare my fingers to take photos.)

The Angel crossroads

The sun was shining though the air was hazy. The sunshine made us feel more cheerful and it was definitely warmer in the sun than in the shade.

St John Street

We set off down St John Street though without any particular destination in mind.

Hazy sunshine in St John Street

You can see in the photo how hazy it was. We kept to the sunny side of the street as much as possible, crossing to the other side as necessary to remain in the sun.

Casting a long shadow
Photo by Tigger

You can guess who this is! Tigger took the photo while my attention was focused elsewhere.

Smithfield Market

In due course, we reached Smithfield Market. By now, we were ready for a “warm break” and refreshments.

A Paul cafe

Nearby was a branch of Paul and so we went in.

Inside Paul

We found a table and ordered coffee, Tigger a “Salty caramel latte” and I my usual black americano.

La Forchetta Italian cafe

We decided it was now time for lunch. Conveniently enough, it seemed, there was a branch of La Forchetta nearby. We were sure we would find lunch here and went in.

Inside La Forchetta
Photo by Tigger

Unfortunately, it turned out that the kitchen had had to close and all the items we suggested having were not available. We had already ordered drinks so couldn’t simply leave. So we ordered a portion of toast each to go with our drinks.

Farringdon Station

We set out again to continue our walk and look for lunch. We passed in front of Farringdon Station, carefully dodging the chuggers who were operating there.

Farringdon Road

We walked up Farringdon Road. Tigger had suggested a place to have lunch and I agreed with her idea. It was a little bit if a walk to reach it but walking, after all, was what we were out to do!

Handsome building
Photo by Tigger

On the way, we admired this building with crests, a Latin motto (ut prosim means “that I may serve”) and a clock (unfortunately, not working).

Cafe Maya

Our destination was Cafe Maya in Mount Pleasant. There was a time when we went there often but we haven’t visited it recently. It has changed ownership but is still as good as ever. Though the cafe was fairly busy we found a table.

Rosebury Avenue

After lunch, we started back, walking up Rosebury Avenue.

Wilmington Square

We crossed through Wilmington Square with beautiful trees dressed in their autumn finery.

Margery Street Estate

We entered Margery Street where the sun was shining cheerfully on the façades of the Margery Street Estate.

Pigeon snack bar

I think this tree full of red berries is a rowan. A movement in the branches attracted our attention: it was a wood pigeon snacking on the berries.

The “Garden Path”

We walked through this path between community gardens. If it has a name, I don’t know what this is and so I call it the Garden Path.

Inglebert Street

Nearing home now, we crossed the end of Inglebert Street, giving us a view of the Church of St Mark, partly illuminated by the sun.

Frost on the grass

I took my last photo in Claremont Square, poking my phone between the bars of the reservoir’s iron railings to capture the frost on the grass. Even though the temperature had risen a few degrees above freezing, this area was shaded from the sun and still frozen.

That will be our outing for today (yes, Tigger closed her ring!) and we will spend the rest of the day relaxing at home with plenty of hot tea and an occasional use of the heating.

This week, Britain has been experiencing a cold snap. The temperature has fallen to well below freezing and this at a time when the price of fuel has risen to unprecedented levels amid fears that we might actually run out of fuel supplies.

London has not been hit as badly by the weather as some regions. The mercury drops several degrees below zero in the night and during the day struggles to rise a few degrees above freezing.

We use our heating as sparingly as possible, running it only in short bursts, typically when we get up in the morning and during meal times. Even so, I shudder to think what the fuel bill will come to.

Tigger has been to work during the week, of course, but she has managed every day to “close the ring” (see Dull Sunday for an explanation) every day and I admire her for this.

I have gone out daily for my walk though yesterday I went only as far as St Pancras, entering the station to warm up before riding the bus home.

A while back, I recounted that I had bought a new glass teapot from a company called Hario – see A new teapot. I then explained how I broke the lid and made a replacement (see Expensive lid). All went well until – crash! – I dropped the teapot which shattered into smithereens. There was only one thing to do: buy a new one!

New teapot

I ordered the teapot, not from Hario itself but from Amazon. This saved me a couple of pounds on the price of the teapot and delivery was free despite the article apparently being sent to me from the USA! It pays to shop around.

Last night (Friday), because it was so cold, rather than eat out, as we often do on Fridays, we ordered a takeaway. We chose one of our favourites, Holy Cow in Chapel Market. The food is brought by Deliveroo, usually by bicycle but yesterday on foot. Despite this, the food was still hot when it arrived.

I am writing this on Saturday morning. According to the Met Office, the temperature stands at -1°C but will rise to 2°C in a couple of hours. I don’t yet know what we will do today but I’m sure we will think of something! Whatever it is, I will recount it here.