Walking down Pentonville Road
Photo by Tigger

We set out bright and early this morning, walking down to St Pancras Station where we were meeting a friend.

St Pancras in view

It was a clear day with cloudy sunshine but rather cold. Perhaps the sun will warm us up later.

King’s Cross Station

We passed in front of King’s Cross Station, styled rather differently from the Gothic splendour of St Pancras.

Walking through St Pancras Station

We entered St Pancras Station which was quite busy, partly because there was a Eurostar arrival.

Inside EL & N

We went to a coffee place called EL & N and grabbed the last available booth where our friend joined us.

The lower level

St Pancras Station has platforms on three levels. We descended to the lower level.

The train for Croydon

There we boarded a train for Croydon.

Blackfriars Station
Photo by Tigger

The train paused at Blackfriars. The station is situated on the railway bridge over the Thames, giving interesting views along the river.

“Fifty-P building”
Photo by Tigger

We arrived at Croydon where Tigger photographed this landmark, popularly known as the “Fifty-P building” because of its facetted design (i.e. like a pile of 50p coins).

Caffè Nero

We stopped off for coffee at a branch Caffè Nero.

Hospital of the Holy Trinity

We passed by these famous old almshouses, officially called the Hospital of the Holy Trinity and founded 1596.

A glimpse inside

A gateway gives a tantalising view of the central courtyard.

Street msrket

We saw the street market but did not venture in just yet.

Baptist chapel, 1866
Photo by Tigger

This Baptist chapel, though it seems “old” to us, is “young”, by nearly 300 years, compared to the almshouses.

Matthew’s Yard

For lunch, we came here, to a place called Matthews Yard, though it is under cover. The food is Vegan but I prefer to reserve judgement on it.

Aboard a tram

Afterwards, we went for a ride on the tram. I think I have already said that we like trams!

The tram

This is the tram we rode on (and went back on!).

The street market

We explored the street market that we saw earlier. It was very busy, showing that it is popular with the local community.

Fruit stall

This is one of the colourful stalls.

Old department store

I always look out for this Victorian era department store, built in 1894 for Grants and now a Grade II listed building,.

One for the road

We popped in another branch of Caffè Nero for a last coffee before starting for home.

Aboard the train for London

On our return to the station we soon had a train to London, though only to London Bridge.

Arriving at Blackfriars

At London Bridge, we changed to a train for St Pancras. Here we are arriving at Blackfriars, the previously mentioned station on the Thames bridge.

Aboard the 214

At St Pancras, we left the train to travel on to Bedford without us. We left the station and caught a 214 bus which carried us home to the Angel. I, for one, was glad to arrive home and be able to rest from an active day. I am looking forward later to supper and a restful evening at home.

Now that Tigger is back working full-time Monday to Friday, and especially when the weather is cold and perhaps wet as well, it’s very easy for me just to stay at home all day. I have decided to make more of an effort to go out once a day and to walk for at least half an hour.

The South Library

Having exhausted the stock of French books in Finsbury Library, I have had it in mind to visit other libraries in the borough to see what they have available. In Essex Road is the South Library and today I paid it a visit. You have to choose your day carefully because this library is closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

It rained heavily this morning and so I waited until 11 am when, according to the forecast, the weather should improve. It did too, well, to the extent that it stopped raining, though it remained very cold.

Where three streets meet

I set out along the High Street which was very busy. I took this photo where three streets meet: straight ahead is Liverpool Road; on the left, the High Street; and, to the right, Upper Street. The High Street doesn’t end here, however: it disappears at the junction with Upper Street and reappears later.

The Tram Shed – taken over by Amazon

Continuing on, I reached the Tram Shed (known as such though I believe it became an electricity sub station for the tram network before been diverted to retail use). It has now been occupied by Amazon as a one of its Fresh outlets.

The “other High Street”

The High Street reappears, running beside the Tram Shed. Unlike its other section, here it is a quiet residential street.

The High Street gives way to Camden Passage and this, together with the Tram Shed, was once famous for its antiques shops and, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the large and lively antiques market. The local antiques trade suffered a blow when the small shops were expelled from the tram shed. Then the pandemic struck a further blow when lockdown rules caused the market to be suspended.

Remnants of the antiques market

Today being Friday, I went along to see whether the market was back in operation. Sadly, these were the only stalls I could find. Perhaps when the warmer weather returns, things will improve.

Big puddle

Camden Passage runs out into Essex Road near Islington Green. I photographed this puddle which provides eloquent witness to this morning’s heavy rain.

Broken-down bus

Essex Road was seemingly choked with slow-moving traffic. One reason for this turned out to be a broken-down bus. I could hear the sound of a mechanical tool being used, though I couldn’t see where. Also, I spotted what looked like the bus driver walking up and down nearby so perhaps they were hoping to repair the vehicle and put it back in service.

Three-level pavement

As I continued, I walked along this stretch of unusual three-level pavement.

Library entrance hall

I reached the library and went inside. This is one of the many public libraries funded whole or in part by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was completed in December 1916.

Emotion in Art
by New North Academy

In the library entrance hall was this impressive gallery of faces, part of an art project at New North Academy entitled Emotion in Art.

Into the library

I entered the library which is not very large. I had brought a bag with me in case I found any books that interested me but, in the event, it was not needed. I performed a complete tour of the book shelves but there were no books in French, none at all. I have some on my phone to be going on with.

Astey’s Row Rock Garden

Beside the library is a narrow thoroughfare called Astey’s Row (named after John Astey who put up builings here in the 18th century), and running along it is Astey’s Row Rock Garden. As the sun had now started to shine, I decided to go for a little walk in the garden.

Fallen tree left in place

Despite being rather narrow, this park or garden is quite pleasant. It is well endowed with rocks, as its name suggests, though I am uncertain whether they are real or artificial. I was glad to see this fallen tree left in place to provide home and sustenance for those creatures that specialise in using dead wood.

Aboard the 73

As I had done my intended half-hour of walking, I felt it was legitimate to take a bus for the return journey. A number 73 reached the stop at the same time as I did and I went aboard. When the warmer weather returns, I will perhaps go for longer walks and hope to recover some of my “form” lost during the pandemic.

Baron Street

Today is sunny again though not quite as warm as yesterday (around 6°C).

Farmers’ Market

The Farmers’ Market seemed up to its usual strength today after a couple of weeks of low attendance.

Not open yet

We usually aim to reach Sainsbury’s after they have opened at 11 am but today we were early and found ourselves waiting in a queue for the doors to open.

In Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s was averagely busy for early on Sunday and it didn’t take us long to collect our shopping and join a mercifully short checkout queue.

Mobile snack bar

I passed through the main market on my way to Mercer’s and photographed the mobile snack bar. It seems to have a regular turnover of customers without ever being crowded.

Electronics stall

These days, the market includes electronics stalls offering repairs to phones and computers along with more traditional stalls selling food or household wares.

Carrying the coffee home

As usual, we called in at Mercer’s to collect our coffees to take home, one of life’s simple pleasures!

Aboard the 341

We didn’t wait to have lunch at home but, having put away our shopping, we walked to St John Street and boarded a number 341 bus.

Finsbury Park

We left the bus at Finsbury Park. We were going to meet a friend for lunch and as we were early, we went for a stroll in the park.

“Sculpted lace” of branches
Photo by Tigger

There are many ancient trees in the park, all interesting and beautiful, even in their winter bareness. I was fascinated by the “sculpted lace” of their interlaced branches.

Park View Cafe

We were going to have lunch actually in the park: the venue was the Park View Cafe that is inside the park.

Inside Park View Cafe

The cafe has seating outside and inside. We made no bones about preferring to be inside, given how cold it was in the open air.

Out friend joined us and we ordered lunch. The cafe was busy and the service was consequently very slow. Fortunately, there was a lot to talk about and keep us occupied while waiting.

Walking in the park

After lunch, we went for a walk, strolling through the park and then accompanying our friend to a stop where she could catch her bus for home. By now the clouds were thicker and the sun had disappeared.

The New River

I photographed the New River that runs through the park.

Aboard the 341

Having seen our friend onto her bus, we caught a 341 bus back to the Angel. We look forward to an evening at home to conclude our weekend.

When we started out this morning, the sun was shining in a blue sky and it was relatively warm (13°C). It was a pleasant change from the recent cold.

Amwell Street, the George & Monkey

We made our way to Amwell Street and a certain delicatessen.

Yes! Coffee outside!

At Myddelton’s, the tables on the sunny side were free and so, for the first time this year, we sat outside to drink our coffee. A notable moment!

Aboard the 214

Afterwards, we caught a single-deck 214 and later changed to a number 46. There followed quite a long journey because the 46 runs on a complicated route with many twists and turns.

Passing through West Hampstead
Photo by Tigger

I do remember that we passed through Hampstead and, later, St John’s Wood.

Paddington Station from the street

We left the bus near Paddington Station and I took this photo over a wall.

Steps to the canal

We looked for a way into the station and eventually found a staircase leading down to the canal that runs beside the station. There is a colourful barge in the centre of the photo.

Costa Coffee

Just inside the station precinct is this locale of Costa Coffee.

Coffee and muffins

We ordered coffee and muffins. This was served in cardboard cups and paper bags, as us common in these days of Covid.

Walking through the station

Afterwards, we walked through the station precinct, making for Praed Street (pronounced praid) where we could catch a bus for home.

At the bus stop in Praed Street

Having reached the bus stop, we had a while to wait for a 205.

Aboard the 205

We wanted the 205 bus because it would carry us all the way home. We could have taken an earlier bus part of the way and, as things turned out, it would have been better to do so.

Changing buses

As we reached the stop in the above photo, there was a sudden panic on the bus and shouts to stop the bus. Someone had fallen ill and an ambulance had to be called. The bus was taken out of service. We had a long wait before the next 205 would arrive.

A famous figure at Baker Street

Instead of waiting, we caught a number 18 bus which would carry us to Euston Station. The first stop was at Baker Street Station and you might be able, in the above photo, to spot the statue of a famous, though fictitious, “consulting detective” associated with Baker Street.

Aboard the 73

We changed to a number 73 bus. It was fairly full and we found seats at the front upstairs. We could enjoy a good view of the road as we bowled along.

Approaching King’s Cross Station

Here we are approaching King’s Cross Station. From here we were soon home where we enjoyed a late lunch and settled in for a cosy evening à deux.

It has seemed a long tedious week with more frustrations than solutions. To give you just one example: my new computer has fits when the mouse cursor darts about like a mad thing and I have to reboot to cure it. On Thursday morning it played up again so I quickly shoved it in a bag and took it to Curry’s where I bought it. Guess what happened next: yep, at Curry’s it behaved perfectly and refused to show the fault. All they could suggest was that next time it misbehaves I should video it so they have something to go on.

To celebrate the end of a week that has been equally tedious for both of us, we decided to have supper out. We chose Wagamama in Angel Central as our venue.

Co-operative Bank, High Street
Photo by Tigger

Accordingly, I met Tigger off a 205 bus at the clock tower and we walked through a busy High Street on our way to Angel Central.

Upper Level, Angel Central
Photo by Tigger

We made our way to the upper level of Angel Central and found Wagamama very busy. This restaurant is very popular and, in fact, there was a queue at the door. We joined it, uncertain how long we would have to wait to be admitted.

Quite crowded

We were admitted eventually and shown to a table in the crowded restaurant.

No duck donburi

We both chose the same Vegan dish, called “No duck donburi”. What looks like an egg in the middle isn’t an actual egg but a looky-likey made of vegetable matter. And yes, I am not too proud to ask for a fork rather than let the food go cold while I struggle with chopsticks.

When it came to paying the bill, I noticed that this contained only the cost of the items we had consumed: there was no service charge – almost unheard of in today’s world. Instead, we left them a tip on the table.

That was a pleasant end to a tedious week and I am hoping that the weekend will have more such pleasures in store.