Mosaics

This morning, as usual for Sunday, we…

In Sainsbury’s

…went shopping at Sainsbury’s and…

Through the door at Mercer’s

…bought our takeaway coffees at Mercer’s.

St Mark’s in Myddelton Square

After lunch, we walked through Myddelton Square, where the church was beautifully sunlit, into Amwell Street where (of course!) we called at the deli.

Sitting outside the deli
Photo by Tigger

It is a fine sunny day and quite warm, so it was very pleasant sitting outside and dawdling over our coffee.

Autumn tree

We walked through Myddelton Square garden and admired this beautiful tree decked in fiery autumn colours.

Tigger had a destination in mind but didn’t tell me what it was. I was happy to follow along, ready to be surprised.

Owen’s Field

We walked through the small park called Owen’s Field (the artwork is by Paul Neagu and entitled Edgerunner) and…

Goswell Road

…entered Goswell Road.

City Road

From Goswell Road, we crossed into City Road. This famous thoroughfare carries traffic into London and is an ancient road. Nowadays, it is lined with buildings but in times past it ran through fields and travellers along it risked meeting thieves and highwaymen.

City Road Basin

City Road passes close to this branch of the Regent’s Canal. It is called City Basin and would once have been alive with barges loading and unloading their cargoes. Today it is so quiet that much of it is covered with a virtually continuous layer of duckweed.

The Eagle Tavern, Shepherdess Walk

We came to the street with the picturesque name of Shepherdess Walk. Here resides a pub called the Eagle. On the side of the pub is a board bearing a verse of the old rhyme one of whose verses runs thus:

Up and down the City Road,
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.

Is this the actual tavern to which the rhyme refers, though? Pubs are notorious for changing their names, after all. The rhyme in the above version dates to the mid-19th century and there are records of this pub going back at least to the 18th century, so it is quite likely that this is indeed The Eagle of the rhyme.

Shepherdess Walk

The name Shepherdess Walk may have a bucolic ring to it but the reality is more prosaic. It is a fairly ordinary city street, not particularly pretty.

Neglected planters

Shoreditch Council has made an abortive attempt to improve the street’s attractiveness by installing four planters but they are neglected and the plants drying up.

Old pub?

We stopped to admire this building that seems to be an old pub now repurposed. It looks as if it needs – and deserves – a little TLC. Modern architects produce such ugly great lumps of buildings that we need to keep and care for as many of the beautiful old ones as we can.

The tunnel

For a while, Tigger had been scanning the houses that we passed. Then came the “Aha!” moment when she discovered this tunnel through the building.

Through the tunnel

We made our way down the steps and then along the tunnel, claustrophobia held at bay by the glow of daylight at the end.

Mosaics

The tunnel brought us into Shepherdess Walk Park. In a corner of this are to be found a remarkable collection of mosaics.

Mosaics continued

By Tessa Hunkin, aided by volunteers, the mosaics were created in time for the London-hosted Olympic Games in 2012.

Mosaics continued

There are vertical mosaics and horizontal mosaics which makes them a little difficult to render satisfactorily in photos. They need to be seen at first hand. For more information about the mosaics, see this website.

Holy Trinity Hoxton

We walked back along the Walk but stopped to photograph this church, Holy Trinity Hoxton, though it is largely hidden by its screen of trees.

Murray Grove

We turned up Murray Grove to the bus stop there.

Aboard the hopper

We caught a number 294 bus, known as the Hoxton Hopper, a single-door, single-deck bus that threads a complicated path through the backstreets. Passengers and drivers tend to know one another and greet one another amicably.

The Clock Tower

We left the bus at the Clock Tower, a short walk from home.

Sadly, our weekend is coming to an end and Tigger must return to work tomorrow. We will make the most of this evening.