BIRKENHEAD. The Market, A Bacon Butty, The Park & A Squirrel

Thursday last was one of those days. I was at home trying to work through stuff but I knew that I wasn’t making any real progress. Days like this come and go so I’ve developed an approach that works for me. If I’m not getting anywhere with the days jobs, I just leave it and go out for a couple of hours, come back and start again. I know not everybody has the luxury of downing tools when they want to this is just me and my situation.

Anyway I had given things my best shot from early on in the day, It wasn’t coming together so I went out. I decided to go over to Birkenhead, the town centre is being redeveloped, a word that always makes me a bit nervous, the market is part of the project so I was interested in what was going on. I’m not against progress by any means but just sometimes I find myself thinking about sledgehammers and walnuts.

Alexandra Cafe in the current market hall.

The current building isn’t one of the prettiest but it’s been there a while, people know it and shop there, people work and make a living there. I suppose modern terminology would be that it is an ecosystem in that part of town.

Posh food is good and has its place but today a bacon butty with cheese fitted the bill perfectly.

The new hall is still in building but parts of the present market are already being closed off, slice by slice, It’s easy to replace a building but harder to relocate the spirit of a place. Anyway I had a walk around and I was getting into a Fat Rat mood. One of the things I like about a market are the cafes, the information centrals that give life and an energy to the place. Events and people are weighed and measured, verdicts are passed, and there’s food too. I went for the cheese and bacon butty at the Alexandra Cafe, good it was too.

After that I took myself over to the Park. Birkenhead Park has long been a favourite of mine, I’ve blogged about it before, and oasis of green that inspired New York’s Central Park. Pat on the back there Birkenhead. For once on this visit I’d remembered to pick up a bag of mixed fruits and nuts so I could pay homage to the furry creatures that rule the roost there. Plus a few pigeons and a couple of Magpies.