Tuesday 8 October 2019

Coffee Time


I ventured into one of the many local coffee shops that are rising and falling all the time.  A friend from the museum and I met to discuss the place now that it must be missing me.  Apparently my not being there has not yet been noticed by those that matter.  This I cannot believe as there will be no individual so willing to moan about they way things are if I am not there.  The rest fail to grumble when they ought and just get on with things.
Anyway we went to a coffee shop that has recently opened, nice decor, very nice chocolate fudge cake that cost £1:75 but convinced me I ought to be eating much more of that day after day!  I nearly cut my tongue by licking the knife they give you with it.  However, nice though the place was, decent the service from the people, possibly Albanian, and certainly busy after lunch I wondered if a place as small as this could survive.  The previous owners also have a coffee shop in the public Gardens and possibly could not keep two places afloat, I hope the man in charge today can keep this one going as we will be back next month.  Once again there is a needless choice of coffees with names that make no sense to me so I plump for American each time as it never appears to disappoint and did not do so today.  In fact I benefited as the Americana cup is larger than the others.  
There are now at least seven coffee type places, plus two greasy spoons, in the town centre that I know off.  Soon a large empty shop will be turned into a 'Bistro' whatever that will be, much to the annoyance of those who demand major shops move into town.  The fact that this town is too small, major shops are dying, and those who grumble did not use the shops that have closed down because Tesco etc were cheaper does not yet appear to have registered with some folks.  You wish a market and lots of shops, vote in a council that cares, one that does not charge too high a rate and then use them I say.  The coffee shops survive because people use them.
However we put the world to right and I left some £8:50 less wealthy!  I knew there was a reason I rarely ventured into these places.


Tact and integrity is not something you associate with Boris now is it?  So when you hear No 10 'sources' leaking information regarding phone calls between Boris and Angela you comprehend how untrustworthy the Junta can be.  Private calls require confidence is kept, clearly not in this case.  
We await the next page in the drama.  I hope no-one is writing a book about Brexit as it will be longer than David Cameron's buck passing thousand pages, reduced to 800, which few have bought bar those who may be mentioned within.


As it is raining I expect the Sourdough bread chomping 'activists' will have departed for their trusty steeds and headed home by now.  This does not include those who blockaded Smithfield Market while also queuing up at 'Burger King' for lunch, not many vegans at Smithfield?  Protesting for show is all very well but if it rains you go home and watch pictures of yourself on Channel 4 News.

7 comments:

the fly in the web said...

We had a nasty shock when last in San Jose...the Mercado Borbon where we do our veg shopping has a group of cheap and cheerful caffs...or had. The place is due to be tarted up to attract tourists and the clean up has started with a tiled seating area appearing where the plantain store used to be....up have gone the rates and the little caffs are all closed down. They were good as well as cheap,.as they had to be when providing food for the arket workers, none of whom are on a fortune, and just can't afford to put up their prices...let alone pay a higher rent.
Probably end up with a yoga studio and a juice stand in their place...tchah!

Adullamite said...

Fly, That's very disappointing. You may have to chase the cheap cafes.

the fly in the web said...

Looks like it! Now worried that my hairdresser will disappear....I get a top rate cut from her for about six quid, and if she gets priced out I shall be stuck as thelocal hairdressers can't cut European hair. Well,they can if you want to look as if a puddng basin has been uoturned on your head...

Adullamite said...

Fly, The must be somewhere, gathering together around the corner. Hairdressers and all.

Dave said...

Pubs close coffee shops open. Brians the Cardiff Brewery owns the chain Coffee 1....signs of the times?

Jenny Woolf said...

I never know how cafes make money, it's a total mystery to me. If people don't protest about climate damage, which I have been looking into quite hard recently, and which needs ACTION NOW, for sure, then the likes of Boris and his rich billionaire backers will go on their way unnoticed. I am all for the protestors, they're making us think about the damage we're doing, even if their eye catching ways aren't to everyone's taste.

Adullamite said...

Dave, Brian follows he money. Interesting mind, coffee dearer than pints!

Jenny, Profit in cheap cafes comes from the tea. a penny a pot to make thirty cups a tine charged! Coffee places must use much more ingredients and profit far less. I am very Daily Mail re this lot of protestors, not really for the environment its all show.