Sunday 27 April 2014

London Coffee Shop Musings (and why they should have a plug socket)

I'm writing this from London. The capital gives the common cafe lover more choices then they could shake a reasonably sized stick at. My hope was that I would be able to stumble across a number of cute independent cafe's that would allow me to get some writing done.

Instead, I lost a good few hours in the British National gallery and became an new fan girl of the great painter Raphael. It's also current worth making a trip as they have Van Gough's Sunflowers images (both versions). They do not let you take photos, so I of course brought the £1.99 postcard from the vendor outside the room. Daylight robbery. In Edinburgh's gallery you are allowed to take photos (with the flash off). So I'm inclined to say London is being a bit tight.

Back to the original point. Cafe's. The first cafe I stumbled upon was called 'Nightingale' and was just opposite the bus stops near Victoria Underground. It was not until I had sat down that I truly realised what I had stumbled across. The unit looks like a converted pharmacist from back in the day (I can claim no expertise in the history of pharmacies). But it looks beautiful and had a lovely crystal chandelier above the sitting customers. The food and coffee was also really good - the first time in ages I've had some decent sour bread. It was a small and rather intimate cafe. A great spot to meet a friend for a coffee. They could be completely forgiven for not having plug sockets, for example, as the tables were being filled quickly. Surprisingly, they did have free Wifi. So useful if you wanted to check bus or train times on your phone.

Nightingale Cafe, London


I quickly headed from this cafe to Trafalgar square. Even when I looked around after the National Gallery, I could still not pinpoint any other independent cafes - they all seemed to be chain or franchised brands. Disappointed, I wondered past 10 Downing Street and found my way to an underground station.

Now feeling pretty hungry, I got off at King's Cross and gave up at the first Starbucks I came across. This place was a very standard Starbucks (except for the leaking sink in the toilet).  It was also full of people using laptops, sketching and a couple of kids in the corner singing along to a Youtube Video. There was also free wifi on the premises. So it gave me the chance to work out where the hostel was I had booked for the night. There were a few scattered plug sockets, but I don't understand why they didn't have more. 

When I was studying, I found a cafe in my local Tescos which had one plug socket next to a particular table. This was the one I usually took. I'd sometimes be there most of the day and spend a fortune on coffees and food throughout. There was always something about working in the shifting environment that sparked my brain down new trails of thought.  I think many cafe's are missing out on potential revenue by not supplying more plug sockets. Especially because people so regularly need to charge up smart phones and tablets. This is something I believe is particularly important for small cafes or ones that a slightly off the beaten track. 

I'm currently sat in a Pret a Manger on Kings Road in London. It is dead apart from me and another guy (also using a laptop) - plus some dude who just wondered in.... I'm sat at a table on in the far corner of the room and the nearest plug socket is about 5 metres from me. Not very practical.

Books have been written in cafes, but we have stopped writing on Napkins and notebooks. In this new and modern place we inhabit we need to provide the tools for our creative minds to enrich us. Granted, there are some smaller venues were the ambiance would be ruined, but the larger chains of coffee shops have no excuse.

Thursday 3 April 2014

Book Review: Twisted Wing by Ruth Newman




Twisted Wing was one of my many charity shop buy bargains. It's a murder mystery story set at Cambridge University. However, the twist at the end makes it a little different to the norm.

Ruth Newman is a psychologist and uses this to great effect as a plot tool. I think I can safely say she uses her knowledge of multiple personality disorder to create a very twisted love story. The main character, Olivia, is as scared and frighted as the rest of the students. However, she has no idea about her significance to the plot. Her boyfriend gets arrested after graduation and she's shocked and horrified.

This is a fantastic murder mystery novel which uses novel plot concepts and has some great characters. Well worth a read.