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.
