The flower shop across the street from Kember & Jones.
(That's the postman on the right.)

Breakfast in the West End

Not a stone's throw from where Alastair and I lived on Highburgh Road, there's a new cafe/restaurant/deli called Kember & Jones. I'd read about it as a brunch spot in a weekend newspaper and put it on the list of things to check out. The review said to expect queues, which is a promising sign for breakfast... I mean, the fact that a group of Scots would actually get out of bed for breakfast is breaking news.

Alastair and I walked over from our B&B next to the River Kelvin. It was cool, crisp and clear and there was much to note on our walk, but I'll share that later. By the time we reached K&J, I was starving... and guess what?! Not a queue in sight. We grabbed a table near to the window, sitting next to a German couple. The first sign that we might be a little early, don't you think?

The menu had all the expected items from muesli to traditional breakfast, and --- waffles with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Do you need to ask what we had??? They were wonderful, albeit small and more like dessert than breakfast, but enjoyable nonetheless. The coffee was good as was the fresh squeezed orange juice. Geez, one might think I was back home.

About twenty minutes after we arrived, we witnessed the queue of people, it was around 11am and within ten minutes there were more than twenty people waiting for about 10 tables. The paper called that one, alright.

We slipped out, noting the deli foods we'd be back for the next day to picnic with in our travels.

Generosity.

At the grocery store, a dialogue something like this transpired:

- That's £44.26. Do you collect school vouchers?

- Yes

- Do you have a Nectar card?

- Yes. [And, I reach back to the woman behind me and hand the clerk hers. ]

- Those aren't her points.

- No, but I would like to give her my points.

- That's naughty. [Swiping the card]

-No, it's generous. [Smile]

- Well, then... [he tears away too many school vouchers, smiling] These are vouchers that weren't taken today.

-Thank you.

I must remember humans have amazing capacity.

Alas, Spring!

All seems right in the world today with the exception that I haven't been able to post photos on the blog lately. I'm not sure why and am frankly not bothered at the mo'. Today is a day to be OUTSIDE in the lovely 70 degree weather. BBC Weather claims that Cambridge is a mere 55 degrees Fahrenheit with poor visibility, I think they must be in shock and won't accept that we're having a spring day that gives Barcelona a run for its money.

Primeval

Foothills of Ben Nevis, Scotland

Sunny day, warm enough not to be cold, not a soul around. We hiked through a series of mountain biking trails and managed forest before we wandered off the beaten path.