Solo III

Wednesday, June -, 20-

Independent c-shop

Overheard:


Last time I was in the UK I noticed an upsurge in coffeeshops
I remember a place that used to roast coffee and the smell was wonderful, out in the street
When I was a boy
I used to walk by there on the way to school
One of those childhood memories
Then coffee went the way of... everything went to instant
Instant coffee bars, Nescafe and this stuff with crystals
I left the UK in my early twenties

Starbucks over there a lot now
A lot of these chains
Yeah they’re starting to do real coffee again
It’s not just about the coffee, it’s going in, sitting down, reading the newspaper
Everything comes back around again
There’s nothing new
Samuel Johnson
My memories of Turkish coffee
The smaller the cup, the stronger the coffee

One place we were looking for ping pong balls
Try to explain ping pong balls to
We decided to send a couple of kids to look for them, pay the kids to
A girl who was six and a boy who was probably three
Talked to the parents and they shoved the boy forward, he was clueless
We wanted the girl to go
Finally managed to explain to the parents what we wanted
Five Egyptian pounds, their eyes were wide
We walked by the store, how’d they know there were ping pong balls here
Anyway we saw the kids later walking up with baskets of kale and greens
Obviously spent their five pounds
Interesting how they kept pushing the boy forward
Nothing wrong with having the girl do it
Encourage equality wherever possible

I remember went in for a shave
There was a little kid with a cutthroat razor
I was a little perturbed
What’s your name, son, Sweeney?
It was a very close shave, a good shave

Even if you’re aware of the local customs, you’re not always aware of what your travelling companions are doing or not doing, so that can be a problem