I was off to Plymouth for the day today with my oldest and best friend. (She'll hate the oldest bit!). And I thought it would be nice to have tea and cake on the train, but would there be a buffet car? The solution was to visit The Park Cafe for two takeaway teas and a pack of two rock buns.
The Park Cafe has been a fixture in Newton for as long as I can remember. I walked past it when I was a child, I went in as a young adult brandishing zillions of Readers Union luncheon vouchers and getting in the cigarette orders for my colleagues. Now the counter has all but gone and the interior is given over to a chairs and tables. Where were they before? Must have been out at the back.
We entered at the same time as a 'regular' who my friend had met before around the town. Generously he allowed us to be served first. I must confess I found him difficult, but the staff treated him with care and understanding and courtesy - signs in my book of an establishment that is fulfilling a valuable social as well as an economic role. Hurrah for the Park Cafe!
The journey to Plymouth was made all the more fun by attempting to open polystrene cups in a crowded carriage and spreading crumbs far and wide (my mouth does occasionally miss a few). And I had better record our other food sins of the day at the Strand Tearooms on the Barbican and in the coffee lounge of BHS. I myself rounded off the day with chips from Jacksons. Happy? I certainly was.
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