Old Walls Vineyard, Bishopsteignton, Devon

This is the tearoom that's got me blogging again! Sadly my computer is having a moment and I can't show you the gorgeous sunny photos of the delicious coffee cake and the thirst-quenching cup of tea. But to be honest, with the spectacular view over Devon coombes, green fields, thatch, swallow swooping overhead and the tiniest sea peep in the background they could serve sawdust. On a glorious day like today no one would care, the views and the general rural tranquility would be enough. And on the sunny hillside behind the cafe, the Devon vintage is beginning to ripen. Tiny pea-sized grapes will fill out and soon be ready for the locals to tread them barefoot into wine (I bet they don't do it like that these days). Oh I wish I could show you the pictures! Soon, soon! In the meantime, while the sun shines, seek the place out and enjoy.

The Milkmaid, Exeter

There's only one Milkmaid. Place of happy childhood memories, queueing up the stairs for a seat in the restaurant with my mother and father.
It's different now, well a bit. I sat downstairs and enjoyed coffee and shortbread mid-Christmas shopping. The coffee machine looked all hi-tech, but the staff are still friendly and the place was bright and clean.
I popped upstairs to use the 'facilities' and cast a nostalgic eye over the empty restaurant tables neatly laid for tomorrow's customers. The layout was still the same though the decor has changed.
Times change, but good food served in a good atmosphere will never go out of style.

Reet Petite Diner, Queen Street, South Shields

I wish, I really wish I had taken pictures of this one! Then I discovered a link to a Shields Gazette article with rather nice pics attached http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/guitarist-opens-a-rock-n-roll-cafe-1-5504365#comments-area. I hope it opens. It was one of those days. You know, the kind of day when you move your birthday cards and discover a tenner with an exhortation to go and eat cake. And then you wander off to B&M and on the way you spot an icecream parlour and you think to yourself: 'I don't remember that, has that always been there?' And on the way back from B&M you remember the tenner and you think 'well I could have an icecream instead!' Ever had a day like that? I did today. So in I went, disturbing a no doubt well-earned coffee break, and ordered an icecream sundae and sat and was transported back in time. It was the red bench seating that did it. It was so reminiscent of a cafe I used to visit with my father when I was a child back in the 60s. It was so cosy to lean on the table and listen as the juke box played sounds of the era. So nostalgic when the icecream arrived to hear in my mind a soft and gentle geordie voice saying to the eight year old me 'Now take your time, don't rush.' Yes Dad, if you could come back to Shields this would suit you fine. But enough of this reminiscence! The icecream was fab! Well worth lingering over and well worth going back for more. Go soon, because once word gets out about this little gem you'll have to join a queue.

Macmillan Coffee morning

As you will know, in this blog names are changed to protect the guilty. It would be impossible to do that for this piece as too many guilty parties are involved. So, suffice it to say that I found myself in a house in South Shields with present and former work colleagues and people I had never met before and we all drank coffee and ate delicious cake to raise money for Macmillan Cancer research charity. The lady of the house bakes a mean coffee and walnut cake, let me tell you. The chocolate cake, scones and well, everything else looked great too. And afterwards, oh joy! A nosy parker's delight! We were offered a tour of the house. It was gorgeous. Not only does she bake, she decorates and dusts as well. Thank goodness for people who are generous with their time and talents for a good cause. And who are welcoming and hospitable too. May your efforts be rewarded and may a British Bake-off soggy bottom be far from you.

The Plant Cafe, Cathedral Green, Exeter

Looking back nostalgically over last week spent in Devon, Exeter comes top of the sighs league.  I love the city because I was born there and because of happy family memories and special places.  That said, it is always nice to find somewhere new, and when my relative and I were looking for a place to grab a quick coffee we noticed The Plant Cafe tucked into a little corner.

We sat outside and enjoyed views of the wonderful cathedral.  I munched a slice of raspberry and beetroot cake and sipped a chai latte. M chewed on a buzz bar (plenty of healthy things) and drank coffee.  We were both pleased with our choice.

Right:  on to the pen picture.  Small, historic-looking building in a quiet area of the Green.  Tables outside - ideal for this weather.  Inside it's cosy and crowded -  a mix of locals and visitors.  The food is wholesome - possibly organic, possibly vegetarian (how vague!) - and you could certainly try something a little different here.  It's also a bit of a community hub by the looks of the huge noticeboard advertising all manner of events and services locally.  Again, I didn't examine in detail but it would be a good place to start if you wanted to get to know what's on in the city.

Yes, The Plant Cafe has atmosphere.  Exeter was once castigated as a clone town.  Hmmm.  Cafes like this give the lie to that.

Bubble Cha: traditional Taiwanese bubble tea, Stowell Street

I spotted this one a few weeks ago and resolved to visit as soon as possible.  Bubble tea?  Neveer heard of it!  However, thanks to the wonders of the internet I was able to read that it is a relatively new phenomenon in the tea drinking world, and the sheer variety of ingredients made my head spin somewhat.

So, today I approached Bubble Cha in the sunshine and was relieved to see that others (young, Chinese and European) were also beating a path to the door.

Inside the cafe is compact with a stunning array of colour-changing bubble lights over the counter.  We had lampshades like that in the bathroom at home when I was young, but there are no more similarities between the cafe and my childhood home.

I was slightly perplexed by the choices on offer, but the young friendly staff helped me choose black tea with milk and coconut and small tapioca and ice.  Yes, the black stuff you can see at the bottom of the cup really is tapioca.  You get a huge straw to suck them up with.  The cake deserves a mention too - lovely cooked cheesecake - absolutely delicious!

I sat at one of the bench seats and wrestled with my drink.  You see, the cup comes sealed with cellophane which I tried to peel off - wrong!  The correct way is to stab the cellophane with the straw and then drink.  So now you know, don't make my mistake.

We have established that the cake was delicious.  Now to the drink.  Did I really sit in a cafe sucking up tapioca through a straw?   It sounds so improbable but yes, I did that thing.  Did it taste like tea?  Well, not Ringtons, but it was tasty and refreshing - more like a milkshake.  And there are seemingly never ending possible combinations of black tea, green tea, fruit tea, fruits, beans, stuff I've never heard of and an array of toppings.  It seems that savoury snacks are served too.  All of which adds up to very good reasons to go back and try something completely different.  You could probably visit every day for a month and have something different each time.

Oh, and the prices are reasonable too.

Tutti Frutti Ice Cream Parlour, Whitburn

The first time I tried to sample the delights of Tutti Frutti it was closed following a break-in.  Break-in at an icecream parlour?  It wasn't me, but I could almost applaud this as the perfect crime without of course condoning all the inconvenience and loss of trade etc etc, especially at the hottest time of the year.

On my return visit, order had been restored and a sprinkling of locals were enjoying not only icecream but coffees and sandwiches.  What to order?  This recent heat has fried my brain and I really couldn't decide between the variety of cleverly named ices  - all of which seemed to feature a fearsome array of sprinkles, crumbs, mini pieces etc etc.  So I opted for the good old fashioned banana split!  I got the choose my three scoops of icecream and soon a banana smothered in toffee fudge, lemon meringue and white chocolate and, naturally, squirty cream was mine!

I enjoyed every mouthful seated on a 50s style bench seat and listening to The Carpenters blasting the past down the airwaves.

I reflect that Whitburn is turning into a bit of a teashop heaven.  You can of course have your walk along the cliffs,beach or in the countryside first, but there's plenty of free parking if you just want to make straight for the food!