At one point while I was staying with my parents, Dad recounted to the rest of the family how, two years when I was living with Lyn in Charlton, the guys at the Charlton Park Cafe , the Old Cottage Coffee Shop, had very kindly cooked Christmas lunch and delivered it to us. That was a wonderful gesture of course, and Dad’s mentioning of it naturally got me reflecting on the fact that it had been so long – years, in fact – since I’d been to that sweet little cafe. There was the fact I moved to Eltham, plus the pandemic meant I fell out of the habit. But I think the biggest issue which prevented me from drinking my coffees there was the fact that they started serving in paper cups rather than solid china ones, which meant I could knock my drink over too easily. It was a shame, because it was a great little cafe owned and frequented by some wonderful people. At one point I used to spend entire afternoons there.

I was thinking about it this morning. Dad mentioning it reminded me how kind those people were, so short of anywhere else to go, I thought I’d head over there just to say ‘Hi’ and get back into contact. Charlton isn’t that far from my flat, and I go through Charlton Park fairly regularly, yet I never stop at the cafe. This morning, though, I made a point of doing so.

Going into the cafe, I was pleased to see it was just as I remembered it, with dozens of paintings on the walls, flyers about local activities on the notice board and a rich smell of coffee. I spoke to Mimi, one of the owners: she seemed happy to see me back. However, I explained my problem with the paper cups, and she said they still used them, unfortunately. They are too light and tip over too easily, which can be fairly hazardous when they have a load of hot coffee inside. I’m not sure I can see a solution, apart from taking my own mug.

Nonetheless I now intend to start going their quite regularly again, especially when Spring comes. The last few years have taught me how important friendships are, and maintaining contact with people: it is far too easy to loose touch with guys you were once fairly close to, and before you know it, before you even realise what you had, they’re gone for good. I remember that cafe being a happy, jovial, social place where everyone met up; it would be good to experience some of that again.