Star(less) Cafe in Orpington

Within rellies flying in this afternoon and rain falling, we decide to stay fairly close to home, so head to suburban Orpington, on the Greater London - Kent border to the south. Three open-at-seven-o'clock options welcome us on the High Street, and we choose the Orpington Star Cafe. 

Well, that's where the star-glamour stops.  Really, nothing special. The couple running the cafe are not interested in a conversation, not even an exchange of friendly greeting, keeping to their tasks of serving and cooking.  Few people come in, and no construction-types. We wonder if this is a consequence of being in suburbia as opposed to small town Kent or an urban community in London. Or, is it McDonald's?  That is the fourth early-morning option on the High Street - and it is hopping!  Prices are cheap and...it's McDonald's.    

The food at Star Cafe is fine -- not McDonald's. Set Breakfast No. 1 at £3.60, including tea and toast, is the way to go.  Looks good on the plate, and tastes...well, it tastes like a set English Breakfast. Three points: very hot tea, brown bread, and an eclectic collection of prints on the wall including two London scenes.

Orpington High Street presents a delightfully long stretch of commercial enterprises including a Singer sewing shop and at least 10 charity shops.  So, rain or no rain, we enjoy the morning before returning to meet the rellies.

So we may be back to Orpington, but next time we'll try one of the other two early cafes.

Next week we'll be in Hythe, along the Channel -- hoping for a friendly cafe with a view of the seaside!
Have a good week.

A Rainbow over Ladywell Village Cafe

This morning’s threat of rain keeps us close to home.  A bright half moon and street lights glow as we walk over the hill.  London’s morning skyline shimmers. 

We pass our local NHS (National Health Service) Clinic -- there are enough free public clinics throughout London that there's almost always one near enough to walk to!  What a concept...health care on your doorstep!  And if you're getting older (60 or over) and that walk seems to long, hop on a city bus for free with your Pensioners Pass. Seems like a no-brainer to us.

Washington, are you watching?

We hike down into Ladywell Village where the “Village Café” welcomes us with smiles and mugs of piping hot tea.  

Two years ago our hosts took over the café’s management, installed attractive white and black tiles, and started serving “tea concentrate” – tea brewed extra-strong in a large pot, then served with diluted water, the way we enjoyed it in Zimbabwe.  No tea ba, to figure out where to put.  Just dark hot tea.  With hot milk, this is a treat today.  

Another pleasure is the absence of food photos – just the menu board and the shiny tiles, all the way to the loo! 

There’s a TV high in one corner, but thankfully the volume remains soft until “Dancing with the Stars” comes on.   Then it fades again.

The poached eggs on brown toast make a pretty picture. Happy Husband gratefully digs in.

The main street of Ladywell Village has been recently redone.  We were expecting trees and benches and something to show for the price tag.  The main feature is flagstones instead of pavement, but nothing green and no benches that might invite passers-by to loiter….except the two picnic tables under the awning in front of our own Village Café! 

 The proprietors explain that they have had to postpone external improvements.  Because this is a Conservancy Area, regulations require they use only wood on the front exterior, and for now the cost is prohibitive.Today workmen paint road surface traffic signs, and the windows get a wash

I realize I’m in a serious men zone; no other female (other than the proprietor) enters the Café during our two hour meal. Lots of take outs.  A favourite dish seems to be Bubble, a large green patty made from yesterday’s over-cooked (my opinion) Brussels sprouts mixed with…I’ll need to look that up.

The bonus of the morning...a rainbow stretching across Ladywell!

On our way, we encounter people 

who remind us that we really are in London.  And a row of derelict sheds – might they be protected by royal edict? – add a Dickensonian flare. 

We pass the towers and spires of the old Lewisham court and police station, recently refurbished into numerous flats. 

Lewisham High Street entertains us with its daily market which has continued for close to 100 years except for a few occasions during WWII when the High Street was mostly flattened by bombings.  Only the clock tower remains.  Smells of fish, bread and fruit surround us.

We load up with fresh Brussels sprouts, mangos and garlic, a pound sterling for a bowl of each.  

So, next time you're in Lewisham, at Ladywell Village, drop in to the Village Cafe and enjoy a hot cup of brewed tea.  They're open at 6:30 am!

Faversham fried eggs!

Up early, Happy Husband prepares a travel mug of steamy coffee and off we roll in the dark, out of London, toward the Kent countryside.  The ancient market town of Faversham beckons, with its medieval buildings, "flying" church spire and numerous charity shops.
After an hour drive, we park near the train station and head toward the market square. With no set destination for breakfast, we ask at an open news agent's where we can find some food.  "I tell the cafes they should open earlier!" the proprietor laments.  We mosey on.
The clock on the Guildhall tower glows 7:00 am.  All is still in the morning darkness.  The town's oldness stretches back to pre-Roman times with claims of a 12,000 seat Roman theatre -- which we've never found on any of our 4 visits.

With a free hour at hand, walk to Standard Quay on Faversham Creek, once a major river port.  Today the low tide sands stretch from shore to shore.  Boats tilt at their moorings.
 The flat barge, New Brittanic, (pictured on left) ferried 3000 soldiers from Dunkirk to a British war ship -- the crew merely the owner, Walter Read, and his 15-year-old son, Joe.  The Cambria, a wooden sailing barge, the last to carry commercial goods in Britain under full sail, rests nearby.
 A narrow houseboat shows signs of current usage, bicycles chained to its approach.  Fabulous brickwork adorns the harbour structures.

We  stroll down Abbey Street, back toward the town centre. The skies lighten as we near the twelfth century Abbey wall, now integrated into a private home,

 And across the street -- Arden House, holding stories of murder and intrigue.

 The corona or "flying" spire of  the Parish Church of St Mary of Charity towers at the end of a narrow street. The Abbey was dissolved, but the Parish Church remained.

Back through town, now active with people and vehicles -- we find the Moonlight Cafe.  Turns out it opens at 7:00 am, so we must have passed just before they turned on the lights.  The building is plain, so it would have been easy to overlook as we admired the numerous half-timbers all around.

It's a family business -- warm and welcoming.  The parents hail from Turkey.  The elder son takes our order, writing it out carefully.  That's him in the photo.  At about 8:30 Mum bundles both boys into winter coats and heads off to school.

The food is worth waiting for.  Perfectly runny eggs on brown toast.  And large cups of hot tea with hot milk.  At 8:45 the place fills, every table!  Turns out a "Friendship Group" for pensioners meets here daily.  In the warmer weather outside in the cafe's garden, today in an atrium area now toasty with a space heater.  The "Friends" are happy to chat and pose.


After completing a couple crossword puzzles, we head out into a sunny street.  The rain comes and goes throughout the day.

And that's our day in Faversham, Swale, Kent.

Just love those medieval buildings ...