Piggy's ressurrected in Chatham

Looking back toward Rochester

Arriving early in Rochester, we decide to walk toward Chatham and Piggy's Cafe where we ate breakfast several years ago.

We curve around the boat harbour, pass a synagogue, and admire the surviving pre-war buildings along the high street.
We look back and see the spire of Rochester Cathedral and the keep of Rochester Castle behind us.

The Old Piggy's of Chatham

New Piggy's of Chatham Cafe

To our surprise we come upon Piggy's re-located in a smaller venue.  Ted, the proprietor, greets us merrily and takes our order.  Turns out that two years ago he was forced to move from the larger premises by the Town Council -- and what's frustrating to Ted is that the building still stands empty, along with other spaces along the row of store fronts where several businesses used to reside.

Pizzazz in the Old Piggy's

He tells the story that initially no compensation was offered, and then denied when requested.  Finally "after a fight," he received some compensation.  But the other closed businesses, those that did not query the eviction and did not seek compensation, received none.

Giant pig at previous venue

The previous Piggy's of Chatham Cafe displayed numerous ceramic pigs; now there is room for only a few.  A sad turn of events for Ted and Piggy's.

But gratefully he still flips tasty soft fried eggs, and brews a strong cup of English tea.

The Piggy's Cafe we remembered

An interesting Breakfast in Britain.

Rest-A-While in Strood, Kent

Headed for our favourite spot in Rochester, Kent, we decide to stop in Strood on this side of the River Medway.  “Rest-‘A’-While” Café stands on the V-corner where the two one-way streets that cut through the town centre reconnect. We almost miss the entrance -- Happy, now hungry, Husband happens to look up and see the sign 20 feet up the wall!  

We make our way past the dumpster and find ourselves in a warm and absolutely shining cafe. Turns out we entered by the back door.  The front tells a different story!

Almost everything about this café goes against our point system, as flexible as it is. The pictures are of food seem the variety that one would purchase from a DIY-Café-on-line-shop, the rigid table and chairs are attached and fastened tight to the floor and walls, a plastic DIY-café-on-line-shop menu sits on each table. 

  But the ultra-friendly staff make up for all that.  Ozzy, from Izmir, Turkey came to the UK 14 years ago.  He's chatty and insists on taking our picture, as we've asked to take his.

He keeps his café sparkling clean, serves very hot tea, provides newspapers, offers soft radio in the background, and has no noisy machines blasting on the scene.  There’s been an attempt to brighten things up with Christmas décor.  He talks of his homeland, Turkey, and we watch his eyes sparkle.  He recommends Nevsehir, Kapadokya for our next holiday, proudly describing fantastic scenery displayed on his phone screen.  The clientele, many workers donning reflective jackets, keep him hopping.

The food tastes great!  Typical cafe Full English Breakfast for Happy Husband and 2x2 for me -- an artsy touch with the bread arrangement -- a bit owlish!

 The sunlight fills the street while we eat.  We head out to enjoy the local art work -- sculpture of local shipbuilding.

 We head off across the bridge into Rochester for a visit to the Castle (an English Heritage site -- we do recommend membership) and all our favourite charity shops.

 Another delightful Breakfast in Britain.

Christmas buzz - Strood, Kent

Christmas buzz in the air -- delight, but a bit stressful, too -- so we decide to keep things simple today, heading east to Rochester, our favourite default Kent destination.  We park at the Castle Carpark and opt for adventure... walking back across the Medway River into Strood.  Ah, Strood, not on the touring coach itineraries!  Really, just the entry into Rochester with petrol stations, chain stores and...

an early-opening breakfast cafe!  The sign way up the side of a building catches our eye, but we're not sure where to enter.  Yes, The black metal door behind the dumpster is it!  
In we go.

Down the long corridor -- not to worry, we've entered by the back door!  Big smiles and cheery voices welcome us into the "Rest 'A' While Cafe" of Strood.  
Still dark outside, the cafe glows with florescent illumination and just enough tinsel to ring in the season.  The entire place shines with cleanliness.  No TVs and soft radio...yes!

Ozzy brings mugs of strong piping hot tea (indulging us with hot milk).  That makes for one Happy Husband, indeed!  Turns out Ozzy's home is Izmir, Turkey, where Global Ministries (http://globalministries.org) has sent missionaries for decades. We remember that in May we read of the death of missionary Fernie Scovel who served as a science and maths teacher from 1949 to 1991  (49 years!) at the American Collegiate Institute (Ozel Izmir Amerikan Lisesi) in Izmir. 

Back to Happy Husband at the Rest "A" While Cafe.  What does that "A" refer to anyway?  We puzzle over its significance, or lack thereof.  The eggs present a delightful design,  and HH's full breakfast includes fried bread, edible and delicious this time, thank goodness.

Thinking ahead to our next holiday, we inquire of Ozzy where we should visit in Turkey.  Without hesitation, he declares, "Nevsehir, Kapadokya,"  whips out his smart phone and proceeds to show us numerous YouTube videos of stunning 4000 year old rock formations in Kapadokya, including a cartoon version of the geological history -- with a Turkish narrative!  Luckily animated cartoon volcanoes look alike in any language.  If we write about breakfast in Nevsehir, you'll know when and by whom we were inspired to head in that direction!


 By the time we are ready to leave, the sun has risen and the day has arrived for Strood.  Ozzy offers to take our photo, and is happy to have us mention him on our Breakfast in Britain blog.


Strood greets us with local art, a couple charity shops, and a walk into the rising sun silhouetting Rochester Castle and Cathedral, across the Medway River again. It's a beautiful day in Britain!  

 People are out, but all the commuter cars are gone.  The tide has come in to fill the banks of the Medway.

So we look back at Strood on the Medway, stomachs full and spirits lifted.

Rochester - Legends Cafe

After a 45 minute drive southeast, through a cold grey Kent morning, we arrive at the Legends Cafe, one of our favourites, for an early morning brekky in Rochester.  At 7:00 am the cafe exudes warmth, the heat quickly fogging up our spectacles. 


Soon Happy Husband gleefully holds his cup of piping hot tea!  Yes, they happily provide a substantial pitcher of hot milk upon request.  

"Historic Rochester" brochures boldly proclaim "where legends were created," thus the cafe name.  Not sure Dickens or Wellington actually ate here, but Dickens surely walked the street!  And William the Conqueror probably passed nearby assessing the spot for the Rochester Castle, the keep of which holds the grand honour of being the tallest keep in England at 113 feet high. (Don't trust my history lessons to be exact; it's the two eggs on toast I'm after.  But I do love Rochester.)




So, going with the theme, Legends Cafe's decor focuses on Hollywood Legends.  We figure eight framed photos constitute a theme. 

Back to the eggs and toast...Happy Husband's smile attests that we're pleased with our meal.  The toast is thick and perfectly toasted.  They don't poach eggs, but the fried eggs run when pierced, just as they should.  The £2 price is a pleasant 50p less than most cafes we've found.  

The counter staff provides friendly and pleasant assistance.  We overhear a stead flow of women's chat covering topics from tropical fish to family stuff, but not so loud as to be bothersome. 

The real treat at this place is no noise!  No music.  No loud cappuccino machines. No TV.  Just a peaceful warm space in which to enjoy the newspapers provided and the Women's Weekly we brought along. Okay, we did hear a bit of noise...the air hand-dryer in the loo and the milk steamer she used for our hot milk. But that's it.  And the loos --- on site and very clean!

Overall, the cafe presents a clean and pleasant atmosphere, plenty of seats for all, and a menu board with lots of choices.  Enough working men chow down a hot meal or come in to grab takeaway to provide our desired connected-to-the-community feeling. 

There's free parking out back, but we like to park at the Castle Parking area, then walk around the Cathedral (built in 1060), ambling along a tree-lined pathway through a park, then up the street to Legends. 

We complete a circle back to the car, walking down the historic high street that always delights with its Dickens-links, tea shops, book stores, charity shops (op shops for those of you in Oz; thrift stores for the North Americans) and today -- a cat in the window above the butcher's!  Look closely and you'll spot the cat stretching it's full height up the left side of the window above Capon's Butcher shop.

So, there you have it...another tasty Thursday morning breakfast in Britain.  We'll be back to where legends are created! See you next week....