27/08/23 11:11

I miss proper coffee shops.  Or should I say cafés?  There’s a definite difference.  And there’s an exceptional difference between a café and a cafe.  I’m sat in a Costa Coffee shop in Romford.  One I used to frequent often whilst studying.  It’s not a bad one, to be fair.  It’s a nice respite from the everyday life but it simply isn’t a café.  Truth be told, I feel more comfortable in boulangeries than cafés.  But this may change with my upcoming trip to Paris in November.

It’s during this trip that I hope to carry out a handful of planned and proposed interviews.  I suspect that not everyone will oblige and whilst I haven’t had any actual rejections, there’s still time for these to take place.  As long as I’m not stood up because that’s just plain rude.  I have asked a podcaster, an artist, an historian, an author, a business and an entrepreneur to meet up with me for half-hour chats.  I have also requested for a solo traveller and a jazz musician but that’s more for whilst I’m in London.  Although I can attempt virtual or distance interviews.  And why am I going all-out for these chats?  Why the change of direction from my usual writing?  I’ve decided, as previously mentioned I’m sure, that I want to move into podcasting.  There are a few reasons behind this.  The whole legacy thing is one reason.  Having something to show the boys, that can be filtered down to their children over the years – as well as them having an active involvement, too.  Also, there are a million brilliant minds out there and even a brief moment of interaction with them would be an honour.  The privilege of letting others learn about them would be amazing.  Imagine if I could persuade others to start voicing their knowledge because I was able to remove any stigmas or misinformation about podcasting.  Wouldn’t that be a lovely achievement?  To do all of what I do on a very small and limited budget, with a minimum understanding of the process.  To gain access to some famous-within-their-field names by simply being nice, courteous and polite.  We’re all in this together.  And the fact it’s nice to be nice is one of the fundamental traits of life that I instill in my boys.  Even if nothing comes of these interview requests or the podcast, I don’t care.  I’m realistic.  If you don’t try, you’ll never know.  And if you do try and not get the results you want, try again.  Or stop.  But you’ll know that you tried.  There’s no shame in any direction you take; just take that step.

The difference between a café and a café?  A café is short for cafeteria.  It is from the Spanish word cafeteria.  In the English that I speak, it’s pronounced caff, rhyming with naff.  They tend to serve full-English breakfasts, mugs of tea and some sort of stodgy pudding.  Now, the weird thing is a cafeteria and a canteen.  A cafeteria is a place where you generally go up to a counter, with a tray, pick up your food and drink then retire to your table.  This is very similar to a canteen, which is also known as a dinner hall.  It’s where, if you can picture it, children of school age get their food from the counter and retire to their table.  However, sat beside them are those that have already brought their food with them and sit and dine.  Invariably, the dinner hall is used for lunchtime.  So, in short, the café is where you place your breakfast or lunch order with a waitress at your table – like an American diner.  A cafeteria is where you get your food yourself. A canteen is where you get your food yourself or eat your own food.  This is usually in a dinner hall at lunchtime. Clear?

A café is French for coffee and means that there is a choice of 240 different varieties of bean, style of coffee, made-up names, light cakes and pastries, seats on the terrace, a bustling relaxed atmosphere, an urgency to order, no rush to pay and an author/blogger/podcast host sitting inside with a notebook, fountain pen and iPhone.  Look closely and you may even see a hat on the seat beside them.