New autumn mug

During my last staycation, my wife and I went to our local Costa for lunch. Service was average, food was average too, but I found a little bit of a treasure: this Autumn 2022 Limited Edition Cup. At £10.00, I think it was a bargain, so I bought it. We already have loads of mugs, but I thought this one would just be perfect, with its foxes (the autumnal animal in my mind) and the colours. When I long for my favourite season (which is pretty much every day from January onwards) I will drink from it.

Reading in Costa

During my commute to work, I take the bus early, because they don't go that very often. I have plenty of time in the morning to read, in the bus journey and when I arrive at destination. SO I generally read in the bus station a few minutes, then walk to work. Until I decided recently instead to stop on my way in the local Costa Coffee, by the supermarket which is right on my way. It is warmer, comfier, and, being much quieter this time in the morning, it is easier to concentrate on what I read. Better still: I don't have to buy anything, or at least none of the staff ever bothered me so far. I think even though there's not many customers, they have difficulties keeping on top. Like in every Costa. Be that as it may, I am glad I found this nice little spot and I'm surprised I did not think about it before.

Bonfire Spiced Latte

Here is a quick anecdote about English culture. We went a couple of weeks ago to our local Costa, which is quite a nice little place, in spite of being just a Costa Coffee shop. My wife likes to take seasonal drinks, so she ordered a Bonfire Spiced Latte. Apparently it is an old Costa classic. It struck me then that this was what the English found typically "seasonal": for them, the most quintessential autumnal event is Bonfire Night. It is quite ironic, as from what I could see on their website, it is no longer on the Costa now. They have already put up their Christmas menu. So come Bonfire Night, my wife might not be able to watch the fireworks sipping a Bonfire Spiced Latte. Personally, I don't want, I don't drink coffee in any variety. But it's still quite funny.

Costa's Strawberry Lemonade

Is it time yet for lemonade? Well, I do think it is a tad early, it is not quite hot or summery enough yet. Be that as it may, when we went to Costa today, they were already offering cold and cooling drinks. I fell for their new lemonades on offer. I'm not certain why. Maybe I was just feeling thirsty and nothing quenches thirst quite like a lemonade. Anyway, I went for a Strawberry Lemonade instead of a Classic one (the capital letters are from them) just to vary a bit. It turns out that it was indeed very refreshing and tasted quite nice. Although there was too much ice in it. I don't like to drink coffee, but do enjoy being in Costa, and it is one of my wife's favourite coffee shops, so I will have something special to drink there in the next few months.

Tea and Milk again (argh!)

I blogged recently about the cup of tea I received in an antenatal class that had been spoiled with milk. Well, it seems that history repeats itself and in a very short time period and in pretty much the same circumstances. My wife and I went this morning to another antenatal class, this time at the hospital. After the class, we went to one of the hospital's cafés for a quick nibble and a drink. I am not sure if it was a Costa Coffee but they were serving their hot drinks in a Costa cup. I ordered a cup of tea... and this is what I received. For the record, I never, ever asked for milk in it. It was absolutely vile. You can see everything wrong in a cuppa. And to make matters worse it was PG Tips. Honestly, how can anyone drink that? We had too little time for me to ask for a new cup without milk and I needed a caffeine intake, so I drank from this chalice. Some of its content anyway, I could not swallow all that mud so there was half of it left when we got home, by the time warm and thus all the more disgusting. I threw the rest in the sink.

An old-fashioned globe

I took this picture very quickly at the Costa Coffee of Southampton Airport. We had a train to catch, so I could not waste any time. So it is not as good a pic as it could have been and I had little time to find the right angle. I often love Costa franchises, not for their coffee, because I don't like coffee, but because of the settings themselves. I think they often have character, far more for some reason than most coffee chains. Well, this one is an airport's coffeehouse, so I could not expect it to have much character, but there was this lovely terrestrial globe.

It is pretty easy to understand why I love this globe so much: it is old-fashioned, old-looking. And especially, in the spaces where oceans are, there are sea monsters that have been drawn. Sea monsters. Like in the ancient maps from ancient times. So it is a globe that is aesthetically pleasing, one that is very artsy. I would buy a globe like this one for here if there was any room for it.

Signs of seasonal changes

I noticed it first today, at the front of the Costa here: they are advertising for Christmas already and their seasonal coffees are being sold. What I noticed as well was that I was not irritated by it, the way I was irritated when I first saw the very first Christmas advert on TV... in September. That gets me grumpy for two months. When November comes, it is fine to start thinking about Christmas. And after all, it was smelling of snow today. growing up, I used to start thinking about Christmas at the first snow, but in this country I need to adjust my mindset.

That said, there are other signs of changing seasons: the night falling so early and so quick, like a thick black curtain, the trees that are now almost bare, the air is chilly and there is a general attitude, some kind of buzz one can feel around, that people are on another mindset. I personally feel the need to hibernate.

Petites traditions dominicales

Comme c'est notre habitude le dimanche, ma femme et moi sommes allés dans notre café préféré. Nous avions pensé essayer un nouveau café indépendant qui a ouvert ses portes récemment, mais comme nous étions sortis tard, il était déjà sur le point de fermer. Ce sera pour une prochaine fois. Selon ce que j'ai pu voir de l'endroit, il me fait penser un peu à l'autre café indépendant qui est sur le coin de rue: décor minimaliste (mais plus coloré), endroit plus éclairé, sélection de breuvages moins connus.

La visite au café est l'une de ces rituels qui se sont installés dans notre vie de couple subrepticement, histoire de rendre dimanche moins monotone. C'est une manière charmante de ne rien faire et d'oublier un peu le lundi qui vient. Nous avons une autre petite tradition, typiquement anglaise celle-là, que nous avons décidé de suivre: le Sunday roast. Avec les patates et les carottes, on mange habituellement un roast végétalien qui ne me fait pas regretter une minute la viande. Il ne manquerait qu'un peu de vin ou une bière pour rendre le repas parfait, mais tant que j'aurai ma job à Windsor qui me force à me lever à des heures impossibles (ce qui ne durera pas), je préfère ne pas boire d'alcool un dimanche. Même avec modération, ça me rend le sommeil difficile.

Tea in the attic

It is Sunday, one of those Sundays that are also the last day of a holiday. The day usually makes me a bit melancholic, so I feel even more moody when I know the holidays are about to finish. Even when I don't have a job, I feel like this. At least I have a job to return to, I guess, that's the good side of things. But I still feel melancholic like a schoolboy about Christmastime coming to an end. Yes, yes, I am repeating myself.

Today, my wife and I went to Costa. It is one of our little rituals on a Sunday. We hadn't done it since before our trip to Brittany, so it was nice to be back there. I don't drink coffee, and even though tea is ridiculously expensive for what it is, it is still cheaper than something I would not enjoy.

I enjoy this ritual for the place more than for the drinks anyway. This Costa is in an old building with an upper floor which is an attic. And as my old-time readers know I love attics. I love this one even more since it is an old one, with wooden beams, uneven floor and old windows (with slightly crooked frames) with a view on the main street. When the weather outside is bad, one can feel it while staying comfortable inside. It has the balance of light and shadow that makes it feel warm and welcoming. The atmosphere of this place is worth the price of the drinks. It used to be a indie bookstore, before we moved in. Part of me thinks it is a shame it is not a bookstore anymore, even though I don't know if they had good books in stock. Reading there would be quite an experience too, I might do it one day. The only thing is that it is often quite busy, so it might not be the ideal place for a bookworm. But otherwise it is perfect.

Escargot

J'ai parlé trop vite, la connection est un véritable escargot maintenant, c'est long, c'est long... Ironique pour une petite ville pleine de compagnies de nouvelles technologies, il n'y a pas de lieu public pour surfer sur le net digne de ce nom ici.

En direct de Costa

J'ai appris hier que ma connection ne sera pas disponible avant le 21 avril à minuit (ce qui m'a mis en colère et je l'ai fait savoir à mon fournisseur qui ne fournit plus vraiment). Alors je blogue de Costa (une chaîne de cafés), alors que ma femme boit un mocha (je bois moi-même un Coke zero, mais je suis ici pour internet, pour être honnête). Ce n'est pas idéal, mais ça fait l'affaire et au moins la connection est bonne. J'aurais préféré un pub (hé!).