It’s been a while since I have been able to visit the Hope Café for a good coffee and catch-up, but my recent surgery has prohibited my return to the hot yoga studio in Middle Street, so I popped in on Tuesday morning. Normally I only get to go early in the morning or after lunch so a different selection of individuals are enjoying coffees, cakes, delicious items from Teresa’s Brazilian counter and conversation. I notice Mo in a corner at about the same time as I see that Josh’s candle on the counter is no longer there.
Holding a double espresso in one hand and my iPad in the other, I make my way over to Mo, who fortunately indicates I should sit whilst she finishes off her conversation on her mobile.
“That’s my mother. I always try and talk to her every day, even if there’s not much to say! Our chats drift about this and that, about today’s issues and past memories but I sense it’s so important to her that I maintain that contact. Loneliness is one of the greatest causes of a decline in mental acuity which is why The Hope’s Table Thursdays, when single people come in here for a chat, are an absolutely vital service to the community. Haven’t seen you for a while; didn’t you have some nasty operation last week? How did that go?”
“I am thinking of writing one of my postcards about it, so simply say ‘as good as can be expected’, but I remain on painkillers!”
“Didn’t someone say it’s like having a pineapple up your backside? I remember in a postcard you mentioned Ridley Scott’s film Napoleon and how riding a horse with piles (note 1) is like having a migraine up your rectum!”
“I am thinking ‘knobbly cucumber’ but yes, same sensation!” as I sit gingerly at the table!
I am just to ask Mo about Josh and what news when Duncan comes into the café and comes over, after indicating to Libby he’s like a Latte.
“Two birds with one stone huh! How are you Richard? I gather you had some operation?”
Mo immediately butts (no pun intended!) in: “He’s going to write a PC about it …. but it was OK!”
“I am fine thanks. What news of Josh? I gather from the WhatsApp group he’s back in the UK and I see the candle on the counter’s no longer there. Nice touch when it was.”
“Yes. He has been discharged from both the hospital in Haifa and from his time in the IDF. He got back to Hove a fortnight ago; his shrapnel wounds are healing well and he hopes to return to work. Meanwhile Kate’s still here and Libby is alternating with Susie.
Listen, you both read a lot. Did you see The Times’ list of the 12 Best Independent UK Bookshops that their readers chose (Note 2)? One of them was in Kemptown in Brighton ……”
“And another in Farnham close to where my daughter lives, The Blue Bear Bookshop.”
“I know the one in Kemptown” says Mo, “go there regularly. Think it’s just called Kemptown Bookshop.”
“But underneath the headline” interjects Duncan “it says ‘& Bookroom Café.’ Got me thinking. We almost doubled the floor space last year by incorporating Teresa’s Delicatessen and that’s proved remarkably successful. The lease is up next door …….”
“And you’re thinking” says Mo “of opening a bookshop? You obviously know how to run a successful café but a bookshop? Isn’t that a little specialised?”
“Well, you need to love books! Didn’t you stand in for the owner of a bookshop in Battersea in London Richard?” asks Duncan.
“Funny, Duncan; I’d almost forgotten about it but yes, in October 2010 I looked after The Bolingbroke Bookshop (Note 3) on Northcote Road owned by Michael, er, Gibbs I think. Michael’s normal weekend relief staff was sick, he had a wedding to go to and was completely stuck, so I volunteered. Couldn’t be that hard I thought! Somehow I muddled through the day, coping with the individuals’ requests for this type of book or that author. I even managed the cash reconciliation at the end of the day. But if you’re thinking I could run one next door, Duncan, count me out!!
“Richard, just an idea! But ideas gather legs ….. I already have a name for it: ‘Hope in Books’.”
“Actually!” says Mo “I think it’s a delightful idea. You can see how the Kemptown Bookshop has become so popular and there will be good synergy between the Café and the Bookshop customers. You know Robert who’s often at the counter tapping away on his laptop? He’s struggling to get find his niche, whether as a free-lance journalist or author so you could have a brain-storming session with him; I am sure Lisa would want to be part of that discussion. Mmmmm! Good luck!”
Duncan excuses himself, as does Mo, who’s off to have lunch with her mother in Shoreham, and this gives me an opportunity to take stock. Those of you who are regular readers will know that my scribbles about the UK Post Office scandal started in June 2021 (PC 235) and, through meeting and befriending Sami here in the Hope Café, that interest has continued. Today the saga is regularly headline news in the UK and hopefully by the end of the year those wrongly convicted will be exonerated; more importantly, those responsible will face criminal proceedings. I know Sami has accepted some compensation and is anxious to move on; I will too.
Susie had popped in to see her aunt Libby and, seeing me, brings her iPad over. She’d promised to show me her Gap Year photos of her time in New Zealand, Tasmania and Melbourne. I know New Zealand particularly (Note 4) well but she’s bubbly and wants to show her favourites and her enthusiasm for her travels and adventures is evident. What a lovely way to spend 30 minutes – without thinking about your arse!
Richard 2nd February 2024
Hove
Note 1 Piles are also known as haemorrhoids but the spelling is challenging!
Note 3 It sadly closed in 2013 after 31 years
Note 4 See PC 88 Coromandel Jan 2017 and PCs 169 Shifting Sands and Feathers and 170 100% Pure New Zealand
postcards 