At that very moment, we saw Duncan enter the café with a professional-looking woman and as they sat down at one of the tables, Josh brought over two cups of coffee. After what seemed like an intense 30 minutes, discussing some plans and drawings, the woman left and Duncan, looking around at who was ‘in’, came over to Mo and me. Maybe some sixth sense had encouraged him to join us.
“We were just talking about you! Your ears must have been burning. We were wondering how your ideas for the bookshop were coming on?”
“Well, that was Melanie from Elixir Interior Design and she’s helping me develop my ideas.”
“Who are Elixir Interior Design?”
“Think you would call them creatives and we’re lucky here to have such a large thriving sector. They have been involved in many of the city’s success stories and currently are working on a new hotel in Regency Square, Number 29. Melanie told me she’s just become a consultant for the company developing the old Hippodrome Building in Middle Street.”
“Ah! Yes. That place has a long and chequered history.” says Mo. “I think it opened at the turn of the C20th and was, until 1964, one of the most popular and famous theatres in the country. It then fell into disuse and disrepair until 2020 when it was bought by Matsim Properties. Isn’t that right?”
Behind this rumpty-tumpty facade is a huge magnificent circular plastered ceiling
“Yes. Planning consent was given at the beginning of last month for a performance space, a hotel and shop, and a private members’ club. Quite an undertaking and I suspect a huge ‘money pit’.”
“It’s just up the street from my yoga studio, Duncan. Pass it five days a week. ……. So, the bookshop?”
“I am confident it’s going to be a big success. I have raised some money from my family and in my mind have it opening in January 2025.”
Mo asked: “But what about higher wages and coffee bean prices, as well the hike in energy prices? Aren’t they creating a huge pressure on your overheads?
I chipped in: “Didn’t the government advise reducing the time in the shower at home to 4 minutes? Personally don’t spend more than three minutes but ……”
“Wages have overtaken raw materials as my biggest cost – at the beginning of April the National Living Wage rose by £1.02 an hour to £11.44. And yes, the cost of Arabica coffee beans has been affected by the impact of climate change in Brazil and Ethiopia. But you know what, people come for more than a coffee, which they could make at home; it’s the whole community feeling, belonging by a process of osmosis, even if you don’t engage with anyone!”
Duncan says he must go, hopes we have a great day and with a nod to Josh goes out into a sunny morning.
Turning to Mo I asked:
“Mo, you know how we have habits which we have invested years and years in to perfect and then we get challenged by some news that questions whether what we have been doing is right?
“Yes. Like that British habit of using a bowl in the sink to wash up – our continental cousins are horrified!!
“Well, actually anyone not British! I have been aware for maybe a year that dentists do not like us using mouthwash but know I couldn’t start or end the day without a good swill of Listerine – no alcohol of course ….”
“Why don’t they like mouthwash?”
“It’s all about the fluoride that’s been an active ingredient of our toothpaste since the 1960s. Fluoride needs time to work, some 20 minutes, so if you habitually rinse and spit out, then use a mouthwash, the positive effects of the fluoride are nullified.”
“But I recently read more modern thinking is that whilst fluoride has dental benefits, fluoride-free toothpaste with some nano stuff (Ed: Nano Hydroxyapatite) is just as effective without the systemic toxicity concerns that Fluoride has.”
“I suspect you would have to have kilos of Fluoride before it became an issue! By the way, did I tell you the other day Celina and I went for a ‘Mole Map’, a way of making sure we are not surprised by the development of a malignant melanoma? (See PC 366 Medical Decluttering 22 December 2023). We sat in the waiting area of the Worthing Skin & Laser Clinic and Celina offered to get some water from the dispenser, which offered a choice of either normal temperature or cold water. She wanted the former, my choice was the latter. Sipping from a paper cup, it was lovely and cold. Celina’s was exactly the same temperature, something we would not have appreciated if we had been on our own!! Technology? Plumbing problem more like!”
“That’s sweet! Listen, this may be really passé but there is a cocktail called Gin & French. I love cocktails but never knew the ‘French’ refers to the vermouth but if the vermouth is Italian, the cocktail is called Gin & It!(Note 1)”
“Neither did I. Mo, I need to go but did you see that wokeism is losing favour?”
“Yes! Wonderful news! What a load of tosh!”
“I agree. You know, as I am no longer on the merry-go-round of paid work, growing up, social interactions, having offspring and suchlike, these issues have really passed me by. I can think ‘The lady doth protest too much’ (Note 2) but then I probably would have to discover whether Queen Gertrude would have preferred a different pronoun and whether she had some little badge on her chest telling the world.”
“Ha! Ha! The rise of wokeism brought these gender neutral pronouns, which had been the preserve of the LGBTQ+ communities, into more common usage but I hope their continued use will not be at the expense of common sense. You need to go?”
“I do! See you next time. Bye Mo!”
Richard 3rd May 2024
Hove
Note 1 ‘It’ short for ‘Italian’.
Note 2 from Hamlet by William Shakespeare
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