Shingles is clearing nicely so my wife, Di, decided to take me out for a “restorative” trip to Neston Market.
Neston still holds a traditional market every Friday, with lots of interesting local produce on offer.
I soon realised the ulterior motive when Di came trotting over from the fashion stall with a new pair of plum coloured jeans in her bag and the traditional assertion…”Well…I’ve got nothing to wear for the Spring.”
We bought a lovely piece of Welsh-Black brisket from the butcher’s stall and a bag of cherry scones from the baker’s and beat a hasty retreat to my favourite coffee haunt – Elephant Coffee House, on the High Street, opposite the church.
We bundled in and were lucky to find a table as this place is so popular.
I ordered two flat whites and a pair of buttered crumpets as we slumped down to soak-in the atmos.
Elephant was started in 2012 by a local married couple, Emma and Adam, with roots in Neston retail ( Emma’s mum had run Drakes Stores – a local institution).
They purchased a run-down premises on the High Street which had previously housed Golbournes Greengrocery, and refurbished it to provide the coffee shop at ground floor with flats above, which has enhanced the townscape appreciably.
This place hits all my coffee receptors. The shop’s been nicely refurbished but it’s not over done. The place is buzzy and inclusive. Young mums chatting , elderly ladies resting, men reading newspapers, local workers nipping in for a takeaway coffee and sandwich.
The staff are dedicated coffee freaks. They’ve developed their own Elephant Blend which definitely hits the spot and sends the taste buds zinging.
I notice that they’re now selling packs of their own-blend beans and ground coffee. (Make a mental note to come back and buy some).
We return to the car park feeling refreshed and a little bit happier with life…what more can you ask from a coffee shop?

  elephant–coffee.co.uk

                                                        _ …. _

In the afternoon I went to visit David at home. He is getting even weaker and was unable even to open his eyes.
He is very aware of all around him and his hearing is perfect but he is no longer strong enough to speak clearly and can only communicate with nods and gestures.
I managed to chat with him about my morning’s adventures and we could reminisce about a previous visit we’d made to Elephant last year.
He mentioned, in a three- way conversation with his wife, Gill, that he’d had a visit during the week from Petronelle, one of our colleagues from the Liverpool Lighthouse days,and he was very appreciative.
We were able to pray together and David nodded his Amen.

_ …. _

Gloom!
I’m suffering with shingles this week so I’m confined to quarters.
I’m taking anti-viral pills prescribed by my GP and hoping they will shift it quickly.
I spoke to David’s wife by telephone.
He is now confined to bed and is getting weaker.
We continue to pray…

My friend David is no longer well enough to take part in our weekly coffee jaunts, so this week I went to visit him…at home with his wife and daughter.
We continue to pray for him.
Along with a group of friends, I have been praying for his complete recovery from this terrible disease which has been slowly robbing him of his health, his strength, his sight and his dignity; but God’s wisdom is greater than mine and He is taking David home to glory.
David is a true genius with an incredibly generous heart, who has spent his whole life helping and serving people.
He has loved working with youth groups to improve the self-esteem of young people, releasing their talents and creativity.
I first came across David when we were at school together in the early 1960s. We lost contact and did not meet again until 2003 when, serendipitously,  we both started working for an incredible Christian Charity – Liverpool lighthouse – based in Anfield.
By this time he had developed into an unassuming polymath, having, in the intervening years amassed an unbelievable knowledge and enthusiasm for an amazingly diverse range of subjects, – from railway engineering, through aeronautical design, ornithology, environmentalism, to rock music,- with detailed knowledge and appreciation of every blues and rock guitarist from Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, through Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler, to Joe Bonnamassa.
We have both spent many happy hours at Wirral Guitar Festival events and Gary Murphy gigs.
David developed an uncanny ability for writing funding bids on behalf of charities and this is what brought us to work together at Liverpool Lighthouse. He has, over the past decade, raised literally millions of pounds for projects that have helped very needy people in the most deprived parts of our region.
The miserable disease that is cancer, may be robbing us of a gentle genius, but I know that he’ll continue rockin’, when the gig rolls in to Heaven.

…Bit of a mix-up this week.
A combination of David’s debilitating illness and my appalling time management meant that we missed our usual morning coffee slot and I ended up taking an early afternoon stroll, by myself, along the “promenade” at Parkgate.

I use the term with caution because, although there is undoubtedly a “prom”, and also a “quay” and a “sea-wall” and a “slipway”…there is no longer any sea to be seen;  this part of the Dee Estuary having completely silted up and become a vast and magnificent salt- marsh, reaching across to the Welsh Coast with panoramic views of the Clwyddian hills rising up beyond.

I had brought my binoculars as this part of the estuary is important for  both indigenous and over-wintering migrant bird species.

I was not disappointed.  Within ten minutes I had spotted over a dozen species and was wishing that David could have been here, with his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things ornithological. However, I fear that the time has now passed, when he and I would  enthuse and gain inspiration from the amazing beauty and incredible diversity of this place.

As I was walking and musing, the sun broke through and bathed one of the marsh pools in brilliant light…illuminating a heron, taking off  to flap across the reeds. This also caught the attention of a couple of  local builders who were enjoying their lunchtime fish and chips on one of the benches whilst avoiding the unwelcome attention of a flock of black-headed gulls.

I wandered past the Marsh Cat Restaurant, with its lunchtime diners and into a small square where the local bus turns around. Walking past the picturesque, sandstone St Thomas’ Church I found myself in Coastguard Lane and found my coffee destination for today…the ironically named “Mozkitos” sporting its unusual jaunty mosquito logo.

This is a cosy little venue, featuring a log – burning stove and an interesting menu of light bites and cakes. I ordered a flat white and a slice of coffee-and-walnut cake from the friendly lady at the counter and sat expectantly, taking in the atmosphere. There are only half a dozen tables and I was lucky to secure one in between a couple of grandparents taking a young lad out for a lunchtime treat  and a group of dog walkers who had ordered coffees to take out. The rest of the clientèle consisted of stray bird-watchers and young mums, catching up on the latest local goss.

I enjoyed my coffee and cake but it’s not the same without the company of David and his inexhaustible pool of knowledge and enthusiasm.

I paid and thanked the kind lady and quietly left the lively hubbub of Mozkitos, wondering what next week will bring…

visit:-   www.mozkitos.co.uk

Today’s lashing rain and wind, coupled with a shortened time-frame dictated a coffee shop with easy parking and little walking, so this week, David and I decided to head for deepest suburbia and found The Coffee Co on Broadway – not boring old New York- but bustling Higher Bebington!

The Coffee Co occupies a commanding corner shop at the end of a local arcade, on the approach to the famous Broadway roundabout.

It’s owned by a local husband – and- wife team and sports the motto “Drop in and get to know us!-We’ll do our best to make you feel at home”

We were met at the door by Harley (loves his motorbike and his giant dog?) who helped us in from the rain,  and found  a convenient table from which we could view the elegant pavement furniture sets being hammered by the unfolding hurricane.

This was a busy coffee shop with a very local community-based feel. There were lots of people munching sanwhiches, slurping coffee and talking animatedly. One young chap (in my book; anyone under 50 is just out of their teens) peeled away from his table and grabbed David by the hand; reminding us that he had grown up as part of a youth group that David had run in the early eighties, and regailing us with a tale of disastrous night hikes around Lake Bala.

At this point we thought it best to order some coffee so D had his usual latte whilst I tried a flat white from the the extensive drinks menu – encompassing every imaginable variant which can be extracted from bean and leaf.

We were not disappointed and enjoyed a bit of nostalgia as David informed me of his approaching 40th Wedding Anniversary and recounted his first encounter with Jill at St Aldates in Oxford, where they were both working.

Whilst fascinated by tales of David’s amourous encounters my eyes strayed to the back wall of the shop which was fitted out with crammed book-shelves and displayed the message:- Need a book: Take a book: Read a book: Leave a book. This was accompanied by a charity collection bucket and turned out to be The Coffee Co way of raising  funds for our local children’s charity – Claire House…Well done to them!

We had to finish our coffees fairly swiftly as I was on a deadline to deliver the old T&S to her chum’s house for onward transport to a “Girl’s” week-end conference in Preston.

All in all we found The Coffee Co to be an honest-to- goodness, friendly enterprise, serving the local community with good coffee and good humour.

Toodle-ooo

See you next week.

(visit:-  www.thecoffeeco-bebington.co.uk)

This week David and I had a change of scene. We swapped seaside for countryside and visited a fairly new local enterprise…The Laycroft Longhorn Farm Shop at Manor Farm, opposite the picturesque Christchurch, Barnston.

This is a family business based in the converted agricultural buildings of their farm that is dedicated to its herd of rare-breed English longhorn cattle.

At this time of year, visitors can view the longhorns overwintering in their massive indoor/outdoor barn.

The shop has a brilliant range of fresh and preserved local speciality foods and has recently opened a very friendly little coffee bar which serves Adams & Russell coffee which is roasted and blended on the Wirral….a truly local speciality.

I had a lovely Americano and David ordered his usual latte…both top- notch.

He had a lovely chocolate-dipped shortbread cookie topped with a fresh strawberry whilst I opted for a fresh home-made scone with butter…both equally yummy.

We chewed the fat as the longhons in the barn chewed the cud!

Cheerio for now…see you all next week

Well here goes with our first blog!

David and I thought  we’d start today, right at the top corner of the Wirral, where the mighty River Mersey rushes out to meet the Irish Sea. We decided to re-visit the Panorama Lounge at the Floral Pavillion – a beautiful modern theatre complex which overlooks Fort Perch Rock and the Lighthouse at New Brighton.

We arrived at about 12.45pm which was just after high tide. The sun was shining over the estuary and picking out silver streaks on the crests of the waves. The entrance to the river was unusually quiet, as there are normally at least a couple of giant container ships waiting to berth into  the North Liverpool Docks or the Seaforth Container Base..but today not even the Dublin Seacat  or the Isle of Man Ferry was to be seen.

We were, however, not too disappointed with the lack of shipping because the best thing about Fridays at the Panarama Lounge (apart from the coffee) is that  local super-star…Dave Antrobus , sits at the magnificent grand piano from 12.00 noon until 2.00pm and regails us with a stream of melodies, leading us through Ragtime, Syncopation,Tin-pan-alley, Broadway, Hollywood to London’s West End, via Liverpool’s Matthew Street. His range is breathtaking and his musicianship is awe inspiring.

But…if music be the food of love…what about the love of food? Well, at the Panarama Lounge, food is the province of Carrington’s Catering who run a very friendly  service for the Floral Pavilion.

David chose a latte with a slice of lemon cheesecake, whilst I had my usual americano with hot milk, accompanied by a hearty chunk of carrot cake .Mmmmmm….

We ate and drank and chatted and listened…and…all too soon…it was 2.00 o’clock and Dave was playing his finale medley of “Singing in the Rain” and “Raindrops keep falling on my Head.”

On the way out I picked up the first edition of a quirky “freebie” mag called Pick Wick,  produced by some young artists, photographers and writers associated with FACT in Liverpool…well worth a read – it’s brilliant and refreshing…just like the coffee.

(visit:- www.floralpavilion.com)   (visit:- www.fact.co.uk)