Saturday 18 October 2008

Coffee Morning In Holywood

My aunt is up at her holiday home in Portballintrae, County Antrim, this weekend so we arranged to meet Pat at the Bay Tree coffee-house in Holywood, County Down, at about ten-thirty this morning.

The car park at the Bay Tree was full. I had already driven through the narrow arch-way by this stage, past the point of no return! No matter, I parked the two-seater tightly against the hedge and we made our way in. Not surprisingly, most of the tables were occupied; we got one adjacent to the entrance.

When Pat arrived we ordered the usual coffees and cinnamon scones, which were great, as you'd expect. Two coffees and two scones now cost £6.30. Pat told us about her wonderful family occasion recently at the Ritz in London; she had the menu with her and it looked sumptuous; all in French, of course. Apparently the Aberdeen Angus beef fillet was cut so thickly - too thickly, Pat thought - that it was chewy in the middle and needed to be cut into tiny pieces! The final item on the Ritz menu read " tea or coffee with frivolities" - sounds as if that should have been served in the bedroom!

Several cars had left the car-park when we were leaving, so I was able to make a three-point turn.

I meant to add that, to their credit, the lovely Bay Tree staff usually hover around, when they have the time, offering patrons complimentary top-ups of coffee.

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