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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: I find that odd
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
To me 'doughnut' always betokened a ball of, well, dough with jam or cream in the middle. The ones with the hole are Gravy Rings.
For some odd reason, they were among the first things I learnt to cook: make simple dough of flour, sugar, baking powder and buttermilk, deep fry in chip pan, roll in sugar, eat warm.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
We don't have garden centres. Because they would be idle for 260 days per year. They always have other things. The main 'garden centres' are attached to grocery stores, home improvement centres, or are set up on some parking lot, like Christmas tree outlets, just for the season.
The one free-standing 'garden centre', which is called only by its name because it is diverse, has a clothing store, a coffee and sandwich place, sells pet and horse supplies. The main non-chain bookstore has a restaurant with coffee house type of live music.
Gardening and related activities remind me of something that has been on my mind for a while, and is maybe just an impression, but perhaps true. I think people, particularly the young, spend less time outside and (related and unrelated) in physical activity. It is the lack of connection with the outdoors and actual personal experience of outdoor activities that I find odd. We have more news and concern about the environment and less personal connection to it.
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
NZ even invented the flat white.
Its hard to imagine anyone pernickity enough to care about the exact difference between a "flat white" and three-dozen other commercialised overpriced tiny variations on basic coffee. It just doesn't matter that much. It's all too twee and precious and yes, pretentious.
After all if they really liked the taste of coffee they'd drink it neat, not cut with sweeties and milk to take away the nasty taste of actual, er, coffee.
One of those things that seems odd to me, anyway.
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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Kitten
Shipmate
# 1179
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
After all if they really liked the taste of coffee they'd drink it neat, not cut with sweeties and milk to take away the nasty taste of actual, er, coffee.
.
It is possible to like both, I normally take my coffee black and unsweetened if filtered or nearly black and unsweetened if instant, but I have been known to enjoy a gingerbread latte or a white chocolate mocha late on occassion
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Maius intra qua extra
Never accept a ride from a stranger, unless they are in a big blue box
Posts: 2330 | From: Carmarthenshire | Registered: Aug 2001
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Spike
Mostly Harmless
# 36
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
Its hard to imagine anyone pernickity enough to care about the exact difference between a "flat white" and three-dozen other commercialised overpriced tiny variations on basic coffee. It just doesn't matter that much. It's all too twee and precious and yes, pretentious.
I'm not even certain what a "flat white" is. Do you get "lumpy white" as well?
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"May you get to heaven before the devil knows you're dead" - Irish blessing
Posts: 12860 | From: The Valley of Crocuses | Registered: May 2001
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
I find it odd that *$$ have taken off in France and Spain. It's not as if there is a shortage of good coffee in those countries.
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Last ever sig ...
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Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
I'm not even certain what a "flat white" is. Do you get "lumpy white" as well?
I'm not even certain what the difference between a flat white and an espresso macchiato is.
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Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
I'm just gobsmacked that you go to garden centres for ANYTHING.
Plants - either grow from seed or obtain from proper nursery. I'm also lucky enough to be given seedlings/cuttings by green-fingered friends.
Nice lunch - a decent pub is great: just not one that caters for the well-heeled OAP member of the Ramblers Association because the beer is usually terrible (they don't understand about cleaning the pipes and the need for proper rinsing) and the food is mass-produced, unimaginative and frequently horrible.
As for coffee outlets - we have a local sandwich bar/greasy spoon which boasts a splendid Gaggia machine, so the coffee is first-class: lunch there is a joy.
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Chocoholic
Shipmate
# 4655
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Posted
Our local garden centre is a nursery too, its started as a small holding and nursery. It's just grown and grown ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Gets coat
Posts: 773 | From: London | Registered: Jun 2003
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
A folk thing I used to frequent
Met at an inn here in Kent
That has started, so I'm going to have to finish
Till they turned out our club
To go gastropub
But the food wasn't quite what that meant.
The last meal I had there was sausage and mash. The bangers were smooth textured and pinky grey, the potato poorly reconstituted packet stuff, and the gravy from powder as well.
We do have some good ones hereabouts, but they cost.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
I'm just gobsmacked that you go to garden centres for ANYTHING.
Where, in your opinion, should I be buying my gardening tools, bag of compost, slug pellets and netting?
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lily pad:
quote:
Originally posted by PeteC:
Krispy Kreme does not exist in Canada, to my knowledge. I only wish that I could say the same for *$$. An overpriced cup of burnt tasting coffee... I ignore them.
Ahh, but it does! I've looked at them but can't bring myself to eat one. They just look sooooo greasy.
My problem with them is their excessive sweetness.
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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Uncle Pete
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
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Posted
lily pad. I have not clicked on your link because I really. really do not wish to know!
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Even more so than I was before
Posts: 20466 | From: No longer where I was | Registered: Sep 2005
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Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
I'm just gobsmacked that you go to garden centres for ANYTHING..
Obviously, an English garden centre is different to one here. Ours are proper nurseries with the cafés added on. You can buy your seedlings, compost and what have you, then go for a decent morning tea/lunch and some coffee.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
I'm not even certain what a "flat white" is. Do you get "lumpy white" as well?
No, silly. You get flat white or long black.
Eventually in America I managed to vaguely approximate a flat white by having an Americano with milk. Um. I think that was it. In Vienna a 'large brown' did the trick. I think. I don't remember whether I even tried in the UK.
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
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Starbug
Shipmate
# 15917
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Posted
I really don't think I want to walk into a cafe and ask for a 'large brown' anything. ![[Projectile]](graemlins/puke2.gif)
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“Oh the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?” ― The Day of the Doctor
Posts: 1189 | From: West of the New Forest | Registered: Sep 2010
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gee D:
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
I'm just gobsmacked that you go to garden centres for ANYTHING..
Obviously, an English garden centre is different to one here. Ours are proper nurseries with the cafés added on. You can buy your seedlings, compost and what have you, then go for a decent morning tea/lunch and some coffee.
That is roughly what ours are, except that some have also tacked on kitcheny stuff to cook veggies is; vases to put the flowers in; furniture to stand the vases on; furniture to use in the garden; gazebos to lounge under in the garden; remaindered books to read in the garden; barbecues to cook on in the garden; clothes to wear in the garden, whether to work or to lounge; tools to use in the garden, whether sturdy and proper, or decorative and flimsy; bird feeding stuff; wildlife encouraging stuff; vermin eradicating stuff; sheds; summerhouses; water features; fish nurturing stuff; and for some reason, double glazing display centres.
All the ones I go to have their own nursery sections, though not necessarily on the site. They all buy in as well. and we have a lot of nurseries in the area, because the soil has historically been ideal for market gardens and nurseries. Some of these have had to close recently, though. None of them have eateries.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
NZ even invented the flat white.
Its hard to imagine anyone pernickity enough to care about the exact difference between a "flat white" and three-dozen other commercialised overpriced tiny variations on basic coffee. It just doesn't matter that much. It's all too twee and precious and yes, pretentious.
After all if they really liked the taste of coffee they'd drink it neat, not cut with sweeties and milk to take away the nasty taste of actual, er, coffee.
One of those things that seems odd to me, anyway.
Well a flat white isn't sweetened, and neither is it particularly fussy so your rant isn't really relevant here. Try going to Italy or Seattle or NZ and telling them that their coffee culture is twee and pretentious! It's really not, good coffeemaking is an art just like good winemaking. An espresso-based coffee tastes vastly different to a drip-brewed coffee.
I like a flat white because it's less milky than a cappuccino or a latte but still has the velvety texture, plus it's never oversized. I do add sugar (just a spoonful, vanilla if I can get it) because it, er, tastes nice. How shocking that I would want to drink something that tastes nice to me. And of course it still tastes like coffee, one spoonful of sugar doesn't remove the taste of coffee, unless you only drink spectacularly weak and wimpy stuff.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by balaam:
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
I'm not even certain what a "flat white" is. Do you get "lumpy white" as well?
I'm not even certain what the difference between a flat white and an espresso macchiato is.
Traditionally an espresso macchiato doesn't have steamed milk (although that's more common now), and less than in a flat white.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
I'm just gobsmacked that you go to garden centres for ANYTHING.
Plants - either grow from seed or obtain from proper nursery. I'm also lucky enough to be given seedlings/cuttings by green-fingered friends.
Nice lunch - a decent pub is great: just not one that caters for the well-heeled OAP member of the Ramblers Association because the beer is usually terrible (they don't understand about cleaning the pipes and the need for proper rinsing) and the food is mass-produced, unimaginative and frequently horrible.
As for coffee outlets - we have a local sandwich bar/greasy spoon which boasts a splendid Gaggia machine, so the coffee is first-class: lunch there is a joy.
Yes - why anyone would prefer a garden centre to a nice CAMRA-friendly pub is beyond me.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
quote:
Originally posted by Lothlorien:
Practically very self respecting nursery in Sydney has a coffee shop attached. I guess it is a big money spinner as they usually sell fancy gardening goods and other bits and pieces.
Coffee is very often quite good and meals are served. Nothing fancy, just convenient. Surroundings are pleasant.
Few people down here would go to Starbucks. That is why there are few Starbucks in Sydney or Australia to actually go to. Around 90% of them were closed some years ago because of lack of patronage. Just as well too.
In fairness, Australia and NZ have their own coffee cultures to rival those in continental Europe or US cities like Seattle or NYC - NZ even invented the flat white. The UK doesn't have that, and hasn't since the coffee houses of the 17th Century.
Oh it does. Not a good one, not a nice one, but it has one. It's an Instant Coffee culture, one in which such horrors as Mellow Birds could actually take root and find a niche outside Danté's Inferno.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Drifting Star
Drifting against the wind
# 12799
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
Yes - why anyone would prefer a garden centre to a nice CAMRA-friendly pub is beyond me.
You're comparing apples and oranges. Lots of people upthread have pointed out that when they have lunch or a drink at a garden centre they're going there for other things as well as the cafe.
Why slate something you haven't experienced, and admit doesn't interest you anyway?
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The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus
Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
Just a friendly reminder, let's keep it mellow, folks, please.
Thanks
Ariel
Heaven Host
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
Back to the discussion of removing shoes... I toured a not-yet-dedicated LDS temple today. We all had paper shower-cap-type booties put over our shoes to protect the floors/carpets inside (though I hear all carpet, furnishings, drapes, etc., are removed and replaced before the dedication). The paper booties were a bit slippery for use on marble stairways and floors, and in two rooms (Celestial Room and Sealing Room) where we had to walk on plastic sheeting to protect the white carpets. There were a lot of elderly people going through, and I worried that some of them might lose their footing.
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Reminds me of this.
I realise this is a spoof, but are there really adults who wear braces on their teeth, or is that a curious fashion in dental jewellery?
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Brexit wrexit - Sir Graham Watson
Posts: 7610 | From: Bristol UK(was European Green Capital 2015, now Ljubljana) | Registered: Nov 2008
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cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Reminds me of this.
I realise this is a spoof, but are there really adults who wear braces on their teeth, or is that a curious fashion in dental jewellery?
Yes.
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Reminds me of this.
I realise this is a spoof, but are there really adults who wear braces on their teeth, or is that a curious fashion in dental jewellery?
Yes, it happens. The gymnast Beth Tweddle used to have an absolute mouthful of wire.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
I had braces (for the second time) when I was in my early 30s. There have been a lot of improvements, and they are often almost invisible now.
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
The second worst pub I went to was with a Shipmate near St. Austell. I ordered the special of the day and although it wasn't horrible, I fear that it may have been roadkill because they wouldn't tell me what it was!
The worst was in a town called Sticker. We were seated right away, but the cook was so slow, it took nearly an hour to get our food and when we changed or added to our orders, it took even longer!
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Chorister
Completely Frocked
# 473
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Posted
The food will be with you dreckly, Sir Kevin. And as for them not telling you what you were eating, what else do you expect from Wreckers, me 'ansome? ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
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Retired, sitting back and watching others for a change.
Posts: 34626 | From: Cream Tealand | Registered: Jun 2001
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Drifting Star:
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
Yes - why anyone would prefer a garden centre to a nice CAMRA-friendly pub is beyond me.
You're comparing apples and oranges. Lots of people upthread have pointed out that when they have lunch or a drink at a garden centre they're going there for other things as well as the cafe.
Why slate something you haven't experienced, and admit doesn't interest you anyway?
But I have experienced eating in a garden centre cafe and have been to lots of garden centres, just not since I left home and so had to rely on public transport - I never said I'd never been to one, just that I didn't understand why people would choose to do so for reasons other than buying plants/garden equipment. Still think a nice pub is vastly superior - less twee, more booze.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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mdijon
Shipmate
# 8520
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
I fear that it may have been roadkill because they wouldn't tell me what it was!
Don't worry, they're very unlikely to be serving roadkill out in St Austell. More likely it was just a knackered pony.
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mdijon nojidm uoɿıqɯ ɯqıɿou
ɯqıɿou uoɿıqɯ nojidm mdijon
Posts: 12277 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2004
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The Intrepid Mrs S
Shipmate
# 17002
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
quote:
Originally posted by Drifting Star:
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
Yes - why anyone would prefer a garden centre to a nice CAMRA-friendly pub is beyond me.
You're comparing apples and oranges. Lots of people upthread have pointed out that when they have lunch or a drink at a garden centre they're going there for other things as well as the cafe.
Why slate something you haven't experienced, and admit doesn't interest you anyway?
But I have experienced eating in a garden centre cafe and have been to lots of garden centres, just not since I left home and so had to rely on public transport - I never said I'd never been to one, just that I didn't understand why people would choose to do so for reasons other than buying plants/garden equipment. Still think a nice pub is vastly superior - less twee, more booze.
Not everyone wants to spend their leisure hours in a pub, Jade! but that's your choice. When I go, I tend to take a friend, mooch round a variety of shops like a mini-shopping centre, enjoy a cream tea (and free parking). If I'm driving I wouldn't be drinking and I wouldn't be drinking in the daytime anyway. Going to a pub and NOT drinking seems like a waste!
So, we have different ideas of where we want to go on these occasions. Just because you don't understand why we'd want to go somewhere else doesn't make either of us wrong ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Mrs. S, frequenter of Hillier's for the Belgian buns ![[Overused]](graemlins/notworthy.gif)
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Don't get your knickers in a twist over your advancing age. It achieves nothing and makes you walk funny.
Prayer should be our first recourse, not our last resort
'Lord, please give us patience. NOW!'
Posts: 1464 | From: Neither here nor there | Registered: Mar 2012
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Fredegund
Shipmate
# 17952
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Posted
Our nearest large garden centre is also the venue for a cafe church. My spies tell me that even the staff join in. With the best will in the world, I can't imagine that in a pub.
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Pax et bonum
Posts: 117 | From: Shakespeare's County | Registered: Jan 2014
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Nenya
Shipmate
# 16427
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by The Intrepid Mrs S:
When I go, I tend to take a friend, mooch round a variety of shops like a mini-shopping centre, enjoy a cream tea (and free parking). If I'm driving I wouldn't be drinking and I wouldn't be drinking in the daytime anyway. Going to a pub and NOT drinking seems like a waste!
I agree and I do all of that too; but I also go alone, have a mooch about and a bit of retail therapy, and then ensconce myself in the cafe with a book. I also go to coffee shops on my own with a book, but I wouldn't go to a pub alone. That I would find odd (I guess people do it, but is it because you're likely to meet people you know there?) and someone might interrupt me while I'm reading. ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
I can see the transport could be an issue. I'm fortunate enough to have a car, and you could walk to our local garden centre. It's quite a long walk - which would justify the cream tea.
Nen - also a fan of Belgian buns.
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They told me I was delusional. I nearly fell off my unicorn.
Posts: 1289 | Registered: May 2011
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
I can see that transport is an issue both ways - if you're driving then you won't be drinking, although when I'm in the pub I'm often not drinking myself, but having a meal and soft drink. I just associate garden centres with OAP afternoon tea I suppose, not that my usual pub has a lack of old men mind.
Nen, my usual pub has some booths to sit in - much nicer and no interrupted reading. Yes, I go to pubs alone and read! Strangely I find coffee shops more people-heavy - in a pub everyone's at the bar, so wouldn't be talking to you if you're tucked away in the corner.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Fredegund:
Our nearest large garden centre is also the venue for a cafe church. My spies tell me that even the staff join in. With the best will in the world, I can't imagine that in a pub.
I have attended church services in pubs.
Its not quite "cafe church" but our parish has a monthly "beer and bible" session where we sit round a table and read an entire book of the Bible aloud (or part of a long one) while eating and drinking.
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
Nen, my usual pub has some booths to sit in - much nicer and no interrupted reading. Yes, I go to pubs alone and read! Strangely I find coffee shops more people-heavy - in a pub everyone's at the bar, so wouldn't be talking to you if you're tucked away in the corner.
Whereas I go to pubs precisely because you can meet people and talk to them. So I'll be the one at the bar.
That's not the same in a coffee shop or cafe or restaurant - they are places for couples or small groups who spend time with each other and avoid contact with strangers. A less open and friendly feel than a real pub.
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
[have attended church services in pubs.
Its not quite "cafe church" but our parish has a monthly "beer and bible" session where we sit round a table and read an entire book of the Bible aloud (or part of a long one) while eating and drinking.
And (hic) the beardy fellow pointed at the water and it dried up in the middle with the water piled on the side.Just like the other beardy bloke said. So the (hic) ishrul-, izshurea-, the Jews walked to the other side, with Moshur, Mosey,.. the first beardy bloke leading 'em. And they saw the fishes and stuff in the water like an requarium. (Hic) this has been the word of The Lord Sugar.
[ 30. January 2014, 17:20: Message edited by: lilBuddha ]
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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ArachnidinElmet
Shipmate
# 17346
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
Nen, my usual pub has some booths to sit in - much nicer and no interrupted reading. Yes, I go to pubs alone and read! Strangely I find coffee shops more people-heavy - in a pub everyone's at the bar, so wouldn't be talking to you if you're tucked away in the corner.
Whereas I go to pubs precisely because you can meet people and talk to them. So I'll be the one at the bar.
That's not the same in a coffee shop or cafe or restaurant - they are places for couples or small groups who spend time with each other and avoid contact with strangers. A less open and friendly feel than a real pub.
As a frequenter of both pubs and cafes (and garden centres) may I suggest you're going to the wrong cafes. Maybe a London thing? Who knows.
Re: churches in pubs, I'm reliably informed that my church was originally established as a congregation before it had a building and they began by holding mass in the upper room of the local pub. Not so odd for a RC parish with a high proportion of Irish and Scottish people.
[ 30. January 2014, 23:21: Message edited by: ArachnidinElmet ]
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'If a pleasant, straight-forward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle manoeuvres' - Kafka
Posts: 1887 | From: the rhubarb triangle | Registered: Sep 2012
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Jolly Jape
Shipmate
# 3296
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Posted
I don't find pubs to be congenial places, by and large. Sure, things have got better since the smoking ban, but many still smell of beer, an aroma which I find distasteful, and they are often, shall we say, less than spotless. Compare this with a garden centre, which is likely to have clean table linen, be more child-friendly (not that I'm worried about that any more), and have a wider range of food available. Horses for courses, really.
Interestingly, in the light of the comments from our western cousins here, I'm sure one of the first Garden Centres round our way was founded by a couple of USAeans; I'd always assumed that Garden Centres were an American import.
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To those who have never seen the flow and ebb of God's grace in their lives, it means nothing. To those who have seen it, even fleetingly, even only once - it is life itself. (Adeodatus)
Posts: 3011 | From: A village of gardens | Registered: Sep 2002
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Vulpior
Foxier than Thou
# 12744
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quote:
Originally posted by Gee D:
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
I'm just gobsmacked that you go to garden centres for ANYTHING..
Obviously, an English garden centre is different to one here. Ours are proper nurseries with the cafés added on. You can buy your seedlings, compost and what have you, then go for a decent morning tea/lunch and some coffee.
And of course, Canberra being Canberra, round here we have one suburb that specialises in garden centres!
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I've started blogging. I don't promise you'll find anything to interest you at uncleconrad
Posts: 946 | From: Mount Fairy, NSW | Registered: Jun 2007
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cliffdweller
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# 13338
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jolly Jape:
Interestingly, in the light of the comments from our western cousins here, I'm sure one of the first Garden Centres round our way was founded by a couple of USAeans; I'd always assumed that Garden Centres were an American import.
If they are, we probably call them something different. I've spent the last few posts trying to visualize what you're describing. Round these parts a "garden center" would be the section of the local hardware store where you purchase a rake or a hose or some potted plants-- not at all a place where anyone would sit and chat, and not a bit of food or linen tablecloths to be found, and the only chairs are the plastic ones for sale.
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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Gee D
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# 13815
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Posted
There are quite a few on the road between here and the beaches. The largest of them does a roaring trade in bulk soils, sand, compost, pebbles and so forth as well as a range of pavers and other landscaping materials, seedlings and plants. The café is large, airy and usually packed out as well, with a children's playground in easy view. That all seems to me to be a very sensible arrangement.
There would be very few here going to a pub for a quiet read, apart from some reading a newspaper over a liquid lunch (silly people) . OTOH, people do go to coffee shops for that purpose. I very much doubt that someone would go to a coffee shop alone in the hope of meeting another except by arrangement, but that would be common for bars, clubs and pubs.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Vulpior:
quote:
Originally posted by Gee D:
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
I'm just gobsmacked that you go to garden centres for ANYTHING..
Obviously, an English garden centre is different to one here. Ours are proper nurseries with the cafés added on. You can buy your seedlings, compost and what have you, then go for a decent morning tea/lunch and some coffee.
And of course, Canberra being Canberra, round here we have one suburb that specialises in garden centres!
With Canberra's planning, round is very appropriate.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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Coffee Cup
Shipmate
# 13506
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by cliffdweller:
I've spent the last few posts trying to visualize what you're describing. Round these parts a "garden center" would be the section of the local hardware store where you purchase a rake or a hose or some potted plants-- not at all a place where anyone would sit and chat, and not a bit of food or linen tablecloths to be found, and the only chairs are the plastic ones for sale.
I haven't seen anything like a british garden centre since I arrived here on the eastern coast of the US (though I have no car here, and no outdoor space to plant in/on). In my mind - though I stand to be corrected by those with more widespread garden-centre-experience - proper garden centres in the UK are not part of the big box chain model for the most part, and are sort of the inverse of a hardware store - 70% of what they sell is plants and 20% is hardware associated with the plants. I guess sheds and outdoor furnishings make up the remaining 10%. These numbers will move about a bit to accommodate things like local veg and (ime) seasonal items like christmas decorations. For the cafe aspect, the internet revealed this link, which does not really show typical garden centres, but maybe some of the links will give you a feel.
Posts: 66 | From: UK | Registered: Mar 2008
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Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
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Posted
This will give you an idea of what I was describing.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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Coffee Cup
Shipmate
# 13506
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gee D:
This will give you an idea of what I was describing.
That chimes strongly with the memories in my mind - though in some of those photos there appear to be the phenomena known as sunshine and warmth, which are not known to british garden centers.
Posts: 66 | From: UK | Registered: Mar 2008
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jolly Jape:
I don't find pubs to be congenial places, by and large. Sure, things have got better since the smoking ban, but many still smell of beer, an aroma which I find distasteful, and they are often, shall we say, less than spotless. Compare this with a garden centre, which is likely to have clean table linen, be more child-friendly (not that I'm worried about that any more), and have a wider range of food available. Horses for courses, really.
Interestingly, in the light of the comments from our western cousins here, I'm sure one of the first Garden Centres round our way was founded by a couple of USAeans; I'd always assumed that Garden Centres were an American import.
I am intrigued by garden centres having a wider range of food - IME they sell sandwiches, cakes etc but not proper meals.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Vulpior:
And of course, Canberra being Canberra, round here we have one suburb that specialises in garden centres!
Do you mean Pialligo? Because that's what I immediately thought of when people started talking about garden centres with restaurants. The only one of those I've been to was in Pialligo.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
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