I need a coffee

That's better

2009-05-14T11:08:00.003+01:00

Confession

2009-05-01T10:05:00.000+01:00

I have a stark confession to make.
It concerns my very raison d'etre.

Break

2009-04-30T17:04:00.002+01:00

That's been a nice break.
And what a six months - Twitter has taken over the world, swine flu is on everyone's lips (literally) and the arc has opened in Bury.
How can I top that?

Catches

2008-10-13T08:37:00.003+01:00

But me and the chaps (well, them - I can't catch a cold at the moment) did get some living creatures in our sweaty mitts at the weekend...

Nothing, zip, nil, none

2008-10-13T08:09:00.000+01:00

I'm a broken man.
Mr Bean 0 - Mighty Mouse 4 (empty traps, that is).

Result

2008-10-10T14:35:00.002+01:00

Empty. I have a ghost mouse.
Now I'm scared...

Gotcha (?)

2008-10-10T08:33:00.002+01:00

Both traps emptied of food again - and neither gone off.

But - and it's a bit but...the 'humane' trap is leaning as if full of Mighty Mouse...

Hols

2008-10-08T16:01:00.003+01:00

Seafront at Cadiz

Palm trees in Rota

Wish my leylandii looked like this

Cadiz was a mix of styles - a lot of Spanish influence (duh) but it felt like Cuba, too

Deserted beach ... Rota

Meant to place a few pix on here to show how Mr Bean enjoyed a little stay in sunny Spain.
Rota, near Cadiz, was the venue - and what a hot time it was (for September).
Sangria was ace, company was better and a nice time was had by all.

It's empty, 11am

2008-10-07T10:57:00.002+01:00

Watch this space...

Humane

2008-10-07T10:50:00.004+01:00

Let it not be said that I am anything but a trier.

I am, however, becoming more and more like that nutty professor, above, from the Back to the Future films. I open the garage door, mouse has run off with food, trap is untouched. My hair is starting to resemble the mad prof...and I guess I need some sort of:

a) treatment;

b) counselling;

c) haircut.

I am now going to try the humane route with a humane trap.

If I catch, I will feature Mighty Mouse on here.

Wish me luck.

(and ok, I promise not to stick his awkward little body in the real trap)

You guessed it

2008-10-06T08:23:00.002+01:00

Rats!

But no mice...

Nothing again

2008-10-03T09:27:00.002+01:00

Ok, cheese doesn't work.

I tried - and failed.

It's feeling like I used to feel on opening the hen laying area as a child and finding eggs.

I now open the garage door - and hope to find a mouse.

How sad am I.

Anyway, Mighty Mouse lives - and is driving me nuts.

Nuts! Perhaps I should try those...

There's a mouse in my house

2008-10-02T08:31:00.004+01:00

...well ok, not in my house, but in my garage.

I moved in a while ago, and was initially upset to find they found my fishing bait far more attractive than any fish has ever done.

So I locked that away.

And put down a trap...

I was not happy at doing this, but I'm a farmer's boy and humane traps were never our thing. Even the dog had a mole-catching role.

Anyway, I have now come up against Mighty Mouse.

He/she is very clever.

I bait the trap. I wait. It gets dark - I sleep.

Mouse comes out. Mouse eats bait - without disturbing trap.

I have used cheese - he has gobbled it.

I have used chocolate. He has gobbled it.

I have used marine halibut Dynamite Baits paste (anglers will understand). He has gobbled it.

When I test the trap, it nearly takes my arm off.

Advice please - and bait tips welcome... it's becoming a scene from that great film Mousehunt and we know how that ends.

And another thing...

2008-08-15T14:04:00.001+01:00

I see that Ruby girl has been trumpeting the fact that she's had 100,000 visits to her blog.
Big deal.
This one has hit 1,000 today so watch your back Ruby2Shoes, Mr Bean is closing on in!

Whoa!

2008-08-15T13:43:00.002+01:00

My youngest is away this week on holiday and texted me last night. 'Dad, jmpd off va rck at blu lagoon. It wa cold.'

That's the rock above, and it's a scary (Wales) jump. I would have done it, of course, if I had been there - I'm no wimp. Due to the ample proportions of my trunks, I would have advised any nearby families to take cover for fear of tidal waves, though.

Three days on...

2008-07-22T13:45:00.002+01:00

...I guess it must have been the Next sale at the weekend?

There are lots of red bags going to and fro as busy women buy/take back/buy again/and take back things they liked the look of, didn't really need and then had a crisis of consicence when they got home.

Who'd be on the tills, eh.

Safe journey

2008-07-21T15:17:00.002+01:00

I see Ruby is moving on to pastures new in York.
Good luck and safe journey, Ruby - I'll miss your Bury blog as will all the little Beanies.

Ecky thump

2008-07-04T16:18:00.002+01:00

Jack Sugden (aka actor Clive Hornby) has died.

I grew up with Emmerdale Farm, as was.

Jack, Fraser Hines (Joe), Annie, Seth Armstrong, Amos and Mr Wilkes.

I'll raise a glass for you at't Woolpack tonight.

Wheely good

2008-06-20T16:11:00.003+01:00

Had a month's rest but back in town, now.

While on holiday, went to that big wheel thingy in London - and it was really great.

What about putting one of those in the Abbey gardens?

Get well soon

2008-05-23T14:25:00.002+01:00

How sad. I hear Monty Don has had a minor stroke and will be quitting his role as lead presenter of Gardeners' World. I like Monty. Get well soon - your garden needs you.

2008-05-22T13:19:00.002+01:00

Err...what's going on here?
They look ok, but what did these little Abbeygate Street beauties cost?
I know, let's also:
- put speed bumps on the water meadows;
- sell advertising hoardings for the Abbey Gate;
- introduce car parking in the Abbey gardens, and:
- convert the cathedral into a Starbucks.

Oh, baby

2008-05-20T15:20:00.007+01:00

Flying the nest

In she goes

Looking for some food

And found some...

Annoying (see earlier post) Cleverclogs has just shown me up with a number of pictures

We have Great Tits (we'll call them GTs) nesting and with young in the garden.

I have tried to capture the fast little fliers all week - to no avail. I've tried hiding in the undergrowth, crawling Army-style up the grass and all has failed.

Along he comes, stands right in front of the bird house and hey presto. Pictures.

Grrrr...

And just for good measure, he also caught the baby thrush.

Blackie the Blackbird...

And a rip-off of my bark shot from earlier on in my blogging career. Copy-cat.

Blank canvas

2008-05-20T08:56:00.001+01:00

And here it is.

Waiting for plants.

A feast is gonna come...(hopefully).

That's an azalea in the foreground, apparently.

Ouch, that hurts

2008-05-19T13:49:00.003+01:00

Mmmm...radishes

Carrots...ok.

I'm a farmer's son.
I have webbed feet from growing up in the Fens.
Now is my time to shine...
My back is aching from digging - but the raised vegetable beds are ready for business.
I'm aiming to produce the above.
I have this vision of BBC's The Good Life, where I'm Tom Good and Mrs Bean is Felicity Kendall.
We already have Margo and Jerry next door (names have been changed to protect the innocent).
I want to grow carrots that taste like carrots used to taste.
All I need now is a pair of Wellies...and a goat.

Damn and the ants

2008-05-15T10:55:00.005+01:00

Annoying red ant

I'm in a stress. These blinking red ants are now burrowing all over my lawn.

I don't want to spray them - but I don't want to be bitten when I'm relaxing on my new Marlows chairs. Anyone know a humane/green way of suggesting they move on (to next door's garden)?

I can't even encourage Blackie the Blackbird to eat them.

Blackie the Blackbird (picture posed by a model)

He's more interested in the 26p Sainsburys Basics digestive biscuits which we feed him.

McVitie's Digestives (other digestive biscuits are available from outlets)

Help please.

Angel Hill

2008-05-13T14:34:00.000+01:00

Ok, I understand the medieval beauty of Angel Hill.
However, the safety of young children should come first.
Trying to drive past there in the mornings is an accident waiting to happen - let's either see a lollipop person or a crossing point. The studs are all well and good but there ain't much definition for motorists and pedestrians as to who should go where.
Rant over.
We read about accident figures and the like needing to reach a certain level before work can be deemed necessary - what price a young life?
Sort it.

It's festival time

2008-05-09T11:49:00.001+01:00

I love Bury Festival - especially the street theatre.

Tonight, I'll be at the Beating the Retreat ceremony - and then enjoying the Weapons of Sound performance in the Abbey Gardens.

Might even have my first Mr Whippy ice cream of the summer...I've saved up.

SITB of course

2008-05-09T09:11:00.002+01:00

Sir Ian Terrence Botham.

He's doing a 7-mile walk there as part of his 2008 charity walk.

Details here:

http://www.bothamwalk.com/en/1/wwbick.html

He's coming...

2008-05-09T08:35:00.002+01:00

Wahey! My hero is coming to Bury - well Ickworth.
Can't wait and now need to get training so I can meet him.

Phew, what a scorcher

2008-05-07T08:26:00.001+01:00

...has got his hat on today in Bury.
Cycled in to work and swallowed lots of flies.
Sun, cheap breakfast...it's downhill from here.

Cut down

2008-04-30T17:23:00.002+01:00

Just had a mooch around Bury Waitrose - and I'm crestfallen.

Ok, so I was looking at the baby stuff and my eye fell over the bottom butter area...nothing weird though.

There's now a sign up.

'Due to high customer demand and high media focus, bottom butter is temporarily unavailable.'

No mention of this blog.

Cut down in my prime...

Should I tell the manager? Am I being precious? Why am I talking to myself?

Here we grow, here we grow, here we grow

2008-04-28T13:30:00.003+01:00

I am a gardener.
It's official.
Bean Jnr is now Bean Senior:

Sunny the Sunflower has also come out to take a look around the kitchen:

Err...what do I do with them now?

World shortage?

2008-04-25T10:02:00.002+01:00

Been a little worse for wear the past couple of days.

Normally, the above does for me.

However, seems there is something of a world (or at least BSE) shortage.

Sainsburys: 'Sorry, sir, we have them on order. They are repackaging.'

Moreton Hall pharmacy: 'Sorry, sir, would Vics Sinex do?'

Tesco Express, Lawson Place: 'Sorry sir, we don't stock that'.

Be warned, oh snotty people of Bury...

Shock horror

2008-04-22T17:12:00.002+01:00

...and it would seem the doors at Waitrose have this evening been broken.
Shoppers are being told to use the side doors - either they are expecting a rush for Bottom Butter or the stampede has broken the electronic mechanism.
The power of the blog.

The bottom line

2008-04-22T08:11:00.003+01:00

Bottom butter. There, I've said it.
It was a shock to me - the nearest butter gets to my derriere is on my toast.
The Daily Mail story (link below - other news sources are available) says that the £2.49 Waitrose own brand pots are flying off the shelves.
I did a bit of detective work at the Bury branch - that very nice man Clive gave me a cheery smile as I went in - and it's right.
'Temporarily unavailable' said the little sticker where the BB should be.
Women, apparently, are lapping it up - and slopping it on their faces. It's cheaper than many (all?) the other creams around and leaves faces feeling like a baby's, er, bum.
Whatever next?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=560636&in_page_id=1770

Aerial up

2008-04-21T13:47:00.001+01:00

Mr Nice Aerials Man (got his name from the Moreton Hall Directory) was a star.
Would happily recommend him to anyone.
Being a more sedate sort of person, the sight of him hiking up to my roof holding another ladder in his free hand will haunt me for ages.
What a wimp I am.

Broadly speaking

2008-04-21T13:35:00.003+01:00

Back to the broad bean saga.
I overwatered the pot - hence the weird shape you can see at the base. It's giving way. Drastic measures needed.

Then came a new pot and Bean Junior (BJ) started to flourish.

Yesterday saw a growth spurt - it felt like something out of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Summer's on its way

2008-04-21T13:31:00.002+01:00

The (gardening) gloves are off...
Mini Bean and I got down to business yesterday.

The sunflower race is on...

It was like Gunfight at the OK Corrale; we picked our seeds, filled the pots with soil and set them.

We're hoping for this:

Presently, we have this:

Ain't nature grand!

Joy or heartache?

2008-04-18T12:58:00.004+01:00

Pic courtesy BBC

Is it a joy or a blessing?
I see the Bury Bummer has a story about one of my childhood heroes today - Pauline Quirke.
She's in town tomorrow to launch a new youth drama academy.
I loved her in Birds of a Feather and it got me thinking about these TV types.
Trevor Eve (Shoestring) took years to move out of that shadow until Waking the Dead came along. Jean Alexander will forever be Hilda Ogden (depite her sojourn in Last of the Summer Wine) and the list goes on (suggestions welcome).
Pauline Quirke will forever be stuck in time as a TV show from my youth -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/birdsofafeather/

Hope you enjoy your look around our nice town.
The BFP article is here:
http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/Pauline-brings-fun-to-drama.3992316.jp

Read all about it

2008-04-18T08:09:00.003+01:00

Flicking through my random thoughts, you might have come to this blog from another blogger's musings...that's how I do it.

Then I got to wondering what we did before blogs?

I guess we talked to one another more, sent letters or knocked on someone's door for a coffee.

Funny world.

The links down the side are the ones I read the most - I love the way DogWalker takes such a close-up picture.

http://www.burydogwalker.blogspot.com/

He must have some camera.

Ruby, for me, kicked much of us into shape. I still refer back to see what she is up to - nice picture of Howarth this week.

http://livinginburystedmunds.blogspot.com/

21st Century Mummy has become a media star - now that's something for Bury to be rightly proud of. I like her writing style. She's muscling in on my coffee theme so I'll have to start talking about children and Moreton Hall to counter...on the other hand, I'll stick to espresso and beans and just up my game.

http://21stcenturymummy.blogspot.com/

And I have to say I do like reading Paul Farmer's blog - he updates regularly and gives a real insight into the life and times of a busy councillor. I admire anyone with musical talent - mine starts and ends in the shower each morning with renditions (varying) of Sinatra's New York, New York (available on iTunes as download, 79p - other MP3 providers are available but Apple has seen off most of them from the marketplace, or bought them).

No Molestar also keeps me thinking about various issues - be they council or football-related.

http://www.blogstoday.co.uk/bloghome.aspx?username=No%20Molestar

Most use Blogger - wonder what the next big techie thing will be?

Classic stuff

2008-04-15T15:23:00.002+01:00

Did you catch it on TV last night?

I only caught the last half hour - but it was enough...

Here's the front cover of the one I read all those years ago, too.

2008-04-15T08:36:00.002+01:00

Had a snoop around the arc last evening.
Mr very brave Craneman was hard at it - how does he stick that height?
I get a nosebleed walking up Abbeygate Street...
It's a pity they can't leave the Debenhams like it is now. There's something of the Pompidou Centre, in paris, about it at the moment, which all that cladding is going to hide.

I'm a dad: Welcome Bean Jnr

2008-04-14T10:45:00.006+01:00

Congratulations all round in the Bean household.

A new little Bean emerged at the weekend.

I'm sure Bean Jnr (BJ) will grow and grow over the next few days.

(Hopefully there will be no more instances of near-misses with the latest arrival from the Hartwell Blind Company which tried to swipe BJ this morning. Jealousy is such a nasty thing)

That's him just poking his head out at bottom right...

All the answers

2008-04-11T15:10:00.005+01:00

It's Moreton Hall - the A14 is just in the background.

Fascinating.

More than 200 new homes are planned for that area of Bury - taking the total up there to well over the 1,000 mark - and a new road is going to be built first.

Here's the map from the Free Press and you can read their story at http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/

I'm a great one for leaving things as they are. Why change? I can, however, see the reason why towns need to attract people and investment and that's certainly happened in spades up on MH.

(Oops, sorry - pictures and map courtesy of the Bury Free Press)

The way we were

2008-04-11T15:03:00.004+01:00

Very interesting article in the Bury Bummer today.

Any idea where this is?

21st Century Mummy should know (BIG clue).

Green fingers

2008-04-10T13:20:00.008+01:00

It's great to have a garden.

I have bought a new pot of parsley to transplant.

Parsley

And a new pot of Dill (two for a fiver at Bury Homebase).

Dill

My youngest has set a broad bean seed, which I am trying to nurture.

Broad bean (hidden from view)

I have not had such great luck with a Christmas rose, donated by my mum.

Poorly plant

All suggestions gratefully received before she next descends...

Coffee art

2008-04-09T14:49:00.006+01:00

Sammy Lin - artist

Back to my original posts - which were all about coffee.

Sammy Lin is from New York and is a latte artist par excellence.

Judge for yourselves.

I wonder what they cost - and whether they could produce one in Nero?

Mind you, I wouldn't want to drink one...they're too nice to look at.

Read all about Sammy and Coffee Art here:

http://www.vancouvercoffee.ca/archives/2006/11/sammy-lin-coffee-art.html

Old age

2008-04-09T10:07:00.006+01:00

Smarty pants

There was drama and there were tears (mine) - and it all came down to just one point.

Unfortunately, I was on the wrong end of it and smarty pants, above, creamed me at Bury Bowl on Sunday.

Look, I'm getting on a bit but this is the point, I guess, when the youngsters start to pity me.

They already make fun of my lack of real bulky hair and the styling of what little I have.

They are already starting to make fun of my sporting ability - or rather the lack of it.

Now, ten-pin bowling...what next?

Anyone got a number for sheltered accommodation?

Useful links from this story:

http://www.stannahstairlifts.co.uk/

Wildlife wonders

2008-04-08T13:31:00.009+01:00

Borat

Azamat

I love birds. I love watching them- they are both graceful and yet alarmed.

That's probably because of the actions of the youngsters in my home, though.

They have named two of the robins which visit Borat and Azamat. Borat won't fly away when they scare him, Azamat will.

My youngest decided to get in on the blogging lark, taking some pictures of their comedy-named wildlife.

Annoying technical wizard

And he put me to shame.

At least it got him away from Brian Lara Cricket 2007, Fifa Street 2008 and Fifa 2008 for a few minutes...

WMD (Weapons Meaningless to Dad)

Not bad, son.

Why is that kids can pick up a piece of equipment and they just know how it works?

I have struggled, battled long and hard to work out my new camera.

They come along. Ping-ping-ping, eureka.

Grrrrr....

Hungry starling

Wet morning in Bury

Why all the fuss?

Ooh, la la

2008-04-01T08:12:00.003+01:00

No, not a revelation that I'm really a renowned French chef...sorry regular reader(s).

Bumped into Jean Christophe Novelli at the Ideal Home Show at the weekend and what a nice chappie.

Typically, apparently, he turned up late - over half an hour. He bemoaned the state of West London's traffic.

I felt like shouting out loud about Bury St Edmunds' traffic and parking but felt it would fall on deaf ears.

When you think about it, a few months of pain on the Cattle Market, King's Road shut for 12 weeks, above-inflation hikes in parking fees at St Edmundsbury's car parks and today, Parkway multi-storey closed to early morning drivers...

Living in Bury St Edmunds (sorry, Ruby) sounds just peachy!

New camera

2008-03-28T08:27:00.007Z

I've given up coffee - well, at least the hard stuff.
Hence no posts.
I have just got my hands on a pretty nice new camera, though. Thanks, Jessops - never been into your Traverse shop before but what a cornucopia of goodies.
Seen around Bury . . . please bear with me while I get used to the settings.

These posts will all soon be underground - they have a real beauty of their own though.

Texture always intrigues me. This one is in the Abbey Gardens. I was attacked by a low-flying duck for my art.

Wild flowers gone to seed.

Had a decent cuppa here in years gone by...shame. What sort of person will end up living here - and have all us tourists in their back garden?

Shrubs in the foreground - and the foothills of Bury in the background (ok, it's a cloud, but nice all the same to think we are in a hilly area)

Month off

2007-10-19T11:20:00.000+01:00

Back again.

I've been trying to detox, but it's no good.

I saw 21st Century Mummy's post about Tickety Boo and the cakes on offer therein and knew I had to get out there again.

Nero in Abbeygate Street was the bad boy - and I now have a card full of little stamps to enable me to get a freebie next time I go down there.

Popped to one of those huge out-of-town shopping centres last night and the appeal of good old Bury St Edmunds was really missing.

They are impersonal, shopping wastelands - not a bit like Hatter Street, St John's Street or Langton Place, all of which I love.

Frankie & Benny's

2007-09-04T08:14:00.000+01:00

This is the men's - quite a shock to the system when you first go inside...

Frankie & Benny's got my custom in recent days - and what an impressive set of toilets (men's and women's).

The men's are a riot of black and white (very this season, I gather, darling) and the tops of the walls are decorated with old newspaper cuttings.

In the women's, apparently (I didn't venture in, but had a spy) there is the option to learn a dash of Italian while you, err, do whatever women do.

The coffee (espresso) wasn't great though - bit stewed and bitter. Probably had it on boil for too long. Not strong enough, either and no water provided with it.

And while we'er on it, the £10.95 sharing platter was a real disappointment. The chicken wings were ok-ish, but the chikcen pieces were more frozen nugget appearance and taste. One of the reasons for going for the dish was the lure of the onion rings - and, sorry, they were very poor. Need improving. If you were a school report, you would get C+ (Could do better).

Atmosphere nice, kids' meals ok and bottomless kiddie drinks were well received by both young and old.

Well fancy that . . .

2007-09-03T14:27:00.001+01:00

Coffee shops are now Britain’s fastest-growing retail business.

There are already more than 3,000 on the High Street, clocking up sales of £1.3bn a year — and experts say those numbers will double by 2017.

As a nation, we polish off 70 million cups of coffee a day and health specialists YorkTest reckon as many as one in 20 of us has an intolerance to it.

Well fancy that . . . now Waterstone's is moving to the new Cattle Market development and Debenhams is moving in, too, does that mean we will get two 'new' coffee shops in Bury?

Hold on to your cups - we could be heading for a coffee price war.

RIP

2007-09-03T10:24:00.000+01:00

Another reference on today's Google alert for coffee - I'll raise a cup to you later, Alf.

Alfred H. Peet, the son of a Dutch coffee merchant who pioneered a revolution in roasting exotic dark beans that led to America’s love affair with high-end coffee, has died. He was 87.

Alfred H. Peet is often called the “grandfather of specialty coffee”.

The cause was cancer, several friends said. His death was announced Friday by a representative of the company he founded, Peet’s Coffee and Tea Inc.

Did you know?

2007-09-03T10:03:00.000+01:00

My Google alert on coffee tells me today:

Coffees and tea

• Decaffeinated coffee is only 97 per cent free of caffeine.

• While the average iced tea has 47 milligrams per 12 ounce serving, Snapple contains 31.5 milligrams per 16 ounces and Lipton Brisk has only 9 milligrams per 12 ounces.

Sweets

• Dark chocolate has considerably more caffeine than milk chocolate. A 60-gram bar of Hershey's Special Dark has 31 milligrams; the same size milk chocolate bar has 9 milligrams.

I'll be ordering some of that Hershey's stuff - they make those delightful little 'Kisses' shaped like a bell dome and wrapped in silver foil. Scrummy.

Costa blank-er

2007-08-24T14:45:00.000+01:00

Sorry, Costa...Tickety Boo has been my best espresso this week.

You tried, you tried hard, but despite a very competitive £1.70 for a dopio you left me unimpressed.

The natty little biscuit selection (four for a little over £2.50 in a pretty little box) did almost tempt me but I had my eye on your off-centre saucers and a sniff of coffee.

Ms Bean had a dash of Earl Grey, which probably stole my attention.

Never mind - I'm sure you will redeem yourself soon.

Walking back to work, I see the new Cattle Market is starting to take shape - there's the beginnings of a shop next to Palmers Homestore.

Anyone know what that's going to be?

Boots and W H Smith have excellent sales on, too, at the moment.

I nearly fell for the under-a-tenner yoga starter set in Boots but just managed to say a laid-back 'no' in time.

And I can't resist stationery ( 'e' for envelopes ). Erasers, books, diaries, rulers, folders - my desks are full of them, all at reduced price, but none of them touched.

What a consumer.

Summertime

2007-08-23T07:48:00.000+01:00

Everywhere you go, everyone you talk to ... 'where's the summer gone?' they ask.

For sure, it ain't in Bury today.

It's grey, it's mizzling, it's overcast.

The Parkway multi-storey car park attendant - who keeps that place so very tidy - gave me a cheery-ish 'Morning', but I think the weather had even gotten to him.

Those cheery, new little 'publicity' signs bordering the Cattle Market didn't even make me smile this morning.

I should imagine some PR firm in the smoke was paid thousands to come up with the idea of cutting out an arc shape for people to look through.

Very clever.

(The fact the design apes others should, of course, be overlooked by any lawyers.)

I might pay a return trip to HaGa today, on Moreton Hall. Went earlier in the week and they had a very reasonable crockery set (6-piece) which I snapped up...and there were other things which my sticky fingers really wanted to pick up, too.

Spending always brings a ray of sunshine to a damp day.

Along with the first coffee of the day, which I'm just off to make.

(The picture is from my summer trip to Thetford's gig by The Feeling - it was sunny that day)

No boo-hoo with Tickety Boo

2007-08-22T14:13:00.000+01:00

What a find!

One of the replies here had suggested I trot along to Tickety Boo's cup cake shop, in St John's Street.

Wowee!

I couldn't face one of their lovely looking cakes - someone in the office had just celebrated his 29th with a fine array of delicacies from Waitrose - but I did try a double espresso at £1.75.

Best in Bury, or at least as good as Nero on a very good day.

Apparently, the very nice chappie in there confirmed they were using their hand-roasted coffee (from Union Coffee Roasters) before anyone else in town got into using Fairtrade varieties.

And it was the first place I have been offered a glass of cold water with my espresso in Bury.

Nice art on the walls, too, by a lady who had been to West Suffolk College then on to study in Herts.

Nice chairs, very clean, cool atmosphere. And as it is a cold, miserable, gloomy sort of day outside, the warm welcome inside was very cheery.

9/10...very well done and worth a visit.

(Cakes next time!)

I have a question

2007-08-22T08:22:00.000+01:00

Why is that the shop-bought varieties of coffee (Starbucks, Nero, Lavazza) never taste the same when you make them?

My hopes were high with a packet from Nero - and my pockets empty - but it was very disappointing.

I guess I forgot to spit and hiss and make lots of lots of tapping noises when I made it (and ask myself if I wanted any pastries).

Any tips?

Ho hum.

Bean - and come back again . . .

2007-08-17T14:13:00.000+01:00

It's good to be back.

Mr Bean and his little Beanies have been away getting roasted for a few weeks but we're back to run the rule of thumb over the coffee houses of BSE.

Today was Caffe Nero, in Abbeygate Street, and a takeaway expresso.

Workmanlike and tasty - but you don't get the lovely froth you get in the china cups. I love swirling it around in them and dislodging this froth so it goes back into the main coffee. Scrummy.

8/10 - will try a proper one next week when I have more time.

How have you all been/bean in my absence? Anyone back from any great coffee hotspots?

I'm afraid Wells-Next-The-Sea failed to live up to my coffee expectations, but a smart deli on the seafront looked good for olives and the like (and olive oil). Bought a very reasonable fly-swat for 75p, too.

Southwold produced the goods, though, in a natty underground cafe.

A more mundane trip to Ely also threw up an unexpected treaure - a Starbucks in a very nice corner spot. I had an iced coffee (it was really hot that week) sitting on the low wall outside and it was scrummy. Sucked the caramel up through the straw and it tasted yum.

Mamma mia!

2007-07-23T16:24:00.000+01:00

Double espresso is £1.80 a cup in Cambridge's Grafton Centre - at Mamma Amalfi.

The service wasn't great - they ignored me at the self-service counter.

Then they didn't provide a bill - had to go to the till inside to try to pay them. They smarmily asked if I actually wanted to pay - I didn't but they took me by surprise and threw me somewhat.

Not great service, not a great coffee - not a place I'll be going back to.

And the atmosphere outside on the 'terrace' with the smell of Burger King mingling with the stench of popcorn from the Vue cinema was not what I wanted.

Wish I had stayed in the Costa queue or tried the new Starbucks on the trading estate in Newmarket Road...

Harry along to see this one . . .

2007-07-16T09:10:00.001+01:00

What a film!

Even if you don't like Harry Potter - and I know the little one with the rimmed glasses can be somewhat annoying - this is quite an offering.

It's a bit darker than the rest, as the cast are getting older, but that adds to the appeal.

And I got it wrong - Harry doesn't snog Hermione (sorry!).

I can't believe my eldest got through the amount of popcorn he did...now I know he has hollow legs.

What a relief

2007-07-13T14:38:00.001+01:00

There are days when only Nero can deliver.

Today was one of those days . . .

It was espresso, it was £1.60 and it was worth every penny.

Last night made me realise just how much this little tasse means to me.

Small, round and perfectly formed. I'd like to say just like me...it wouldn't be true.

Tomorrow is another day and I'm off to see Harry Potter - or Barry Trotter as the kids refer to him.

I gather Hermione and Harry have a snog...whatever next!

What a Feeling

2007-07-13T09:45:00.000+01:00

Not the sort of steaming offering you expect on a coffee blog, but I thought it was relevant.

Drove out to see The Feeling at Thetford Forest last night - and what a gig! (and what an impressive set of toilets, too)

Those guys know how to rock; the sound was fabulous and the atmosphere electric.

My only gripe as the lack of a Starbucks/Nero/Cafe Rouge-type coffee stand...or am I being a bit picky?

There was a hog roast and a first-aid tent along with somewhere selling 'hot drinks'.

I didn't venture along - had a Double Decker, packet of Hula Hoops and a bottle of water.

Now choccie bars - there's another great topic (oops, no pun intended) for a blog. Do you think Mars bars have gone downhill since they stopped those crinkly wrappers?

And how do you eat your Twix? Bite off the chewy bit and then eat the biscuit? Both together? Or just let it melt in your mouth?

Cadbury Boost has to be my fave though - bite into one of those and chew and it feels as if your teeth are going to come out.

Mmmmmmmmm...........

G&B

2007-07-11T09:32:00.000+01:00

Mmmmm...

Guess where this is and I'll be dead impressed.

Went out last night to a swish eaterie and went for espresso (double) at the denouement of a very nice meal.

Best bit was they brought some Green and Black miniature chocs with the coffee. No white choc ones though, so slightly disappointing, as they really are my favourites.

Lovely!

2007-07-09T12:41:00.000+01:00

It was dire in Newmarket.

Got there early (about 7.30am) and was soooo looking forward to a good 'kick' from my 'doub-esp' - but the blooming shop was shut.

How do they expect to get early morning trade?

Did walk past the named shop (not wishing to name and shame the offending establishment - it was Costa) later on, but snubbed it out of principle.

However, I did manage to get to the Grafton Centre, in sunny Cambridge, on Saturday morning (again really early) and Costa was open and running.

Changed the habit of a lifetime and went for the medio Americano for a reasonable £2.

One thing worries me about Costa though - why are the saucers off-set? I like a saucer you can put the cup in the middle of. Call me old-fashioned but this off-centre thing really puts me ill at ease.

And they always put the receipt in the well of the recess for the cup.

a) You can't read it again as the cup always oozes some liquid on to it;

b) I do like to read receipts (I'm a weirdo like that) and see what info is on it.

While we're on that, don't you just love reading other people's shopping lists?

Whenever someone has left one in a trolley or on one of those clippy things on a trolley, I always pocket it and read what they have bought. You can find out some really interesting things about people on those...

Anyhow, back to me at Costa.

Read the property supplement which was the only freebie paper hanging around and found a lovely new pad - a cool £4 million horsey establishment in Chippenham (think that's out near Newmarket, which would make sense).

If we can get enough together, I'll turn it into a Nero franchise...any offers?

Here's my coffee from Saturday and the napkin. Just for proof.

2007-07-03T16:28:00.000+01:00

Not a great day.

Computer problems all round have meant I have not got away from the office and Tuesdays are normally a great day for finding a good seat at a local coffee house.

So it's Original or Gold Blend. But it ain't quite the same.

There's somethnig about the theatre of those people in Starbucks or Nero or Costa and the hissing and spitting. Then there's the machine noise . . . LOL.

I live to fight another day though - I'll be in Newmarket on Friday at the strangely re-named Guineas shopping centre (the old Rookery Centre). All locals will forever refer to it as the Rookery - in the same way that Bury's Cattle Market will never, ever be called the arc.

And there's a gleaming, shiny new Costa in the Rookery (sorry, marketing gurus, Guineas).

I'll do a comparison between that one and the Bury one and report back.

Hope the double espresso costs more for all those well-off horsey types...

And apparently there is a special offer for workers from the Rookery (sorry... Guineas) so I'll try to blag my way into some money off.

That's better

2007-07-02T14:59:00.000+01:00

Funny, but some people's cheek never ceases to amaze me.

I'm one of these blokes who would never dream of going into a shop (like Nero), use the toilet and then walk straight out again. But that very thing happened this lunchtime.

Brazenly, she hurried in. She had to wait an eternity but persevered - and then she was gone.

Wish I had the b***s myself to do that but I would have had to have bought a double espresso like the one which left this rather fetching ring on my napkin.

Wet, wet, wet

2007-07-02T08:11:00.000+01:00

Darned English summer!

My lovely Abbey Gardens 'gig' featuring the old Bard himself was rained off on Saturday night.

Went home in disgust - sorry, organisers, didn't fancy the school hall you offered as a substitute and will be after you today for my money back.

I did manage to have several decent coffees over the weekend - but nothing from a shop so will be off to Nero today with camera in hand and try to place my first picture on here.

Cool eh!

Weekend

2007-06-29T08:06:00.001+01:00

Looking forward to a wet weekend.

I've got tickets for the Midsummer Night's Dream gig in the Abbey Gardens but I suspect it'll be rained off, judging by the forecast.

The only good thing about that is that I can double back to Cafe Rouge for a quick bite to eat - now they serve some serious coffee in there, too.

It used to be a bank, apparently, and the little room off to the left as you go in was the manager's office. There's still a safe in there, I think.

Anyone know which branch?

Early evening Bury

2007-06-29T07:57:00.000+01:00

I love the way Bury smells . . .

And it smells differently whenever you walk through the town centre.

Wednesdays - market smells. Saturdays - McDonalds smells. Thursday nights - fresh.

Last night, I had a late espresso (double of course) at Nero and managed to grab a window seat. Is it me putting on weight, or are those brown chairs getting smaller? One too many cakes - I'd best take note.

The atmosphere in Nero changes in relation to the time of day. Grab an early coffee and everyone is rushing around like blue-aXXXed flies. Lunchtime is fight for a seat time. Evenings are mellow, though, and I love them.

Best bit is getting to look in the Quest window - I want one of those bird boxes with the natty roofs. I bought a smaller one out of there a few weeks back for just a fiver (what a bargain) but these are over the £10 mark. Not sure I can stretch to that.

Walking back to the car park, Sneezums has a sale on - lots of money-off deals. Might have to treat myself to a shiny Timberland watch (always fancied one of those). Bought a pair of Timberland boots back in the 90s when they were de rigeur but never been able to afford a decent watch.

Welcome!

2007-06-28T16:08:00.000+01:00

Over the next few months, I'll be commenting on the coffee shops and cafes of Bury and its surrounds.

I love coffee - the stronger the better - and a double espresso usually does it for me.

But how often have you been disappointed by a mocha or infuriated by a frothy frappe?

Coffee shops of Bury beware - I won't be taking any prisoners.