4.18 /// Reminiscing over 'my' cafe Nervosa...

You're listening to infinite prattle with your host , steven . Thanks for joining me for unscripted , unedited everything . Oh , thank you very much for joining me today . Um , hang on , let me adjust my microphone because because I've not done this in a while , so I've got to make this error .

If you can hear some patterning in the background as well , my dog's in the room with me today . He's a bit lonely . My wife's been away for a bit . She's away this week on holiday and she's been previously in hospital , so he's missing her . I think he's feeling a bit like he needs company all the time .

At the moment he's , he's a bit , he is a bit of a stressy dog . I'm not , I'm not gonna lie , he's a bit of an anxiety dog . Uh , not for anxiety , he has anxiety . Um , yeah , I think . Um , yeah , I think he just needs a bit of company , so he's in the background . So , uh , if you hear any pattering or pattering or anything like that , it's my dog .

So don't , don't worry , don't worry . Um , yeah , and yes , today , uh , hello , by the way , hello , if you should , if it's your first time joining . Uh , can you hear it ? Stop scratching by the . My dog is a cross-jack , russell Dashound , or Jackson as some people call him , and he's lovely , a bit needy , as I say , a bit needy , yeah .

So if you've never listened to the show today before today , should I say welcome , thank you very much for listening , and if you're a regular listener , thank you very much for that too . Yeah , so , as I said in the intro , I want to talk about a coffee shop that I used to go to a lot . I like coffee .

I think if you're a regular listener to the show , you'll know that I enjoy a cup of coffee as well as Pepsi Max , not a sponsor yet . Come on , pepsi , come on , come on , just sponsor one episode . A tenner , a tenner . I hold on to that dream .

I'm an ever optimist , like my dog , yeah , so in the program Frasier they used to always go into the same coffee shop , a bit like in Friends , they used to go to Central Perk Frasier , always going to the same coffee shop , a bit like in friends . They used to go to central perk frasia .

It was cafe nervosa and um , I , I kind of like fell into a coffee shop thing like mid 2000s , um , like the the early part of the 2000s , like when I was saying mid 2000 being like the 2000s , 2010 , so it's probably like , probably , probably when I moved into my own place , I think , starting a railway job , working on the train station and stuff , I used

to get coffees from the discounted coffees . I started drinking lattes and stuff . I started becoming a thing in this country . I started drinking lattes and la-di-da . When I moved on to my own , it was lonely , genuinely . That's probably the reason , if I'm honest with you . I used to go into town and mooch around .

I started going to a coffee shop called Rimini's and that kind of became my cafe nervosa . I'd go there a few times a week . I probably looked like that wanker in the corner , looking like he was doing work or whatever , but I used to go in there and write song lyrics or just write my thoughts down and chat to the people who owned it and they're all .

They're all amazing . Uh , um , a couple of simon and karen , I think they were called . Pretty sure that was the names . Yes , it was . Oh , I'm doubting myself . Um , and the various like you know employees that they had over the years , and they were all amazing . They were all so , so , so nice and so much fun .

And , um , I became like the regular customer , so it was kind of like I'd walk in and they were all amazing . They were all so , so , so nice and so much fun .

And , um , I became like the regular customer , so it was kind of like I'd walk in and they knew what I'd normally order , so they knew my regular drink , which used to be a mocha , to be honest .

Mocha with cream , uh , probably really bad for me , to be honest , full of sugar , full of caffeine , full of fat and delicious , um , yeah , and I used to go in and pretty much order a coffee there , like at least three times a week , I would say , because I'd walk to work a lot of the time . I was a bit more healthy , to be honest .

I used to do a bit more exercise . I only had a motorbike when I moved into my first house in 2004, . I only had a motorbike as a mode of transport . So I would never go out without my kit on .

So it was kind of more of a ball lake to go and like warm a motorbike up , get all my leathers on , you know , and park , find parking , like sitting there in your gear , and if it's a warm day , um , I said to walk to work . So I used to walk to work quite a lot and um , so that's what I used to do .

So I walked to work and um , and grab a coffee on the way , sometimes some lunch , and just make a bit of an event of it . And , as I say , I was probably a little bit lonely , to be honest , and I used to go in there , you know , and I made friends with the proprietors and the coffee shop girls , because they were mainly girls .

There was very rarely a male employee . I don't know if that's a demographic or that's just how they employed people , but yeah , we used to go in there and it was just really nice . And yeah , I used to say I used to just watch people mainly . That sounds a little creepy , but you know what I mean .

You go in a coffee shop and it was nice just to be surrounded by people . Not necessarily that I knew , so I didn't always have to engage in a conversation , but I was . I was with people , um , and the more I went in there , the more friendly I got with it , with the owners and , um , I think that's a bit .

I think that's one of the things that's a bit soulless about , like Costa and Starbucks and a lot of these other big chains like Nero and stuff . But you know , if you're regular , you can you can get to know some of the people that work there , um , but they're all about turnover , I feel , and I suppose a small business wants that turnover as well .

But then I think they're more about making a connection with you and I must admit , like there's a local castle that I go to , they have got used to my drink . Now I'll go in and I'll be like same as usual . I always change what milk I have , though .

Um , sometimes I have soy milk , sometimes I have like ordinary milk , sometimes that's for any milk , um , yeah , and I don't know what I call this skinny meal . I kind of hate that . Then what else ? You call it skimmed , but skinny milk . They know what . They know what I mean . Anyway , I feel like I'm breathing a lot today . I'm very breathy .

They're coming through . I don't know what the ds are on . That's my mustache . Yeah , microphone . I don't know why I did that , sorry , probably triggering some listeners . Um , it's been very well by the way he's doing , he's being very well behaved . Oh , he's not even in here . That's why I was gonna say wonder why I can't hear him , but he's .

We've gone to lie in the bed , his normal default position . If , if , um , I'm in my room doing stuff , he now goes and lies on our bed and goes to sleep . Normally there's no touching the pillow . I think it must be like so he can smell us and relax . It's really cute . It's like a Bert slash coffee episode .

Yeah , so coffee shops have kind of like always been a thing and I used to go between there and a place called Muff , called muffin break , which I don't know whether they exist anymore . They closed down in crew , where I'm from , and it was literally like a muffin shop . They sold cookies and I think they sold some sandwiches and stuff .

But yeah , it was a bit of a chain place like um , millie's cookies kind of thing . Um , and if my wife was here , she would , or if my wife was taking part in this podcast , she would mention coffee girls , coffee shop girls , because she thinks that I have a kind of thing of attracting coffee shop girls to me .

She thinks that coffee shop girls find me attractive maybe not anymore , like I've widened a little bit and not as young as I used to be but she , I tell her stories of like going into the coffee shops and stuff , going to this one and blah , blah , and the girls would say they probably fancied you , and I'm like , no , they didn't . No , they didn't .

It turns out I knew that one of them did , because she bumped into me years after the place closed . That was Riminis , my cafe nervosa , and she actually admitted that she fancied me for years and I was like what I was ? Like that's really bizarre . So Sarah's kind of right .

Anyway , that's not what this is about like my attractiveness , but it's kind of nice to know that though , isn't it ? But I think she used to say this because she's so oblivious , she's kind of really polite and nice and engaging . But I think women find that attractive because you don't seem like you're after anything , which I wasn't , because I'm oblivious .

I'm terrible with women . There's a podcast going to come out . I have to address that at some point in a podcast and basically say how rubbish I am at . Oh , hang on , I need to turn the echo on for a second . So that's what you get when you rest your hand on the , when you rest your hand on the pads there . Yeah , never mind .

Well , there you go , there's a bit of echo for you on that one . Yeah , I think with . Yeah , they're definitely going to . Yeah , my brain's so sketchy . Today I've had a few coffees and , ironically , my brain's a bit everywhere .

But yeah , I think with the whole coffee shop thing , there's definitely going to be a future podcast on my obliviousness , the way I interact with women and the way I used to try to attract ladies . Let's say my failures , mainly failures , vast failures , but yeah , I used to love the atmosphere of women .

It came back on some sort of track and it was only a small place . It was in Frewtown Centre and it was like three rows of tables , maybe four or five tables , two little bay windows . There was comfy , three rows of tables like maybe four or five tables , like two little bay windows .

There was like a comfy chairs in there and probably like five , six other tables . So it wasn't huge , had a toilet . If you want to know that , I did have a toilet . They did quite a range of sandwiches and toasters and stuff like that , and I like basic menus . I don't like too much stuff , but yeah , these little cakes and stuff .

One of my mates who's sadly no longer with us , but Bob , ex-rule Marine nearly my dad's age he was , I think he was a year or so younger than my dad Me and him used to go in there all the time , far too much , and sit and just worlds to write , chat about stuff , have a moot around the town , go back probably again for another coffee .

Uh , probably spent a fortune in there , to be honest . But , um , because we went in so often , they used to give us a little bit of a sneaky discount every so often and that's kind of nice . You know , getting that like that kind of I was going to say notoriety , but that's not the right word is it that relationship where they appreciate you ?

Sometimes they'd be like you know you'd order a couple of sandwiches and you'd order two drinks and then they'd just only charge you for the sandwiches because you know , hello Bert , because you'd only you'd been in there for hours . Basically , we used to sit there for hours but we'd contribute and sit there without a drink .

It was probably high as a kite on caffeine half the time . Yeah , it was just such a nice , nice place to be . You know , I got to know , got to know the people that were there , I got to know a bit about their lives . It was so nice

. I say I don't think you get that nowadays because , like Custer and Star Wars are just so busy all the time with people taking away . I think with Riminis it was literally sit-in . They did do takeaways but most people didn't take a takeaway . I think I only did that in years of going there .

I think I did that once or twice , maybe on the way to work . But yeah , these new places , they're all about turnover . They're kind of soulless . I do attend them , I do go to them . I'd love it if there was more local places . That's the best thing about Northern Ireland . They're going for chains .

There are chain places like Costa , starbucks , nero's , all that sort of stuff , but in between on the high street there's so many more like local businesses or local chains of businesses you can frequent and that's so refreshing . I feel like something we're missing in a lot of towns and cities in the UK .

I mean , if you go somewhere that's like quite popular , like you know , a bit touristy , then you get places like that , but like in Crewe , not so much , unfortunately . Um , I kind of miss that .

But I do still go to Costa and I'll take my laptop and I'll do a bit of writing and , um , I was used to laughing , scoff at people used to do that and think , oh , you're just showing off and stuff , but it is kind of a nice place to go . I kind of it does relax me .

I kind of like being in like other people's company in some sense , but not having to talk to them . Um , it's the old walks of life , don't you like ?

When I sit in the coffee shop , in in remedies , I used to , um , sit near one of the windows , and I never used to sit in the window seat , I used to sit on one of the two seaters , just stare out the window . So if there was no one interested in that day , um , I would just like stare out the window .

So I'd sit there , headphones on sometimes and and just write or write down lyrics . Yeah , and when I used to busk as well , my target for busking . You talk about dream big . This is talk about dream to the level that you want to get to .

I used to busk in Crewtown Centre and Land Twitch as well , and the aim that I used to aim for was enough money to buy a coffee , which think at the time was like £2.60 . £2.50 for a mocha with cream , which is cheap . If you think about how mucha equivalent would be now probably like £4.50 or something , so it's probably double the price .

Um , yeah , so my , my target would be literally just to attain enough money to come buy a coffee and if we could buy a coffee and a sandwich , or buy coffee and a snack or a cake or something added bonus , um , and I used to .

I used to busk outside , near , near eminence , um , and then go in with my , with the spoils of busking and spend it instantly . But used to do um , and I like that . You know , I like that dynamic in my life at that time and it's probably something that , uh , I know I don't miss per se .

I kind of miss the simpleness of like a local cafe , like that , rather than the busyness and soullessness of of like a corporate chain . I mean , I'm not saying that the people that work there are lovely , I mean the one at costra I go into in crew .

I have got to know a couple of the girls and they're personable and they say they remember what I like and a couple of us , you know , a couple of them really have a bit of banter with me and a bit of a chat and , you know , find out about them and you find out what they're doing and their personal lives a little bit and that's kind of nice .

But because their shops are a lot larger and there's a turnover of people , they never stop .

They're never quiet enough normally to actually take their time with you , whereas somewhere like Remna's , because it was so small , even if they were busy , there was still enough time for them to come and chat to you and kind of make the rounds almost like a restaurant owner would do .

You've seen these gangster films where the Italian restaurant owner would come around and check if everyone's okay and basically play the host kind of thing . And that was kind of nice that you know . You kind of felt like that was your little place . I'm sure loads of people feel the same about this place and other places .

That was my little escape and even after I bought a coffee machine for my house I used to still go there . Mom used to be like , well , you've got a false economy , you've bought an expensive coffee machine and you still go to the bloody coffee shop . I was like , well , yeah , why not ? It was nice to go there , why wouldn't I ?

In regards to modern coffee shops and such things , it's all pre-packaged sandwiches as well , isn't it ? Like nothing's made fresh , whereas Rimin has made the fresh sandwiches . Again , that's very much like Ireland . You very rarely get anything that's pre-prepared in a fridge .

If you go into like a local one , they they make them fresh and I think that was a nice thing as well . Like you're going to cost a starbucks , any of them , any chain , any shop , really modern modern day shop , everything's disposable , throw away pre-packaged and expensive as well .

Like we were in starbucks the other week and me and sarah we bought , bought coffee . Uh , we had a coffee each and she was . She likes , like chai lattes and you know the frappes and stuff like that . They're too sweet for me . I just like you know either a black coffee or a latte , so I think I'd like a small latte .

She had like a small drink as well . I might have had a medium and I'm not sure and I shorted a toasty because I think her sugars are dropping . So I was like I'll buy you a toasty as well . Not a toasty like , but it was like a small oval piece of bread like two , two pieces of bread with a filling .

It was like cheese and ham toasty and it wasn't , wasn't very large slices of bread and it was like six quid for a toasty and like , when you think about it , like the pieces of bread , even if you say 10p each , which is a stretch , a bit of cheese , what ? 30p for a bit of cheese ?

30p max maybe for a bit of ham , and you're just thinking that sandwich probably cost like 70 or 80p at the most to make the most , even with the packaging , like what is it pence to put ? You know it's probably like a penny to put the plastic wrap on like it's nothing , isn't it ?

When , on an industrial level , and the charge is like it was like £5.95 , I think it was , or £6.20 , it was something like that . So these two coffees and these two drinks and this sandwich and I think it was , or £6.20 , it was something like that .

So these two coffees and these two drinks and this sandwich , and I think I had one of them , chocolate straw things came to nearly £20 . I was like what the hell ? I honestly couldn't believe it . I was shocked and I sound like a really old man . But yeah , it used to be like kind of a treat still to go out for a coffee .

But it didn't bankrupt you and it's still a treat to go out for a coffee . I probably do far too much of a mess with you . I probably could save so much money . Um , I need to , I need to curb that a little bit , but yeah , it's , it's expensive nowadays . It's expensive and I know , and it's not the same experience , it's not , it's not at all .

Um , I need to find a new cafe in avosa , I think . I think if I lived in Ireland , I would have like five of them All in different places . I could probably think of five cafes in Northern Ireland now that I would probably visit on a regular basis that are all in different areas in Northern Ireland . So , yeah , so that's my little story .

It went a bit awry at one point . Well , all of it went awry . Actually , I think there was a point that I was trying to get to and I don't think I got to it . If I think of the point , if you think of the point , let me know .

But have you ever had a place that you've gone it be a bar or somewhere that you just felt at home and it's been comfortable and you've enjoyed going there and it's been a place of musings , even because that's definitely what I used to do , definitely used to do , and it was probably part of my well-being .

To be honest , for a time in my life that was new discovering things , living alone , being a bit lonely , trying to discover new relationships , growing as a person . It was very deep , and it probably was , if you think about it , if I think about it . Yeah , so let me know if you've ever had somewhere that you call home but it's a business establishment .

You know what I mean . You know what I mean . Thank you very much for listening everyone . If it's been your first time today , thank you for listening , thank you , and I hope you continue to listen . And my podcasts are never the same .

They never some scroll around , some kind of stick to the subject matter , um , yeah , so go and check some more out , um , but before you decide , um , check out some of my uh , guest , guest , guest speaks where I have guests . Yes , thank you very much for listening . Take care of yourselves and until next time .

Thanks for listening to Infinite Brattle with your host , stephen . Follow me on social networks at Infinite Prattle and don't forget to subscribe . Thanks very much .