de la creme*

"Hot chocolate, please," he said, "with cream and marshmallows."

I told him that we didn't have any "squirty" cream, only whipped double cream which tends to sink, so would he prefer just the marshmallows which is what we normally do? 

"Nah," he said, "stick the cream in," then added, "I don't care. It's not for me."

One of my young staff (aged 20) was, shall we say, riled by his response. 

"Typical," she said, "that's exactly the sort of thing my dad would say."

*can't find the accent grave. Sorry.

The end is nigh.

Never have I been so happy to reach the end of September.
From tomorrow, and for the whole of October, a new closing time - 4pm - which will make working life a lot easier. The last hour has been a bit of a drag since the end of the summer holidays and although we have been very, very busy during this past week of sunshine it's mainly been at lunchtime.
September has been tricky too because most of the younger staff have gone back to universities and a few of the older staff have taken the opportunity to go on holiday.
Add the puppy into the mix and my nerves are frayed.
I know there will be people upset that they can't get a cup of tea post-4pm.
But it will make the last month of the season so much nicer for us tea-makers.

Pip Pip

Scaramouche

Today began, as yesterday, with a crying puppy. Pip is now spending her days at the tea rooms in a luxurious crate complete with cushion, toy & lots of smiling faces peering in at her. But no, that's not enough. She wants to be held.
So I went in early, set everything up and cradled her to sleep in the fireside chair (having made myself a latte).
Then the 'phone rang.
It was the perfect day for an unexpected coach. This one was from Southampton and had just turned up at the Court.
Not really enough time to get Pip into REM sleep so she cried and barked through the first order.
After a second go at puppy-cuddling she started puppy-snoring and slept for the rest of the morning.

I must be mad to be doing this puppy thing again when the tearooms are still open.
It's utterly exhausting.

Customer of the day was the older lady (in the coach party) who ordered a hot chocolate "with the full fandango, please".
We knew what she meant.

Life's a...

I have a friend who took possession of a new puppy at the weekend. She'd been to choose her a few weeks ago from a large litter. The man selling the pups shaved a little area of the puppy's leg and then later shaved a J on her head (he thought that was the first letter of my friend's name.) So many people were coming to see and choose he had to keep a record of who'd chosen which dog.
The puppy cried most of the first night. And at intervals during the second.
This afternoon my friend took her new puppy to the vets to have her first vaccinations.
The vet called her into the surgery and stroked the pup, asking all about her. She checked her ears. Then looked in her mouth. Then stretched out her legs.
Then the vet told my friend that the pup was not, in fact, a girl dog.
My friend left the surgery quickly and without really being able to speak.

So it turns out that the man selling the pups wasn't there when the dog was collected but had left instructions with his housesitter how to identify each one. Turns out there was another lady whose name also began with a J. Turns out she wanted a boy dog.
Turns out there are plenty of people who can't tell a boy dog from a girl dog.
And plenty of people who can, and who are laughing a lot at me my friend.

Doctors orders

This morning a tired paediatrician came for a cream tea. She'd had no sleep, she told us, and had to stay even longer than usual at work for a meeting.
And she needed tea.
She sat in the garden (not terribly warm, but dry at least) but before she left for home and bed she bought A LOT of jewellery from our display cabinet, a few cards and a diffuser. As she handed over her credit card I said I hoped she wouldn't regret the big spend when she woke up later...

This afternoon a man in a top hat came in. He ordered a latte and a cake and sat in the garden.
He parked his vehicle just outside the door of the tea rooms.
But no one minded a bit.

A warm glow

We have some really lovely visitors. 

Many are tourists and we may never see them again. 

Some are more local and become regulars and even friends. 

I was mainly in the kitchen yesterday but ventured to the counter to serve towards the end of the day. A man I'd never seen before had picked up some of our gift items and needed help. I read the back of the one of the packets to him to explain how the Grow-your-own-lavender pouch works. 

He told me I had a good reading voice. 

He also said that the gifts were for his wife for their 44th wedding anniversary (which is today). 

That she hadn't been well recently and the day out had tired her so she was in the car.

That when they were first engaged she had become upset one day saying there was something she had to tell him....that the "something" was that she was 18 months older than him, and she thought it might make a difference. 

This morning he sent me this email: 

 

Dear Gill,

 My wife was very pleased with the Lavender Candle, Lavender Plant,

and Honey Marmalade.

Thanks for your help!

 I’m still her “Toy-Boy”, and she is still my favourite Girl.

 Regards,

 Bob.

So my day has already been made. Happy Anniversary to the toy-boy and his favourite girl. 

Care Bear

Today "Louise" came to have tea.
"Louise" is a teddy bear, representing a real life person.
Six friends meet up and enjoy trips and lunches and weekends away but Louise couldn't make it because her husband isn't well. So everywhere they went her friends took the teddy bear with her name on it and took a photograph. They went to the church, came to us for coffee and then left to see the fountain.
I think Louise should be really chuffed. She was clearly never far from their thoughts. She must be really lovely.