Breakfast at Wetherspoon Gatwick

A decade or so ago, food at Wetherspoon was very good. Sadly no more.

The one exception, breakfast at Wetherspoon at Gatwick South Terminal, landside.

The Royal Deer

The Royal Deer

The Royal Deer press cutting from Farnham Diary

We are losing 18 pubs a week. They are not dying, they are being killed by greedy pubcos (pub owning companies) that are screwing pub landlords with extortionate rents and drink prices often double the market rate, with the net result the pub goes bust and is then put on the market for redevelopment.

• Pubs screwed by greedy pubcos

For a pub to be brought back from te dead is a rare event, a cause for celebtration.

One such pub is The Royal Deer in Farnham.

But this will be more than a pub. Marios, who runs The Barn, a highly successfiul arts centre, plans to do the same with The Royal Deer.

Like The Barn, The Royal Deer will be a cultural centre, live music, theatre, films, excellent food, art exhibitions, yoga, art classes.

It is a development The Tumbledown Dick in Farnborough (currently earmaked for destruction for a Drive-hru McDonald’s) will be well advised to follow closely.

The earliest recorded publican or licensee for The Royal Deer is Henry Jouning in 1878.

The Hobo Co

The Hobo Co in Gostrey Meadow in Farnham

If I arrive in Farnham by train (the more scenic route) I walk through Gostrey Meadow and up through Downing Street into the town. If by bus, I get dropped off in the centre of town.

As I had not walked through Gostrey Meadow for several months, and as I wished to be in Downing Street, I decided to go on a detour, walk along the River Wey, and come back up into the town through Gostrey Meadow and Downing Street.

I am pleased I did, as I came across a battered old Citroen van (maybe they just look old and battered, the type you see in France and Italy) selling coffee and tea and cakes. Not that they had much left when I looked. A few biscuits that almost broke your teeth. An Italian delicacy, I was told, though I did not see in Italy, though I note Italy is very regional food wise. Very tasty.

I walked over and had a look and a chat. It turned out it was their first day.

The coffee was sourced and roasted in Winchester, their home-made lemonade was made from lemons sourced from the excellent greengrocer in Downing Street (where I was on my way if I caught before he closed).

Note: Coffee supplied by Winchester Coffee Roasters.

I was offered coffee, but I did not try, as good coffee is not at its best in take-away cartons, which they were at pains to stress could be fully recycled.

I learnt something new, Street Food.

Problem if they had glass, vital for freddo cappuccino. They have to be self-self-sufficient, limited water and risk of breakages as they travel around.

We need more little businesses like this, not Costa and Starbucks and tacky ice cream vans.

Parents with their kids preferred the coffee van to the ice cream van.

I suggested Guildford farmers market (first Tuesday of the month), Staycation live music festival in Godalming and the Alton Food Festival.

It looks like this battered old Citroen van, they always look to me like dustbins on wheels, could be a regular feature in the locality.

A recent study in Totnes shows that recycled in the local economy, accounts for £5 million per annum, and yet still local councils do not get it, the importance of encouraging local businesses.

We need more little businesses like The Hobo Co with their little battered Citroen van and Milk & Honey in Guildford, and less like Costa and tax-dodging Starbucks with their poor quality coffee, factory cakes and cloned corporate cultures.

Lunch at Café Mila

Excellent stuffed aubergine with a bit of greenery.

Followed by excellent cheesecake (which bore no resemblance to cheesecake but which was delicious) plus a mug of tea.

Three Paulo Coelho books left behind: The Alchemist, Manual of the Warrior of Light, Eleven Minutes.

Lunch at Debenhams

roast pork and vegetables

River Wey Guildford

The roast pork at Debenhams probably was quite good, had I been earlier, but due to kerfuffle at Guildford Station was late, the vegetables may have been edible, maybe the service may have been better and the tables cleared.

Service appalling. 5-10 minutes wait to be served. Another 5 minutes wait to pay. I almost walked out. Tables not cleared.

I should have gone to The keystone for lunch.

The only redeeming factor, the view of the River Wey.

The roast pork was the scrag end leftovers. More than I could eat. I thought maybe they had boxes for customers to take out their cakes. But no. problem solved, squeezed into a takeaway coffee cup.

Milk & Honey

Milk & Honey

I had never noticed Milk & Honey before, probably because it was not there.

A little deli cum café on the left hand side of the main entrance into the Castle Grounds in Guildford, the top end where is located the bowling greens and a bandstand where plays take place.

I was actually on my way to visit Alice Through the Looking Glass, but the best laid plans of mice and men …

I decided to pop in and take a look. I was there all afternoon until late afternoon or early evening.

Occasionally one finds a lovely food place, where as soon as you walk in the door you see it is a labour of love. Grocer and Grain in Brighton is one such place, and that is what I was reminded of when I walked into Milk & Honey.

Home made cakes, coffees, teas. In the window Easter eggs. Easter eggs? Greek Easter is 5 May.

When people bought a cake, or a piece of cheese, it was lovingly wrapped and tied with a ribbon.

I looked up, and what I had not noticed before, handmade jewellery hanging from the ceiling.

I suggested for the summer, tables and chairs outside, freddo cappuccino. If Costa Coffee can block an alleyway and cause an obstruction, I can see absolutely no reason why Milk & Honey cannot have tables and chairs outside obstructing no one. Although with the park benches outside, pull up a milk churn as a coffee table.

We tried making a freddo cappuccino, but did not work, wrong glasses, wrong milk, and ideally need better coffee.

Another idea I suggested was little picnic packs for people to take and enjoy in the Castle Grounds.

Some hours later, I left to go off in search of Alice.

Lunch at Thai Restaurant

lunch at Thai restaurant

A lovely day, a pleasant day for sitting out in a pub, but everywhere packed outside, lunch at Thai restaurant instead.

As always excellent lunch at the Thai restaurant in Jeffries Passage in Guildford.

St George’s Day

Guildford farmers market – St George’s Day

Guildford farmers market usually the first Tuesday of the month. Today a special farmers market in Guildford to mark St George’s Day.

In the woods, trees are starting to come into leaf, woodland banks have primroses.

Horrified to see morons sat on Alice reading to her sister on the banks of the River Wey.

A very warm sunny day. Every patch of grass covered with people, pubs packed outside.

I did not pick up much from the farmers market, mainly because unless you want something bottled or baked or processed or meat, there is not a lot there this time of year. Come June, there will be English strawberries, which put rubbish imported strawberries to shame.

Lunch at Thai Restaurant. Too crowded to go to a pub.

Saddened to see the net café next to the Thai restaurant in Jeffries Passage is closing down at the end of this month. But everyone now has a laptop, smart phone, free wifi everywhere, no longer a demand for net cafés unless lots of passing tourists.

Plan was visit Alice, maybe exhibition, then head off home, sit in the garden, read a book and enjoy the sun.

But the best laid plans of mice and men …

On my way into the Castle Grounds, I passed a new little deli cum café, Milk & Honey, popped in to have a look and spent the afternoon there.

By the time I left, it was late afternoon, early evening. I decided to find Alice, and sat there for a while.

Then time to head home. I was worried that with the clear skies, once the sun was gone temperatures would plummet, but surprisingly, no.

English think St George’s Day is something uniquely English. It is not. It is celebrated in Brazil, in Greece.

Today also World Book Day, and yet I saw nothing to mark it anywhere. Though I had noticed last week a notice in Guildford Library.

Today Shakespeare’s Birthday, but again not a mention anywhere.

American Diner

American Diner

Walking through Croydon, fast food eateries, junk food and chains. This was the least worst of a bad bunch.

Moronic music blasting out. No wonder the place was empty.

I placed an order. Then waited, and waited and waited. Had I not paid, I would have got up and walked out.

I spoke to whoever was in charge, and asked him, did they got to Texas for the meat for a burger?

At that point it arrived.

Was it worth the wait? Absolutely no way.

The chips were dried up and laden with fat. Though they were at least hot. A limp something masqueraded as salad. To be fair, the burger itself did appear to be made from fresh ground beef as claimed.

A place to give the miss to. In fact I would go further. Avoid eating in Croydon.

Lunch at Guildford Institute

From one one extreme to the other. Last week, tables groaning with food, this week nothing left.

Excellent tomato soup twice in a week.

On Tuesday, roast tomato soup at Café Mila. Today tomato and red pepper soup.

Followed by biriyani, a type of curry.

Followed by banoffee pie.

It was all a bit too much. I do not usually have three courses. I felt bloated and sick.

An exhibition of photos. Unpleasant garish colours. That is when you could see. When are artists going to learn. Hiding behind glass does not enhance your work. All I could see was refection of the room lighting and the windows.