Lunch at Café Mila

stuffed butternut squash with greenery

On the seventh day trilogy plus a glass of zinger fruit juice

carrot cake

Excellent lunch at Café Mila.

Stuffed butternut squash with a little greenery, followed by carrot cake and a tea. I also tried one of their freshly made fruit juices.

The fruit juce, zinger (apple, ginger, lime and mint) I would highly recommend for a refreshing drink in the middle of a hot afternoon.

Café Mila has books to browse, books to take away. I left three books in the On the seventh day trilogy.

• By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
• Veronica Decides to Die
• The Devil and Miss Prym

Café Mila was very quiet. It was easy to see why. The High Street was all but deserted.

Afternoon in Godalming

cottages, Mill Lane

cottages

Church Street

Church Street

River Wey and water meadows

Train to Guildford, then Godalming.

Candles lit, prayer card writ in Godalming Parish Church.

Excellent lunch at Café Mila, stuffed butternut squash, followed by carrot cake and a tea. I also tried one of their freshly made fruit juices.

I walked to the end of Godalming.

I looked in Waterstone’s and complemented them on the book display they had last week, Paulo Coelho books, The Shack, plus several other interesting books.

I picked up a copy of the latest book by Rob Bell (author of the excellent Love Wins).

I looked in the basket shop off the High Street and recommended The Shack Revisited, which is a must read if you have read The Shack.

I popped into Godalming Town Hall. I wanted to know if there was a Staycation Live Music event this year. They said yes, I think they said 4 August. They also told me of a Godalming Food Festival.

Talking to the good folk in Godlaming Town Hall, what quickly came across was the pride in their town and their local heritage, the need to support local businesses (and they knew who the owners were). Of Staycation, they made the point it was for all ages. Contrast with the Rotten Borough of Rushmoor (as known locally), where they have contempt for local people and local businesses, get into bed with developers and trash local heritage and local businesses.

I then sat by the River Wey and read a little of Rob Bell’s latest book, What We talk About When We Talk About God. Like Love Wins, it is excellent.

Bus to Guildford was running over 15 minutes late.

Dinner at Nuru in Guildford, then on to a talk on the role of religion in conflict.

Godalming is a small market town in Surrey, south of Guildford, on the banks of the River Wey.

No 1 Top Story in the Digital Mission Daily (Saturday 8 June 2013).

Paulo Coelho books found on display in Waterstone’s

book display Waterstone’s Godalming

Miracles will never cease, three books by Paulo Coelho found on display in Waterstone’s.

• The Alchemist
• The Witch of Portobello
• Manuscript Found in Accra

Is this a new Guinness Book of Records for Waterstone’s?

Yesterday afternoon, Waterstone’s in Godalming, three books by Paulo Coelho were found on display.

Waterstone’s Godalming, is a very small Waterstone’s, the staff actually know about books, it is more like an independent bookshop, which may explain this strange and very rarely seen phenomena of Paulo Coelho books found on display in a Waterstone’s bookshop.

The display, in addition to books by Paulo Coelho, had some interesting books, for example The Shack and The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven.

Lunch at Café Mila

Café Mila

vegetable soup

stuffed butternut squash

books by Paulo Coelho

books to browse and borrow

Excellent vegetable soup, followed by stuffed butternut squash with a little greenery.

The food does not only taste good, it is always well presented.

As well as lunch, tea and cakes, there is also art and yoga at Café Mila.

In the summer there may be a concert from a classical pianist and singer-song writer giving a hint of her forthcoming album.

Free wifi, which a few of the customers were making full use of.

There are books to read and browse, for example the amazing Quiet Food. There are also books to take away, for example books by Paulo Coelho.

The books to take away are tracked on facebook. But, as I have pointed out, this is not a good idea, as in reality, not possible to track on facebook, or at least find, though no doubt facebook will be flogging the information.

Far, far better, is to set up a Café Mila blog. This can then have categories, books, recipes, events etc, ie like this blog. With the books, an initial review can be written, then anyone who takes a book, can add their comments. They can also do the same for any of the events, which so long as not abuse, provides useful feedback.

I was tempted to have tea and cake, but decided to take a wander through Godalming, then pop back for afternoon tea. I was therefore somewhat annoyed to find when I popped back, they had closed early. Even more annoyed to be lied to by one of the girls saying they were closing early as not busy, as simply not true.

As I was turned away, so was a lady with a dog. She said she was very annoyed as this was the second time this had happened to her.

Not good, if closing time five o’clock, then one expects to be open until five o’clock. This will result in people not making the effort to go, once gone mid-afternoon, then Café Mila will end up in a vicious circle of closing earlier and earlier as quiet. People will not go in the last hour, if they cannot be sure to find open.

Schiedmayer pianos

Schiedmayer piano in Godalming Parish Church

The Schiedmayer family is a rare phenomenon in the history of musical instrument making, an unbroken dedication to a continuously evolving craft spanning a period of over 270 years, by members of the same family.

Balthasar Schiedmayer, the founder of the company, built his first clavichord in 1735 in Erlangen. Seventy four years later, in 1809 one of his grand-sons, Johann Lorenz, established the piano manufacturing company Schiedmayer & Söhne in Stuttgart. The tradition of making keyboard instruments (clavichord, upright- and grand-pianos, harmoniums, pianolas, celestas) was passed from generation to generation. Schiedmayer & Söhne has been the first using the English action in the pianos in Germany as well as the first manufacturing Harmoniums in this country.

The first piano with the name of Schiedmayer on the front was built around 1735, still early days in the history of the piano. It is not known how Balthasar Schiedmayer, who was born in 1711, came to be building pianos. What is known is that his name would be associated with piano-making of distinction and excellence long into the 21st century.

By 1845, the business was based in Stuttgart and headed by Johann Lorenz Schiedmayer who brought his sons into the business and changed the name to Schiemayer and Soehne.

The younger sons of Johann Lorenz, Julius and Paul, spent some time in London and Paris and eventually established themselves in Stuttgart around 1853 building harmoniums under the name of J & P Schiedmayer.

In 1860, when the harmonium market was saturated, the business once again concentrated on building pianos and changed the name of the business to Schiedmayer Pianofabrik.

A large collection of Schiedmayer instruments can be found in the musical instrument collection of the Landesmuseum Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart.

Some Schiedmayer instruments are in the music history collection Jehle in the Stauffenberg castle in Albstadt – Lautlingen.

A Schiedmayer piano can be found in the Parish Church in Godalming. It was donated to the church by a local family, and is in regular use. From the serial number inside, 40135, it would date from 1901-1910, this would also tally with the dates inside the keyboard cover.

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.

Afternoon in Godalming

Godalming Parish Church

A pleasant sunny day in Godalming.

Whilst in Godalming Parish Church the battery for my camera died. Very annoying as wished to photograph the piano, then around Godalming.

Very good lunch at Café Mila. Stuffed aubergine and greenery, followed by cheesecake and a tea.

Left at Café Mila three books by Paulo Coelho.

Return to Aldershot, was to be 71 bus to Haslemere, then 19 to Frensham and Godalming, but over twenty minutes late, still had not turned up.

Whilst waiting for 71 bus, popped into the Godalming Museum to see what their exhibition was (seems a bit dumb not to have a board outside). It was excellent pastel art of Godalming and surroundings. A lot better than some of the rubbish that gets exhibited. A pity though art was covered in glass. But only on until Saturday.

No sign of 71 bus, caught instead the 43, which goes an entirely different route.

Past Charterhouse school, heavily wooded, rolling hills, open pastures, trees coming into leaf.

Disastrous day in Guildford and Godalming

River Wey Godalming

River Wey Godalming

I alight from Reading-Gatwick train at Guildford, realise have left Railcard on train, but not allowed back on train to retrieve, then do battle with several different rail companies.

Late lunch at Debenhams. Roast pork probably was quite good had I been earlier. I get dried up leftovers.

Decide to hop on a bus to Godalming for tea and a cake. As I approach bus stop, I see a bus approaching, stick out my hand for bus to stop. Bus sails past. Bastard! Long wait for next bus which is over ten minutes late.

Godalming I find coffee bar has closed early as quiet day.

I decide to sit by the river, only to find most of the seats have been ripped out.

I walk to bus stop, only to find I have missed a bus, long wait for next bus.

I walk back to the river, discover I have lost my hat, sun in my eyes.

By now, very bad headache.

I walk back to bus stop. I expect long wait as buses always late. Bus is early, not only early, but leaves early, I am very lucky to have caught the bus.

But at least the evening talk by Canon Robert Cotton of Holy Trinity and St Mary on Resurrection and beyond was to end the day on a high note.

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.

Lunch at Café Mila

roast tomato soup

Café Mila

savouries and cakes

carrot cake

books to browse and release into the wild

Excellent lunch at Café Mila, but then I would be surprised at anything less. Very busy when I arrived, then quietened down a little.

Excellent roast tomato soup served with very delicious bread and butter to spread on the bread.

Followed by stuffed mushrooms (I only had one) served with a little greenery.

Followed by their delicious carrot cake and a tea.

Café Mila have books to browse and books to take away. The books to take away you are encouraged to pass on, then write about on their facebook page.

It is never a good idea to encourage people to go to facebook, and they would have to join. Plus, the books would be lost after a few days.

A far better idea is to set up a wordpress blog, Books at Café Mila, or a Café Mila blog, with various categories, food, recipes, events, one of which would be books. People can then easily find the books, and if necessary, do a search.

I suggested they add Manuscript Found in Accra to books to browse.