Things went wrong

A café where various things went wrong, including the snap, although I cannot now work out what the white splodge was caused by. Perhaps it will come to me in the course of the afternoon. Perhaps there is some magic which can be worked with Photoshop or even the picture editors which come for free with Windows - but I don't suppose that I shall ever know.

One of the several cafés on the promenade at the bottom of the cliffs which run between Shanklin and Sandown, a place we had once patronised some years ago, in the days when it was running down, when it was being run by an older couple who wanted to retire. Now sold, bought and refurbished, with a cook out back and various young ladies out front.

It being very hot, we elected to sit inside, out of the sun, but in a fair amount of clutter, that is to say beach flavoured merchandise. And on the route of one of the young waitresses who was bored and had taken to pacing up and down the café.

Not off to a great start, when the musak was turned up to greet us. We decided that it was pointless telling young people that we would rather do without.

We then ordered sandwiches, ham for me and tuna for BH. With me being careful, or at least trying to be careful, to explain that I just wanted a sandwich, without a whole lot of stuff (aka garnish) on the side. Then I couldn't decide whether it was more proper to ask for a bottle of still water, which helps the modest profits of these places along, or to ask for tap water, which is far more ecological. Settled, without the use of a coin, for the former on this occasion.

My ham sandwich on factory white was fine, good even. Just what it said on the tin. But the cook out back could not bear to send it out with any garnish, so he had added a dollop of crisps. Tuna sandwich also fine, although rather more tuna to the bread than I would have liked, but collected several penalty points for being served up on a warm plate. The bit of the garnish which was supposed to be coleslaw looked a bit grim too.

I then took what I thought was a fruit scone for dessert, not something I usually go for, as they usually seem to be stale and stodgy. But it had not occurred to me that 'fruit', which to me meant things like sultanas and raisins, would here mean cranberries, which I avoid on account of the warfarin. Also because I don't like them very much. All rather annoying how they seem to pop up everywhere these days, along with the sour dough bread which is presently very fashionable and which I also avoid for two similar reasons. A pity because there seemed to be lots of them to pick out of what was otherwise an entirely presentable scone, neither stale nor stodgy.

Perhaps I should have asked for tap water after all.

PS: the right sleeve of my white shirt, completely out of focus because Cortana had rightly decided that it was the cranberries that were of interest?

Reference 1: https://thesalixcafe.co.uk/.