Unleashing my inner nerd

Once or twice in recent weeks, Diana and I have popped over to Hitchin first thing Saturday morning, had breakfast in a cafe, strolled around and then done the weekly shop. It has been a very pleasant way to kick the weekend off. Yesterday as work drew to a close I started thinking about going to Hitchin again on Saturday. Nothing wrong with that, but then from somewhere deep in the nerdy part of my brain I thought it would be a good idea to eat breakfast in every cafe in Hitchin (not on the same day but over the next few months) and keep a record of the experience.

That's the background to this picture. Popped out this morning. Into W H Smith and brought a little notebook; the one you see in the picture. Picked our first cafe, The Four Leaf Clover near the market square. Ordered breakfast and started making notes in my little book. This is when my nerdiness went up a gear because it quickly became apparent (to me at least) that to do this properly, I would need predefined criteria against which to assess the experience, e.g. first impressions, standard of service, choice of menu etc. etc.). This then led to the realisation that my little notebook simply wasn't big enough to get all of these details down so I decided that I would make rough notes in this little book, and then do a proper write up in a bigger book when I get home. I mean 'christ on a bike' - I sometimes amaze myself at how sad I can be.

I would like to say that in conclusion, I realised that I was being silly and abandoned the whole project, but no, that was not the case. I brought the bigger notebook whilst doing the weekly shop and then decided on the logistics. We will do a circle round Hitchin eating breakfast in the next cafe we encounter from the last one frequented so that we don't miss anywhere out. That means that next week its a stack of pancakes with bacon and maple syrup in Chile B's and for me, that just about justifies my madness!