Service

Another day, another coffee shop...

Don't you just love the view? Ideal for a relaxing, chilled coffee break. 

But seriously, it is a million miles from what I would choose - a national bakery chain coffee shop with a view of the massive car park on a dismal retail park. 

It was better than nothing, which was the only other option apart from coffee outlets operated by multinational chains. 

I was there to recover my composure after another frustrating visit to a national pharmacy chain trying to collection medication for Junior. As usual I queued for 30 minutes while watching their shambolic arrangements. As usual, they tried to deny all knowledge of his prescription (he had handed it in on Tuesday last week). Eventually, somehow they realised they did have it after all. 

But... it will not be ready until tomorrow. They hope...

There were only 5 people ahead of me in the queue when I arrived, so you can imagine how bad it was. The queue was three times as long when I left (empty handed). 

To be fair to the place where I had my coffee, the staff were friendly and efficient. 

The good news is that this Grumpy Old Man had a great walk to and from the retail park. It was -1ºc when I left home (about 2pm)  and -2ºc when I got back a couple of hours later. 

It was -6ºc when I got up this morning. That is quite severe for these parts, but mild in many parts of Europe. 

Which reminds me of the time I emerged from a gala dinner in Bavaria at 3am and it was -15ºc. I was wearing my kilt. 

Ouch...