When I started this series I honestly thought we could do one a week. Even with duplicates it’s been about half that. Still, not everything goes to plan. Next year I will do better.
This morning we went to McDonald’s, did some errands then, as I said, went to the garden centre. The centre in question is Brookfields, our local centre. When we first started going it was a modest gravel car park and some large greenhouses. Now it’s a monster of a place with car parks and overspill car parks and fish and pets and a massive gift section. There are still plants and there’s a small seed and tool section, but it’s mostly a gargantuan gift emporium with lots of glitz and very little soul.
The vastly expanded cafe section is now known as Arthur’s Eatery, because stupid twee names seem to be the in thing, though it’s still recognisably the same old shoddy cafe, just with more seats.
Cheese scone Brookfields Garden Centre
I went to find a table while Julia went for tea and cake. I found one, cleared it myself, as the staff weren’t keeping up, sat down and looked at a dirty, creased and faded label on the table, wondering why any reputable food establishment with pretentions of cleanliness would allow such a thing on the table. Turns out it was a sticker saying the table was reserved for dogs owners, so I moved. I suppose that when you think of the number of germs spread by the average dog, a species known for its indiscriminate licking habits, the dirt on the sticker is insignificant.
The next table needed clearing too, and was covered in crumbs, brown lumps and cup rings. I decided to move to a cleaner table. Cleaner, but not clean. It was sticky, which always makes me think they are being wiped down badly. This, in turn, always makes me wonder what else is being done badly.
When Julia found me she had a cheese scone for herself and a plate of mini scones for me. The three mini scones were cheese, which was nice, mince pie flavour, which tasted of Christmas spice, and Chocolate and Orange, which explained the brown sticky lumps on the previous table.
Three mini-scones Brookfields Garden Centre
It was pleasant enough and at £8 was more reasonably priced than it used to be – price being one of the reasons we stopped using it. However, there was nothing there to justify a return visit any time soon.
I thought the cup of tea provided was a bit small, and didn’t really need the free biscuit.
Cheese scones were full of flavour, the others were less successful, particularly the orange and chocolate one. I don’t honestly see the need for novelty scones.
Three mini-scones Brookfields Garden Centre
Staff and cleanliness could both be improved.
Fancy scones are not for me either, and I do like a clean café.
You would think non-sticky tables were a bare minimum but they seem difficult to find.
Yuk! yes!
Reading too fast I thought those lovely scones were in a McDonald’s, that they’d improved their offerings. Drat! Always fun to read these comical chronicles.
Sorry if I got your hopes up! 🙂
LOL, well there’s always the dream…
You never know…
I totally agree of the lack of any necessity for elaborate scones (except treacle scones of course).
I think that as a way of regulating your life around scones, this is a faultless approach.
Hardly appetising. I doubt if many customers stick with them.
They seem to have plenty of people, even if half of them are uncomplimentary on Tripadvisor.
I’m going to come at this from a different angle. We had dogs for over 30 years and received a fair amount of licking. Far as I know, we never got sick because of the licking. 😉 Still, a dirty place is a turn-off and that would be enough for me to scratch it off my list.
Cats are well-known for licking, too, one leg up in the air behind the head while… It is also known as the cat “playing the cello”. 🙂
I like the cello image. Cats are less boisterous than dogs and more restrained in their licking of random passers-by. 🙂
I thought you might! 🙂
I’ve had dogs and cats too and never been ill, and think that plenty of germs are actually beneficial, and prevent allergies.
However, when I’m paying to eat in an overpriced, under-cleaned and pretentious “eatery” I don’t want to share it with a dog of indeterminate personal habits.
Not too keen on ‘sticky’ myself and never eat with dogs 😉
Good policies in selecting eating venues. The inspector who used to do the farm cafe (which had a 5 Star rating when I was there) had an app on his phone. He always checked somewhere before eating and if it didn’t have at least four he wouldn’t eat there. Even the full five isn’t really a guarantee things are done as they should be.