GSCENE 69
GOLDEN HOUR BY BILLIE GOLD
STUFF & THINGS BY JON TAYLOR
PAWS FOR THOUGHT
TEA AND TRYING TOO HARD
) I lost my dog of 20 years this year. Thankfully it was just before lockdown so I could be with her, and with my mum who had kept my little Holly safe, well and happy for most of her life. Like many family pets she had been there through most of the major milestones in my life, from my first day at senior school to my first time stumbling through the door drunk, and several heartbreaks. We made the decision to let her go while she at least still recognised us, and went with a mouthful of cake and sausage, safe in our arms.
) I’m out and about having a mooch and I now find myself in a coffee shop that’s trying far too hard to be quirky. I guess this shows that you can cover up a bad decorating job and the need to have some standards by sticking lots and lots (and I mean lots) of crap on the walls. And the ceiling. Any flat surface really.
It started me thinking about the fact that I have always had something sentient to talk to, with animals being around me most of my life, (including horses, fish, small furry things, you name it), my mental wellbeing had pretty much relied on me talking to one thing or another, and being loved unconditionally, I wondered if humans were really meant to be alone for long periods of time without something or someone to talk to, as the loss of Holly wasn't only for me that she was no longer there, it's the feeling of home. With her not there it wouldn't be a case of greeting the dog, sitting on the sofa and having her jump into my lap, I could sit where I like, and not worry about taking her out for a walk, and I hated it.
“We made the decision to let her go while she at least still recognised us, and went with a mouthful of cake and sausage, safe in our arms” Having something to care about other than myself has always been a double-edged sword. When I was younger I cared for horses, up at 5am every morning before school, and again when school had finished, never worrying about the hay in my hair, or the likely scenario of smelling of horse poo in class, it never mattered because they were cared for and happy. Although what we are basically doing when we get a pet is saying “I will love this member of the family more than my own life, and will likely be utterly devastated in eight-16 years when they die”, it never seems to phase us. We willingly steel ourselves for eventual heartbreak that comes with losing a pet, but having said that, I simply don't trust people who aren't animal people, although technically someone saying that they choose not to own something that is going to cause pain is in fact entirely sane and reasonable. I can't currently own a pet due to my property being a rental (that and I fear I would never actually leave the house apart from dog walks), so I’m looking into new apps like Borrow My Doggy. I truly believe that even though they cause us endless worry, vets bills, and the occasional trashed carpet, pets make us all better people, in some cases they can even save lives and cure depression. Most humans on their own can't not love, that's why pets are so important, it has to go somewhere.
From my seat I can see old 1970s annuals and A4 files hanging down above my head; aluminium foil unrolled and stuck to the ceiling; skull graffiti; mannequin arms holding pot plants in raffia containers; more plants; strange Mexican decorations... I could go on. There's also a table here with a sign on it saying ‘If you're sick of your friends, sit on this table. Make new friends.’ This is not a table for me! If I’m sat in a coffee shop, sipping my tea and nibbling on some form of baked good, I need solitude and the ability to watch people without being observed. There was one occasion when I’d sat on one of these ’make a new friend’ tables without realising and got stuck talking to some chap about his various health problems. Bunions featured heavily.
“There was one occasion when I’d sat on one of these ‘make a new friend’ tables without realising and got stuck talking to some chap about his various health problems. Bunions featured heavily” All the food in the cafe is vegan and gluten free, which is fine, but it could benefit from having a bacon sarnie on the menu. My tea is served in a mug with a saucer. This is clearly madness. A mug on a saucer? The milk comes in a tiny shot glass that you can't pour properly from. Why do some coffee shops do this? Put milk in something that's clearly designed to not be able to pour milk? I've seen milk served in test tubes, in small clay pots and now shot glasses. It's baffling when jugs are readily available to use. Jugs that pour things properly. As a result of my shot of milk I now have milk all over the place... on the table, on my saucer, on me and also on the lovely pictures of goats glued to the table top. So yeah, this place is clearly trying too hard. So keen to be edgy and hip. Oh, and there's graffiti covering the walls of the toilets. You're encouraged to leave more presumably so they don't have to spend any money on something as mundane as paint. There also seems to be two cracked sinks and one broken tap in the communal loos. They've clearly been blowing any budget they have on pointless crap to cover the walls with rather than maintenance. I've kind of lost the joy of having a tea/snack break. This place is kind of overwhelming and not in a good way. I am clearly not its target audience. I'd normally have a listen to hear what people were chatting about. I think here I'd just hear about obscure experimental theatre and the latest Japanese fashion craze. Think I'll down my tea as quick as possible and leggit...
