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Cafe Morello |
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Cafe Culture - September/November 2009 |
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October 10th
So much has happened since
the last update. Amy, who I said had gone on maternity
leave, has now had her baby and anyone who has been in
the Cafe since 29th. August would have seen the pictures
of our grand-daughter Lily who was born on that day
weighing in at 9lb 3 oz. As I write this I am sitting in
an Hospital room in Delaware, USA where Amy's sister,
Jennie, has just given birth to Anna Alexandra. Weighing
in at 7lb 10 born on 9th. October. Both are doing well.
That's three daughters and three grandchildren this
year!! Two girls and a boy and all are doing well, Pam
and I thank God for such wonderful blessings.
While we are away we have left the Cafe in the capable hands of our regular staff, Jennette, Toni and Fiona, so we know our customers are being well looked after. Before I left I was busy making lots of soup because, giving in to customer pressure, I had to put it back on the menu from 22nd. September, the official start of Autumn. I had thought to start it again from the first of October, but so many customers were coming in asking for it that I just had to give in in the end. So our homemade soup is now firmly back on the menu from now till the start of Summer next year. We have already had lots of good comments from our customers. It is so hard to beat a hot bowl of wholesome, homemade soup at lunchtime, particularly if you add a portion of French stick spread with garlic and herb butter and browned under the grill, mmmmmmm delicious.
We have had another change
of staff because Hatti found that her work load for her
last year of A levels was so high that she could not
afford the time to work in the Cafe. We were sorry to
lose her as, although she had been with us for only a
short time, her bubbly personality was such a delight.
We were however fortunate, around this time, to have
another young lady come in looking for work. Thirza was
looking for work in her gap year and so has now taken
Hatti's place. She is settling in quickly as our regular
Saturday person as well as occasional shifts during the
week. We look forward to her being with us for a long
time and since she has been with us she has seen some
very busy days and this does not seem to have put her
off, so I have high hopes she will fit in well.
When I return from the
States we have a pleasant engagement to attend, as the
presentations for the 'Norwich in Bloom' competition
take place. As you know we won our section of this
competition for our floral displays in hanging baskets
and window boxes etc in the yard outside the Cafe. We
were all so pleased to win this award and have some
official recognition for what we get so much pleasure in
doing every year. In fact, as will have seen if you have
been to see us recently, the flowers are still looking
good. The Busy Lizzies are still in full bloom as are
two of the pink geraniums in the hanging baskets as well
as those in the large pots. I have planted some wall
flowers in the small garden area and had to water then
everyday initially as there had not been any rain for so
long. I am glad to say that has given them a good
start and we look forward to a good display in the
spring.
Its interesting to look back
at the weather before we came to the States as it must
have been a period close on 6 weeks without any
appreciable rain in our area. I noticed that this had a
positive effect on the autumn colours and the leaves on
the trees looked particularly vibrant this year. This
dry period also meant that all the leaves that fell in
our garden were so much easier to collect up and the
grass almost stopped growing. All in all it was one of
the best Septembers I can remember and re inforces it as
my favourite month of the year.
Going back to the Cafe, we
continue to stock Soya milk and this is appreciated by
those customers with a dairy intolerance. Also we are
still actively seeking a successful recipe for a Gluten
free cake. We do make a kind of short bread biscuit
which is tasty and sells well but a good cake mixture
has eluded us. Two customers have come in recently and
said they have recipes that work and will let us have
them so we remain optimistic that eventually we will fill
this last gap in our menu.
Finally, you know we
regularly sell the Barundi bears in the Cafe which helps
build schools in Africa. Well the ladies from Bunwell
Church estimate that we have given them over £200 since
we started selling them. They are so pleased and
continue to knit more so we will continue to sell them.
However, for Christmas we have a new appeal. This one is
to help with the 'Shoe Box Appeal' We are hoping to
raise £100 to assist in the sending of the 'Shoeboxes',
which are filled with Christmas presents to needy
children around the world. So when you come in please
'buy a square', it's only a pound and it will all go to
such a good cause.
That's it for now, quite a
long blog but I hope you enjoyed it.
Bye for now.
Steven
November 4th
I returned from the States on Wednesday 21st October and had a very pleasant invitation on Friday night of the 23rd, which was the presentation evening for the Awards for the winners of the 'Norwich in Bloom' competition. As I have mentioned in my blog, Cafe Morello won its section of this competition and on the night was very pleased to be presented with a cup, a plaque and a certificate. I was also surprised to be presented with the 'Newcomers' award, and with this came a silver plate, another plaque and another certificate! I was presented these awards by the Mayor of Norwich and Claire Weller from Anglia TV. It was a lovely evening and there were winners from all over Norwich in various categories and it was particularly lovely to see all the schools getting prizes, with the pupil representatives being so excited to have their hard work recognised. The Norwich in Bloom competition is run completely by volunteers and it is amazing how much work they do and what a difference they make and such civic pride they encourage. They deserve all our thanks. As our regular customers know, we have been decorating our Yard at Morello's for many years and like Topsy it seems to grow each year, with more baskets and pots. I have to thank my staff for all their efforts too as it is them I have to thank for keeping up the watering and dead heading regime when I am not there. So although none of them were able to accompany me on the night, I had a picture taken, outside the Cafe with them holding the awards which we are now proudly displayed in the cafe.
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Cafe Morello: 2-3 Orford Yard, Red Lion Street (opposite Debenhams), Norwich, NR1 3TB. Telephone 01603 764441 |
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