The Little Book Cafe
Telephone: 01787 475647
Email: hello@littlebookcafe.co.uk
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Frobscottle and rainbows

26/7/2017

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Last month we took part in the annual Halstead Floral Display competition.  The theme this year was Roald Dahl books and the characters within so it was perfect for us.  Now we’re not the most green-fingered of people and tend to rely on the parents to keep things growing and so we decided to play to our strengths and go down the edible route by plying the judges with a glass of Frobscottle.  It was surprisingly tasty (Kiwi, Strawberry yoghurt and cream soda), well we thought so...  
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There’s always a bit of friendly competition with Richard Edwards Accountants who always take part in the competition.  Having seen some pictures of their efforts we are certainly not too big to admit when we’re beaten...tortoise hanging baskets and planted BFG boots – great work guys!!
​Eagle-eyed visitors to the Cafe may have noticed our rainbow bookshelf.  It was one of those ideas which seemed like a nice plan at first but halfway through when we were knee deep in colour coded piles of books sprawled across the cafe I had a moment of doubt.  However, the end result does look very striking...what do you think?
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We are absolutely thrilled to receive our Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence for 2017 based on our consistently good Trip Advisor reviews.  Thank you to everyone who has written a review of us.  We are extremely proud of the comments and feedback we’ve received and will always strive to maintain those standards.  
Following a lot of customer requests, we have started offering Iced Coffees - ideal for still getting your caffeine kick in the hot weather.  We’re always open to feedback and now have an official suggestion box in the cafe.  Each month we’ll be doing a prize draw from the feedback forms we’ve received to win a £10 gift voucher so do let us know your thoughts and ideas on how we could improve.  
Some of you may be aware that there is a Halstead Creative Writing Group called Pen Friends who meet at The Little Book Cafe each month.  They’re a wonderfully friendly group of all ages.  Each month they agree a ‘homework’ topic and then at the following meeting they can read out their creative writing and discuss their different interpretations of the theme.  A few of the members have kindly agreed for us to put some of their work on our website.  So take a look...

There’s an intriguing tale based on the topic of ‘music’ by Jill Curtis.  A bittersweet encounter based on ‘a misunderstanding’ by Wanda Sellar and an entertaining poem about ‘The Garden Shed’ by Dave Bryant.  We hope the pieces inspire and amuse you.  If you’d like to find out more about the writers’ group you can find out more on their Facebook page.

If you’re looking for some holiday reading inspiration I recently read A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and would thoroughly recommend - it is funny, poignant and sad.  Ove is a fantastically grumpy yet loveable character; I know one of those myself.



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Some of the team have been on holiday this month and so the other team members have been doing a wonderful job at filling in.  Whilst helping in the kitchen, Toby did an unbeaten run of cracking 26 eggs in a row without breaking a yolk...we’re proud as punch!

And finally, Jane’s been sporting more of her fancy footwear, here are my personal favourites...sparkly always gets my vote.  

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Here comes the sun

25/6/2017

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The sweltering heat must have gone to our heads the last few weeks as after 2½ years of running the business I’ve finally gotten round to writing our first blog.  It’s been on the ‘to do’ list for a long time, but true to style, I don’t like to rush these things.

It’s been a busy few weeks at the LBC.  We’re delighted to welcome Juliet, aka Baggy (after Bilbo Baggins, how very bookishly appropriate) to the team as our new Kitchen Assistant.  Baggy is suitably enthusiastic about all things food as well as books so we know she is going to fit in well.  She has already introduced us to the deliciously tropical Maracuya fruit, bought on a whim from Mitch’s Fruit & Veg stall.  We may have to try incorporating that into a special at some time.  

It’s been hot hot hot in the kitchen with the soaring temperatures, but as we know, if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.  Which is why I try and hang out in the courtyard as much as possible.  We’ve put in an extra fan to keep the air moving.  It’s been feeling positively mediterranean out there recently. The heat may be going to our head but at least we’ve had our homemade gooseberry & mint lemonade to refresh us. 
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We’ve had some summer classics on the Specials board recently, including Greek salad and quiche Lorraine (Chris does make a deliciously deep quiche) as well as the ever popular smashed avocado on griddled sourdough.  Watch out for our mini bbq special coming soon.  

As well as some scrummy sweet treats from Chris such as the pistachio & raspberry bakewell tart, we’ve also had some delicious cakes from Kelly at the Home Cakery.  Her Rhubard & Custard cake went down particularly well.  Based in Wickham St Paul, all Home Cakery cakes are homemade using the best ingredients, locally sourced where possible.    We’ll still be making a lot of our own sweet treats but will also offer a variety of cakes from the Home Cakery to ensure we are offering a good selection of sweet treats and to give Kelly an opportunity to showcase some of her delicious home-baked cakes.

We’re very happy to have been able to support the local St Gile’s School in Great Maplestead by donating £250 to their library appeal.  The money was raised from the sale of our used books (50% of all book proceeds are donated to charity or local causes).  The primary school is looking to raise £10,000 to turn their school library into a learning space suitable for the 21st century.  Encouraging young people to read and enjoy books is a very worthy cause so we’re delighted to be able to do our bit to help.

We’d like to say a big congratulations to Elsie, from Hard’s Butchers, who was runner up in the Premier Young Butcher of the Year competition. We’re proud to use such a fantastic local butchers and Elsie is a wonderful asset to the team there.

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​And finally, the sweltering heat has been playing havoc with Jane’s feet.  She resorted to wearing socks with sandals this week in the fight against blisters.  But in true Jane style they’re the snazziest socks with sandals you’ll find...​

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    Author

    Claire, owner of The Little Book Cafe, book-lover, with help from Chris, owner and chef of The Little Book Cafe.

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The Little Book Cafe
13-15 Hedingham Road
Halstead
Essex
​CO9 2DA

​
Telephone: 01787 475647
Email: hello@littlebookcafe.co.uk
Opening hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 09:00-15;00
Wednesday: 09:00-15:00
Thursday: 09:00-15:00
​Friday: 09:00-15:00
Saturday: 09:00-15:00
Sunday: Closed