Because I Can

On a Thursday I take two of the children to the gym and a couple of hours later bring one of them home (Martin picks up Fraser on the way to Sea Scouts). So I have a couple of hours in which to do my shopping or whatever else takes my fancy. Sometimes I take a book or crossword and sit and alternate between reading and watching the gymnasts practice. Sometimes I just fancy a coffee in the sun. Napier has a plethora of wonderful coffee shops. Almost all of which are closed by 5pm. In their defence many open at 0700 and before. But that does not help me when I want a coffee at 5.10pm.

So I go to the ubiquitous Starbucks. They remain open until 10pm. They serve good coffee. They are comfortable and generally have good toilets (a must in my book). Sometimes they even have friendly staff. On the minus side I absolutely do not like standing in queues to order and then to pick up my coffee. Especially as there is rarely enough room when they are busy. I'm not sure whether it's a minus or a plus that whether you go into a Starbucks in Toronto, San Francisco, Inverness or Napier you are guaranteed the 'comfort' of uniformity. You cannot even necessarily tell where you are from the accents of the staff because, in my experience in those particular cities, a local accent behind the counter is unlikely.

But, hey, I have my coffee there and do my crossword and sit and enjoy the sun... Because I can.