EDitorial ± 23-Mar-2018

Light Lunches: Stutton Community Shop

Two Friday outings in succession! Truly, we are back to the golden age of light lunching even though both trips were Kev-less. As per last week's Campsea Ashe odyssey, the sun's got her hat on and the VW's still registering 13 degrees (like we've all forgotten dieselgate). A137, past Jimmy's Farm and left at the B-B-B-Brantham Bull.

Up here on the left somewhere, deep in Griff Rhys Jonestown, stands a pristine black building that now houses the Stutton Community Shop. Out with the earlier portacabin and in with shiny shelves bulging with fresh veg, greetings cards, cake decorations, et cetera. YNI, it's here: this ain't the Moon & Sixpence. Oh, and in the solar lit corner, a cute community caff. Like Garnett's, a sign reads "self service", slightly worringly. No savoury, Percy, but lady says 'tis OK to take refrigerated items, scoff 'em at the tables then pay for them afterwards.

Works for us as we grab a County Pies pasty, a scotch egg and some dietary chipsticks for Andy. Plus (slurp) a cool can of Cawston cloudy apple. They're overcompensating for who knows what with WiFi and a remarkable display of browsing material from OS maps to the local school's Ofsted report to the program for the upcoming horticultural show. Scarily comprehensive.

There's a steady flow of local punters stocking up on canned goods as we survey the wide selection of sugary goodies inc plenty for your GF. Helping ourselves to massive slabs of choc cake and coffee & walnut, we hit trouble with the user-unfriendly Flavia coffee machine, completely failing to understand the instructions on the wall. Press button, select size, and then insert the sachet, as we're shown by the clearly expect lady. Perfectly reasonable pushbutton hot drinks and very satisfying (and crazily cheap) cakestuff. Time to show our savoury wrappers, settle up and for Andy to do a spot of hyperlocal shopping. Something tells me they're on to Stutton good.

If it was a car -- GRJ's Vauxhall VX220.
If they were passing by -- Gruff Rhys.