EDitorial ± 19-Jul-2024

Light Lunches: Sarah's Coffee Shop, Wherstead

Fabulous WFH Friday, a Bute of a day. Sun's big and bold up in the Skye and I'm freshly back from the fourth-largest island in Scotland, that there Mull. Arran to meet Andy outside the newly tarted-up Tesco but he beat me to it; I failed to recognise his Yeti. Me? Iona VW Polo.

Out by Morrison's we figuratively speed from J54 round to J56 then left into The Street (reach Jimmy's Farm and you've gone too far). Were we playing ping-pong, we'd head into the stable block. Word is, however, of a new-ish eatery in Wherstead Park so let's be cheeky and park with the executives right outside. Used to be the HQ of Eastern Electricity when I attended meetings here over 20 years ago; is now home to the Rochdale Pioneers, aka your caring sharing Co-op.

Through the magic doors and first left, even before reception, is Sarah's Coffee Shop, a curved area with a smattering of tables and a concise three-column menu on the wall:

  • column 1 — hot drinks / cold drinks / teas
  • column 2 — sandwiches, wraps or rolls / jacket potato
  • column 3 — panini / salads / snacks

So what do we do? What we do is both order The Mike, today's handwritten special panini with pesto, chorizo, chicken, cheese and sundried tomato. Is your mouth watering? It should be, 'cos those hot 'n' toasty breads we were brought five minutes later were very good indeed. Note my Nettles-approved Cawston apple on the side and the driver's apple 'n' lemon 'n' ginger fruit cooler. Which is an apt time to mention the ambient cool temperature, a welcome change from the Friday furnace.

I'm chewing away when one of the many worker ants taking away their lunch stops to say hi. It's always Andy who knows somebody. Finally my turn to wave, wipe my cheesy mouth and exchange words with a former colleague. Weird. Of course we didn't need that carrot cake nor the chocolate muffin yet of course we had them, mine with a huge flat (but actually quite tall) white.

Saying our thank-yous to the single woman running the place -- not Sarah today -- she asked how we'd heard about The Mike. I pointed at the mini blackboard on the countertop. Oh, she said, not on the radio, then? I gather that Sarah has a show on Suffolk Sounds and had been discussing sandwich fillings, and, waddya know, had promoted her own product. Why not when it's that delicious?

If it was a car -- Sarah Jane Smith's Nissan Figaro.
If they were passing by -- Sarah Crabtree.