I had a coffee and mince pie in Ocean Bells. The shop was up for a local businesses service excellence award, so being the fine establishment that they are, I took one of the slips to answer the question – why should they win?
Ocean Bells is indeed my second home. I don’t know where I’d go if they weren’t here. Therefore it needed something special on this slip.
I watched the staff at work, and the customers comfortably lazy in their seats. I took in the decor and the art for sale on the wall. With half an hour to go till close, I wrote them a poem on the voting slip. I was the last to leave, and handed it to the barista who served me. She gave me that kind of awww! that made me feel like I’d done a sincerely good thing.
For Ocean Bells, my favourite coffee-shop.
‘There are millions of reasons why you guys should win,
But I honestly don’t know where I should begin
The coffee? That’s obvious, it’s the best brew in town
The menu brings folks in from miles around
But really, it’s because of the unique atmosphere
The inimitable magic of the staff working here.’
I dipped out of the cafe, stylishly almost, just as the barista started reading the poem to herself. I headed up to the Moon Under Water pub, to meet Tony and co for some classic Watford Christmas drinks. I hadn’t done Christmas drinks in ages, least of all with Tony. I’ve hardly seen him in ten years, this year I haven’t stopped bumping into him. Sarah was very fond of Tony, and it felt like a circle had joined up that I’d be spending this Sunday before Christmas, on the rums, on the jokes, with him.
The Sarah Project 