The last few months have seen me spend an ever increasing amount of time seeking solace in the embrace of my local greasy spoon.
Not you understand because I am starting a business and often at the mercy of other people's timetables, nor as a tactic to avoid the gym, though now that Winter has us firmly in it's grip and I seem to have time to burn there is an ring of truth to both these statements.
No, the reason I inhabit the world of wipe clean table cloths and tomato shaped ketchup dispensers for an hour each day is down purely to parents.
The single minded, the rushed and the downright bloody insane all descend upon my tiny street for approximately 20 minutes, four times a day, clogging it like fat blocking an artery. All the while dispensing young Max's and Shakira's feet from the entrance to their school having driven them literally hundreds of yards from their humble abodes in an adjacent street.
Anyway, thanks to this parade of idiocy I have been forced to reacquaint myself with my local cafs in a bid to avoid an assault charge. And do you know what? I bloody love it!
So here, for no good reason other than the fact everybody else makes lists at the end of the year, and in no particular order, are five of my favourite Welsh cafes I've frequented over the last 20 years.
1. Sugar Shaker, 80 Crwys Road, Cardiff
Owned by a Portuguese family this cheap and cheerful establishment gets a mention over all its nearby rivals based on the fact that I spent most weekends between 1995 and 2009 fighting it out with the local builders for a table. Always packed and with a TV that seemed to be perpetually showing, You've Been Framed (the Portuguese version naturally), my weekend treat usually involved two bacon, two sausage, two fried eggs and (controversial this) chips, with two slices of bread and butter and a mug (not a cup) of tea. I genuinely don't know where i used to put it.
2. Duckpool Cafe, Duckpool Road, Newport
After the wrench of leaving my beloved Sugar Shaker I thought I'd never find a replacement cafe in Newport. But by Christ not only was the Duckpool a replacement, it's actually better!
Between opening time and the, frankly bizarre, closing time of 2pm the cafe's seats are graced with the backsides of the usual succession of builders, schoolkids and pensioners but on training days it's a fair bet you'll spot some Welsh rugby stars, the local Gwent Dragons ground being just a short walk away.
In other local cafes I tend to go for the healthy option - basically just my usual but with poached eggs. In the Duckpool I wouldn't dare, so it's a small breakfast with a side order of fried potatoes, bread and butter not toast (you don't seriously have toast do you?) and the standard mug of tea.
3. Servini's, Wyndham Arcade, Cardiff
Oh my days! What to say about Servini's? It's a Cardiff institution and when I travelled to work from Pontypool on a Saturday morning the thought of a late breakfast/early lunch from this little gem would sustain me through to my deadline. Originally based on the opposite side of the arcade in the tiniest cubbyhole imaginable, in the late Nineties they took over the much larger space they occupy today. On international days you'll struggle to get through the door.
Over the year's myself and my friend Mike have worked our way through a significant part of the menu and I can heartily recommend any of the following:
The Triple Crown (bacon, onions, mushrooms, black pudding), a much simpler combination of sausage,egg and black pudding, the beef baguette with mushrooms, onions and lashings of English mustard and the pastrami with melted cheese.
4. Cafe 109,The Highway, New Inn
A recent addition to my list. When I lived in the village we didn't have a cafe, now this place doubles up as a bistro in the evening. Posh huh?
I can't claim to know anything about the night time menu but they do do a mean bacon and egg sandwich - with brown sauce naturally, I'm not a philistine.
Fans of recent MTV trash-fest The Valleys - not that I've ever met any - may also be interested to know that some scenes from the show were filmed here and in a nearby side street. All rather strange because New Inn has about as much in common with the Valleys as Royal Tunbridge Wells.
5. Luigi's, 10 Cross Street, Abergavenny
It's possible that this place is closed now, owner Luigi Basini having
declared back in April that he was selling up. Though I do recall spending one wet Sunday afternoon there earlier this year, passing the time with the Sunday papers and a mug of tea, so maybe it just has new owners.
Opened in 1973 I remember it as a coffee scented oasis after hours of being dragged around the market (on a Tuesday) or Richards' department store - mantra 'we sell the items your neighbour borrows' - (on a Saturday) by my mum and nan.
In my teens it was also key in my being caught out when I 'borrowed' my mum's car without permission. Sat in a window seat and gloating to my mate that I'd get the vehicle back before she came home from work, I turned to look out of the window just as shamed Tory MP David Mellor was passing complete with camera crew. He waved at me, I waved back and promptly made the evening news thereby blowing my claim that the old dear's trusty Ford Orion had 'never left the garage'.
Well, they're mine. What are yours?
