Cake and Coffee by the Ocean

One of life's little pleasures used to be to go to the local bakery to enjoy a coffee and cake. That now seems to be an eternity ago. The coffee shops are now mostly empty and locked - a sad reminder of what life used to be like. One of the hardest parts is not knowing how long the shutdown will continue.

When we awoke to a fine and sunny day we made the decision to make use of the favourable conditions to go for a long walk. While the walk was hugely enjoyable, we did find ourselves giving every other walker, jogger and bike rider a wide berth. It is sad that we see every other human being as a potential source of deadly contagion. I really hope that this fear will abate in time and we will be able to enjoy the close proximity of others.

Somehow we found ourselves standing outside the biggest bakery in Inverloch (actually it was because I had planned it that way). I suggested that we could buy a couple of take away coffees and enjoy them by the oceanside. Maggie was not convinced. She peered inside and saw that it had several other customers inside.

"They all look infected", she said.

I reminded her that we cannot live the rest of our lives in fear. We still have to live. She did not seem convinced of my logic, but reluctantly allowed me to enter the shop. A short time later I emerged with two steaming coffees and a couple of lovely apple and blueberry crumbles. Maggie proceeded to smother my hands and the credit card with sanitizer (such is our new life).

We carried the coffees and cakes to the waterfront and sat down to enjoy them in the sunshine. It wasn't the same as sitting at a table with our friends, but it was still quite good fun. While we ate the crumbling cakes, we were joined by a couple of curious and very hungry magpies. I guess we weren't alone after all.

We then slowly made our way back to the house, still savouring the lingering sensations on our tongues. It was a great way to improve our morale.Read more