Cafe Morello Blog September to December 2011

September 13th 2011

September in like a Lamb and out like a Lion!! Or is it the other way round? This month just showed how varied a month it can be. Incredibly strong winds yesterday ( Monday 12^th) reminded us of what a small world we live in as those winds were just the remains of the Hurricane Katia which hit the East Coast of America just over a week ago. Our daughter who lives in Maryland, experienced the hurricane first hand and they were kept up all night bailing out their basement rooms because of the torrential rain which was threatening to cause flooding. They were fortunate indeed that the many trees that surround their property were not brought down on their roof.

Still, September is my favourite month. I love all the fruits ripening in the hedgerows. This month I have collected Damsons for Jam making, Blackberries, and apples for delicious crumbles, Sloes for the gin which will be ready next Christmas and yesterday I went for a bike ride and collected some lovely conkers!! Pam just loves them, all shiny and dark brown straight off the tree, there were loads on the ground blown down by the strong winds. Is it true that a few conkers placed in the corners of the room will ward off spiders? We are going to try this this year. I’ll keep you posted.

As you may have seen if you have looked at the new photos, taken by our friend Peter, who also manages this web site, we have been busy decorating!! You can view this gallery by clicking here. Pam decided we needed a makeover, now, I would have just freshened up the original paintwork, but Pam is made of sterner stuff. No, it has to be a complete change.!!! We are far from finished yet but it is taking shape and the main restaurant is nearly done. Just a few finishing touches, like new tablecloths, menu covers and some new wall decorations. Then its on to the kitchen area.  We are remaining open during this change, doing the work at evenings and weekends when we are joined by family and friends.

Our gluten free range of cakes and main menu items continue to attract more new customers and they are always so pleased to see that they are not restricted in Cafe Morello and made to feel left out as they are in many restaurants. We have also started to make our own Scones which goes well with our ethos of making our own cake selection. This means we can vary them a little and now offer a cherry one too. Also we have been visited by a vegetarian and a Muslim recently for breakfast and this revealed a weakness in our menu which we have now addressed by getting in some vegetarian sausages. These sausages, recommended by our daughter, Heidi, are very tasty and means we can now offer a vegetarian breakfast option as well as other meals.

The flowers in the yard continue to make a good show and as the safina fade, the geraniums are taking over. Also the busy lizzies are hanging in there and we were lucky that we had no problems with that virus that killed so many plants this year.

So if you are a regular, thank you for your custom and if you are new and have yet to visit Cafe Morello   then don’t leave it too long!!    

Steven     

September 27th, 2011    

As September advances and we are now officially into Autumn, the work on the interior decorating at Cafe Morello continues. There are some more pictures on the web album page, if you want to see the changes and the work in progress. You can see these by clicking here. Pam and I have been helped by our daughters, Amy and Heidi, initially, but they have young families and cannot obviously commit much time to this project, but we are blessed with very good friends, Peter and Carole, who have given up their Sunday afternoons for the last month to help us with painting and cleaning (WE were even joined,  last Sunday, by our friend William, who was down here staying with Carole and Peter, on a visit from Glasgow!!)  The main restaurant is now finished and we are now working on the toilet area and have begun in the kitchen area. You will see from the pictures that we also partake of ‘fine dining’, during a break in painting and no, that’s not a tattoo on Pam's arm, she got too near the gloss!!

We have been getting lots of positive comments about the changes of decor and we are pleased with the result too. I must give all credit to Pam who is our ‘interior designer’ and also makes many of the objects now displayed on the walls. When we have finished she has made new aprons for the staff too, so nothing has been left out!!

The outside has also not been forgotten and I have been changing the window boxes. The busy Lizzies did well, flowering continuously from April, but were on their last legs, so I decided it was time they were removed and I saw some very nice plants at the Flower Stall at the top of St. Stephens. So now the boxes are displaying an autumn collection of grasses and  cyclamen.

Come and see what we have been up to and we hope you like the changes!!

Steven  

October 22nd, 2011

The decorating is continuing, the restaurant area is all but completed and the kitchen area over half way there. Time is now pressing as we need to get it completed before the Sunday Opening days start so NO PRESSURE!!!   Once the kitchen area is done then we have new aprons and tops for the staff, to complete the transformation.  Thank you all for your positive comments on the ‘new look’.

Can you believe how quickly Christmas is coming? With the weather so mild we still have a few busy lizzies still flowering in the yard!! Yes I know there has been the odd frost, but the forecast this weekend is for temperatures up to 19 C. At this rate perhaps it will be Christmas on the beach!

While mentioning Christmas, we are now gearing up for our Christmas Sunday Opening, which will start on Sunday November 20^th and continue for the next four Sundays until 18^th December. We will be open from 10.30 am to 3.30pm.  So you now have an extra chance to sample our ‘no nonsense food’ or delicious ‘home made’ cakes.. Remember we bake them all on the premises so they are special to us and you can’t get them anywhere else. So come and see us and take a well deserved break from your busy shopping excursion..  

The warm weather has been good for trade as it means the outside tables are still in demand which always takes the pressure off inside seating.

So long may it continue and we can all save money on heating costs!

Happy shopping  

December 11th, 2011

We finally got all the decorating finished and I had to cap it off by falling off my stepladders on almost the last day and I think I was lucky to get away with only a suspected cracked rib!!! Ouch!!

We are very pleased with the result and the Cafe now looks bright and cheery in its new colours and the effect is further enhanced by the new table cloths, wall decorations and staff tops and aprons. We have been grateful for the positive comments from our customers and I have been a little surprised at how many customers say green is their favourite colour!

We have had to say goodbye to another long term member of our team last month when ‘Flossie’ decided that, as she is coming to the end of her college course, she needed more time to concentrate on her studies. We were all sorry to see her go as she has been with us since she was 16 and had become such an integral part of the team. But she pops in regularly and will keep in touch and we all wish her every success in the future.

We have now taken on a new part-time member of staff who is Imogen, a student from the UEA. She is now ‘learning the ropes’, and has made a good start. She has joined us at our busiest time of the year and this is always a difficult time to undertake training but she is doing well. So next time you come in perhaps you will meet her and be patient as she builds up her confidence and speed.

The weather has finally cooled down and we have had our first frosts but the geraniums in the yard continue to provide some colour and are appreciated, particularly for those healthy smokers who like to sit outside in  the ‘fresh air’. We even had two brave souls eating their dinner out there on Saturday!!! Because space inside the Cafe is limited, we continue to have a policy of table sharing and this works well because the majority of  our customers are very friendly, nice, people for whom this policy is not a problem and in some cases gives the opportunity to meet new people and to engage in  a whole new area of conversation! We have replaced one small square table with a larger, round one to increase the seating. Of course for the ‘special’ private conversations, we still have three small tables which only accommodate 2 or 3 persons. So they are available for those who want them, but there may be a wait at busy times.  

Christmas is fast approaching and we have only one more day of Sunday opening which will be 18^th Dec.! It all seems to be coming up so fast, but then that is always the way nowadays. Why does everything speed up, or is it an ‘age’ thing? We have put up the decorations and the cafe is looking suitably festive. The city is very busy and we are getting lots of shoppers coming to see us and take a well earned rest. So don’t forget, we pride ourselves on the warmest welcome anywhere in the city, a place where you can relax for a while, so come and visit us soon.  

As a Christian, this is the  time of year when we remember that God sent his son, Jesus, to live amongst us. He came as a little baby, born in Bethlehem and his task was to save mankind. We still need saving in this mad world and the good news is that we all can be, just by believing in Christ who is ‘The way, The truth and The Light’. It’s that simple!!. And it reminds us of the sane meaning of Christmas, one not dependent on how many presents we can receive or give.    

So it only leaves me to wish you all a very merry Christmas, From Pam, Steven, and all the team at Cafe Morello

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