I recently moved home but am yet to find a new café to go to in the mornings. It’s more for a lack of looking than anything else and so this afternoon, I decided to change that by walking down the road to see if anywhere drew me in.
As I sauntered along, carrying both a book and a notebook in the same hand and keeping the other firmly inside my jacket pocket, I felt the Newcastle cold creeping through my jacket. Soon enough, I came across a café with a crappy Halloween advert in the window. Not wanting to let first impressions stop me from finding somewhere nice (and warm), I stepped in and found myself in quite a relaxed little place.
I took off my beanie, feeling a new quality to the air hitting my head now that it wasn’t being filtered by wool, and ordered a hot chocolate. Eager me started drinking a bit too fast and I burned my tongue, but after a little while, it had cooled down, I had recovered and the drink was lovely.
I started listening to some jazz, which in itself has a certain warmth, with its pitter-pattering drums and the smooth notes of the saxophone drifting elegantly through the air. I found myself wrapping both of my hands around the mug, experiencing that wonderful contrast of coming in from the biting cold and getting the gentle, reassuring embrace of warmth.
As I yearned for a digestive to dunk into my hot chocolate, I got to thinking about other lovely things to do when it’s cold. Shuffling around in your slippers as you grab a hot drink (and some digestives) and fill up your hot water bottle, wandering back to your bedroom to light a candle and watch the flames gently flicker, then switching on a lamp to cast a soft, warm glow over your room as you settle into bed, snuggling into the duvet and letting the day wash away through some slow music and your favourite book.
There aren’t many things better than being warm on a cold day.
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