Heading up north

Had a nice weekend up north in England, visiting friends and family, despite Avanti West Coast’s best attempts to not deliver us to our train station on time in either direction. At any rate, I’ve applied for the refund. So the railway will have paid for most of a nice meal we had in Preston, once the refund goes through. Yes it was a bit rainy, but the football team won.

It was interesting to see how the locals complained about the high street, while on the whole it seemed pretty busy, in between the empty shopfronts and the talented busker. We took the opportunity to buy new coats for the menfolk, and I did notice the breakfast/lunch spot, which offered a fairly clever take on brunch, was doing roaring business.

There was a queue when we got there and when we left. It had a breakfast that included both smashed avocado on toast, along with bacon and halloumi. It was pretty tasty (risebrunch.co.uk) and we appreciated the service too. Not the cheapest but definitely a weekend treat. Plus they did a take on a whipped hot chocolate that was right out of Instagram.

Further, the offspring went to the Games Workshop, which sells Warhammer miniatures for painting, and spent a lot of his birthday money. We did go into the larger shops, but exited M&S when we realised there was not much of interest to buy.

I can’t help thinking that what people are now looking for on the main street of cities and towns, is specialism. This is where the cheesemonger and the butcher can take aim at the consumer wallet. The youth of today want an experience, and food vendors can provide this. Plus, they have disposable income and want to buy locally sourced food and drink, and maybe a trinket or three.

Please note:

Dairy Industries Expo has a big announcement coming next week…watch this space!

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