In search of a flat white paradise

I miss ordering a simple ‘long black’ coffee. I'm no connoisseur, but I have to say that the English have some odd caffeine habits. Take your standard Americano, a weak imitation of the long black coffee you’d typically order in Sydney. Every café here asks me if I want milk in it. It seems that there’s no such thing as a flat white in England, and a latte isn’t considered an appropriate substitute. I just cant’ get use to the extra question, “do you want milk with that” every time I order my Americano. They’d never ask me in Europe, the US or Australia.

Of course, my order is further complicated by the assistant’s accent. I’ve noticed that the question is usually delivered in a cacophony of East European syllables, or asked so rapidly in a local dialect, that the words simply make no sense to me. An uncomfortable silence ensures while the assistant waits for my response. The question is eventually repeated. I inevitably fail to understand the accent and suggest they try the question again. Of course it never occurs to me that I’m being asked for milk. I was asked three times today before I suddenly remembered that an Americano order automatically attracts a 'milk' question. I’m now on a mission to evangelize the term 'flat white'.

Spring has finally arrived in London. We've been enjoying temperatures in double-digits for more than a week now, with regular periods of sunshine almost every day. It's also getting dark later and later. When we first arrived it was getting dark around 4pm, now it's light until after 7pm. The garden at the front of Swiss Cottage has also transformed itself into a sea of yellow daffodils, while fruit trees in the back garden are awash with blossom. I even saw someone in a pair of shorts this week. Rather brave I thought, as we're not experiencing temperatures in the lower teens yet. My hayfever has also struck with vengence. Garry's taken to complaining about my heavy breathing as I struggle to overcome congestion in my sleep.

With Easter only weeks away we've started planning a few day trips. At the moment we're thinking of visiting Windsor, Greenwich and possibly a trip to the coast to see the famous sand-free beaches of Brighton.

Finally, we had three friends over for dinner on Saturday night. We went the whole hog, with a real table cloth, the ubiquitous oak barrel cheeseboard and plenty of our recently imported Australian wine. Garry cooked a roast provided by our mate Chris. His family owns a farm up north. He picked up a side of beef last time he was home and has been looking for the right opportunity to use ever since.

We had a great evening, including several interuptions from the neighbours. They weren't knocking to complain, instead one was seeking tools to assemble her IKEA furniture while another was after a strapping lad to help move furniture - we sent Garry down to help. It seems Garry's efforts were much appreciated. While leaving for work this morning I tripped over a "thank you" bottle wine left for him on the top step. That will go a little way to plugging the new holes in our wine rack.