Nucleus

This morning TTO & I went to one of our favourite cafe haunts, the New Arts Centre Cafe aka Nucleus in Chatham High Street. TTO goes there every week on Thurs mornings, as he meets up with some writing friends; I tag along every now and again, but, if I could, I'd be going almost every day, particularly in lovely sunny weather like we had today.


NAC is a secret gem, hidden down an alley off the High Street. The first indication that it's there, is the huge sculpture on the wall:




with this sculpture on the opposite side of the alley, on top of a shop:






Once you turn in to the alley, you can easily see the cafe; there are tables and chairs outside, all the better to enjoy the sunny weather




They also have folding doors at the front of the cafe that they open in good weather, which is perfect for fair-skinned damsels like me :-)


Inside, it's a combination of squishy chairs and sofas for lounging, or tables and chairs for dining



with a corner for internet access, and, of course, the food bit!




The majority of the food is made by the staff, not just sandwiches, baguettes etc, but also soups, chilli's, pasta, and some lovely cakes.


This morning, I had a large cappuccino, with a piece of homemade cherry cake; TTO had lemon cake. Sorry I didn't get a photo of it, but it didn't hang around on my plate long enough!


I love it, because it's so comfortable; you really feel as if you could hang around and relax. Because it's part of the Nucleus Arts Centre, there is local art displayed on the walls, and you can also visit the gallery next door to the cafe when they have exhibitions.


TTO, myself and Marilyn, one of TTO's friends from his writing group, were once lucky enough to be invited by local artist Peter Reeds, to view his studio space, and some of the work he had finished or was working on. I had seen some of Peters work before, as he has some exhibits at the Brook theatre, and it was a privilege to meet someone I already admired, and to see his working space. Next time you're near the Brook, pop in and check out the paintings upstairs.


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If a Job's Worth Doing...

I always have a bit of a dilemma when it comes to summer; a part of me absolutely loves the sun, but being fair-skinned, I cannot say that my complexion feels the same way. As I have (frequently) been heard to say, I am the only person I know who managed to get sunburnt, in England, in February. I kid you not.


However, I also enjoy gardening, so I've been trying to make the most of the recent not so sunny weather to catch up on some work in the garden. Today, it was a job I had been dreading, which was re-digging the Green Cone site. I love my Green Cone, would recommend it to anyone who has a garden and have been using it faithfully for a few years now; as a result, combined with all the recycling, I now only put out 1 black sack a fortnight. Admittedly, there is only me and the cats in permanent residency, with TTO staying a few times a week, but nonetheless, I'm proud of the achievement.


Unfortunately, though, when I originally dug the hole for the Green Cone, with the help of Weasley, we didn't quite dig deep enough, so the lip of the cone itself was level with the ground instead of under it. And over the years, the level dropped enough for me to recognise I needed to redo it.


Words cannot describe the horror. I must stress again, this is a wonderful device, and it works well, but, if you do ever get one, make sure you site it properly, and dig the hole properly, so it's EMPTY at the time.


At least the flower bed got dug at the same time, and I have now re-sited my rhubarb plant, so it might actually grow this time, and I've planted the peony I bought a while back. If any of my cuttings take, there's a place for them now, as well.


Just so you don't have the Green Cone image in your head for the rest of the day, here's a pic of my lovely Holly, risking life and limb, asleep on the edge of the footcube I made:


A life without cats just ain't worth livin'


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