I was inspired by a friend who wrote recently on a community social media page that when he and his wife go out for the day or when they are on holiday, rather than going to the expensive, trendy, branded coffee bars, that they would support small independent coffee shops, or better still, spy out a church coffee morning. When I read his comment, I remembered being in Tintagel in Cornwall in the summer of 2022 and spotting a coffee morning at the local Methodist Church and for a few moments, I was tempted, but we were rushing by for some reason, and didn’t go in, I wish that we had, it was an opportunity missed.
With my friend’s comment in mind, I had experienced my usual busy run up to Easter and Easter Saturday was a day free of work. I spotted that Knodishall Methodist Church to the north of our circuit was having a yard sale and a coffee morning, we decided to treat ourselves. The village of Knodishall is located less than five miles from the picturesque Suffolk coast, close to delightful places like Thorpeness, Aldeburgh, and Snape, well worth a visit if you’ve never been there.
We had a lovely, gentle drive through the Suffolk countryside on a gorgeous day, we enjoyed a cup of tea and good company, church folk by and large are very welcoming and love having visitors. Even as we left and headed for home, there was still the delight of returning home by a different route, no rush, just sauntering through God’s glorious countryside. A perfect day.
I learned two important lessons on Easter Saturday this year, firstly that it is important to let people know that we are sitting in Churches drinking tea and coffee. There has never been an easier time to advertise what we are doing with basic computer software packages to make creating attractive and informative posters nice and easy. Social media makes it simple to reach thousands of people at the click of a button, and even the traditional A board (carefully positioned of course) can help.
On the flip side, I am as guilty as the next person for thinking that coffee mornings are for the locals and not for me, they are not. As the warmer days of spring and summer are upon us why not spy out a coffee morning somewhere, treat yourself to a nice day out, a decent cuppa at a reasonable price and good company, what can be better?