The reason behind the relatively recent resurgence in popularity of coffee 'bars', I was told today, is 'time and space'. They were quite the place to be in centuries gone by when the expense of the beverage meant it was imperative for anyone who was anyone - for which read any man who was any man - to be seen quaffing the stuff. And in recent years, whether indpendent of part of a chain, they have begun to take over the high street in most towns.
In a world of instant communication, long working hours, children partaking in more extra-curricula activities than ever before, sometimes juggling a second job and/or being a carer and the feeling of failure if one doesn't accomplish all of these things and more, we will willingly pay for some time and space.
How many of us actually sits down to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea at home? I lose count of the number of cold cups I find either in the kitchen or at my desk, no time to drink, or lost in work and the hot beverage forgotten. Space, the ability to get away from the multiple chores, the pile of extra reading or report writing. If you're at home, it's there staring you in the face. Magic yourself away for half an hour and you can pretend, if you're lucky even forget, that it exists. Even mothers of young children take their job (kids) with them; they have to look after their offspring, but the washing up or the mundanity of building another duplo model is temporarily displaced.
Social media means that we should be better at communicating with our friends and family; but a line or two exchanged in print on a screen in no way compensates for the face to face experience involved in taking time and space for coffee, or tea, or whatever takes our fancy before re submerging ourselves in the all consuming humdrum of 21st century life.
For me, and many others like me, working alone and at home, time and space is an opportunity to re-connect with the outside world. These are my water-cooler moments, seldom taken but welcome when they do. In recent years I've marvelled at sculptures suspended from cafe ceilings, wondered why the person sitting at the table diagonally opposite is so tanned, felt sorry for a line of elderly women all sitting alone - each at their own table, non communicating - laughed at waiter's jokes, overheard conversations that make me smile, want to weep, question; noted the five different Eastern European nationalities represented by the baristas and counted carrot cake as one of my five a day!
These solo trips aren't a 'jolly', an excuse not to work, they're a chance to re-charge the imaginative batteries, to seed the germ of an idea with regard to a character trait, a short story or remind me of a detail I could/should include for a minor background character. Vital; without my time and space, my well of inspiration would slowly dry.
I have no office e-mails, (thankfully), nor office politics, (even better!), but the occasional opportunity to meet for a coffee with a friend replaces this lack of banter for me and more than amply rewards the time spent away from pen and paper.
With thanks to Julie, who today told me of her time and space theory and was my water cooler updater!
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