It has been a tough time for everyone in the pandemic. Especially for a coffee lover like me who has not found it easy to get out and grab a coffee. I live in a village on the outskirts of York in the UK, and while the village has two coffee shops, only one has been suitable for working in and it has been closed for most of the pandemic and last weekend the owners opened for the last time. As a result my coffee shop visits have effectively been on hold for over a year, and all of the donations have been piling up.
Popping out to a coffee shop to work on my personal projects is something I look forward to. It's my alone time where I can get out and about, but not have any of the immediate family pressures, and it is something that has been missing for a while thanks to the pandemic. But if ever there was a relatively minor first world problem, this is probably it.
Earlier this week I discovered a new coffee shop had opened only a 20 minute cycle ride away from where I live. It is at a services, so the view is less than ideal, but it is spacious, open for long hours, serves coffee, and has tables I can work at. In my book, that's a slam dunk win, giving me a place I can break out to for a quiet writing/developing/building/planning session.
And yes, that is my bike locked up outside the window.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to my coffee fund to date (and in the future). I have one of those nifty online bank accounts that let's me partition my money, so all of the donations I receive here go into my "Coffee Fund" space to help finance these trips.