NUC: Double Shot, Covent Garden

On this drizzling, miserable day I followed the unknown backstreets near the Strand to this dark green café. Unknown to me, that is; it's not exactly a wilderness. Alighting at Charing Cross had I ventured into Victoria Embankment to stare at some statues of people I did not know. Back on the Strand I saw a café which I took note of for another day. Towards Covent Garden I went, shielded from the rain by a hat that makes me look like a hobo (so I am told). As I was peering into a restaurant, I turned to see Double Shot staring me down. The awning was enough to get me in, very nice awning indeed. I hadn't seen an awning all morning.

Inside, it's kind of plush. Dark wood and green like a Mini. Long vertical mirrors bounce the light around,  and people sit around small tables or on armchairs. I am one of the armchair bunch, sitting on one of three armchairs in front of a small table. Rows of Teapigs tea stare down at me from a shelf fixed high up on the wall a yonder. The flat white I got isn't as smooth as others that I have come across, it's rather fluffy but still quite effective. The man who served it to me excelled at indifference. I sit listening to boring music, wondering whether I should stop writing this and instead work on the dissertation like I had planned. I sense a quiet resistance from my clouded brain and watch the people instead.

It seems to be a place for shoppers and business types, for refuelling between two small fashion stores or for an 'informal' interview. One cannot deny how pleasant it is, very convivial indeed, loungey with a touch of gentleman-with-a-cigar class. A man joins me on the adjacent armchair and reads the evening standard. Twenty minutes go by and then a vase with some small red flowers gets positioned between us. Sure, we both ignore this innocent gesture, but the romantic tension has been raised and we both know it. A wonderful accordion song takes over the radio.