Spontaneous Book Purchases

We were all very busy today in the Colchester branch of the Art Cafe corporation, in fact by the time I looked up from the coffee machine to see the Tartist putting the finishing touch to yet another cream tea it was already 3.30 pm. It was then we decided to leave the others to tidy up and nip out to Waterstones just around the corner for a browse. Our browse turned into three spontaneous purchases, not exactly a spending frenzy but quite gratifying just the same.
Our first book was 'Breakfast at the Wolseley' by A.A. Gill restaurant critic with The Times, a unanimous decision and a beautiful little hardback that stylishly exemplifies why breakfast is the artist's and tartist's favourite meal of the day...to quote Mr. Gill "Breakfast is everything. The beginning, the first thing. It is the mouthfull that is the commitment to a new day, a continuing life."
The book contains sections on eggs, viennoiserie, the English breakfast, fruit and cereals, tea, coffee and hot chocolate all with accompanying recipes.
How many of us really know how to make the perfect omelette? or milk before or after in your cup of tea?



You can find The Wolseley at 160 Picadilly in London occupying a grand old showroom of the Wolseley Car Company.

Next purchase was a neat little book, 500 Cupcakes and Muffins, 500 recipes of cupcakes and muffins. We both share a disdain for those cellophane wrapped puffballs offered by the big high street cafe chains (you know who you are!) and this book has quite a few homemade alternatives. Maybe we'll feature one or two in the Artcafe this Autumn.





Last but certainly not least the artist found this title amongst all the arty farty books, Artist's Little Book of Colour by Simon Jennings. The tartist said 'don't you already know all that stuff?', well, some of it I can recall from my dim, distant past at art school, ultramarine being the blue obtained by grinding the rare and expensive lapis lazuli seems to have stuck in my memory from some or other history of art lecture. What I didn't know however is that Indian Yellow was once made by precpitating the urine of cows that had been force-fed with mango leaves!, this little book is full of this sort of facinating stuff as well as some really practical information for the artist.



...mmm we just need a bit of spare time now to try some of the recipes out and have a good read over breakfast.