FERNWOOD SUNDAY AND MY FIRST INSTALMENT OF THE COFFEE DIARIES.

Sunday mornings come and go, but when you know that fall is here and winter is just around the corner you tend to make the most of the now. This morning brought beautiful dark blue skies and the warmth of the autumnal sun. In our household one of us is a newly converted yoga fanatic and one of us isn’t.

So while I happily waited for my life partner (when in Rome), I strolled around the neighbourhood with my camera looking for rich colours and contrasting shadows in the bricks and mortar.  What used to be turn of the century historic buildings are seemingly now bill boards for trek Thailand this, or paddle Borneo that.  A  little while later I stop to gaze at another poster for holistic healing and the power of the African drum.  Next to that appears information on the numerous advantages of using crystals in your day to day life. Where am I?

I love to travel, but here is here and the power of that is what I come home for.  Away is away and that change of scenery and custom is what I travel for.  Distinction and difference makes travel better.  I don’t want to travel to the other side of the earth for an afternoon of micro brew & Fanny Bay oysters, however I imagine a traveller from far away might just enjoy a restful afternoon at Spinnakers Brew Pub while on a well thought out tour of Victoria.

With that said, I enjoy Fernwood Village in the morning. The business owners are opening up their doors and sweeping their sidewalks. The din is no longer that of last nights pub goers but that of the locals who are now flocking to Gladstone Coffee.  I see them carrying their own ethically sourced mugs for their ethically sourced beverages made by a myriad of female baristas wearing the jeans their mom’s wore in grade 10.  Most also wear repurposed eyeglasses once worn by a 73-year-old lady named Marge back in the times when Gerald Ford was the laughing-stock of the world press. Look how far we have come?

If you can’t beat them, join them,  I approach the young girl behind the counter. For some reason the new fashion trend is to readjust your waistline from your waist to somewhere just below your collar-bone.  I swear to god that if she had to get her iPhone 4 (retro) from her back pocket she would have to reach over her shoulder like Mrs. Incredible to get it.  And how counter productive would that be when she has but a moment to check Used Victoria for recently posted vintage fur lined trench coats.

My barista remarks that she likes the camera slung over my shoulder. I thank her. She says she only works in film. I think to myself “of course she does”. We exchange further pleasantries and I walk off with my hipster coffee for $4.00. That’s cool!

I perch on a stool in the window facing Fernwood Road.  Across the street a man arrives in a truck. He soon hops out and walks to its rear to grab his tools.  Like magic he begins to dance from tag to tag removing the week’s recent graffiti from local buildings.  We are not talking Banksy here.  We are talking about single words or symbols that mean nothing to 99.9 % of us and in my opinion should be transposed on to the faces of the half wits who decided to bust out their spray can in the first place.

What was actually more satisfying than seeing the tags being removed was the pride in the face of the man who was doing it.  This guy looked pleased with himself and that speaks volumes.

Deanna arrived and we set sail for a quick grocery shop.   From the frying pan in to the fire.  What I have been describing for the last 10 minutes just got exponentially more intense at Whole Foods.  “Dude, can I interest you in a creamy matcha with a double shot of wheat grass?”

I just nodded and he jumped aboard his Boosted Board to harvest my ingredients!  I can’t wait until Amazon delivers Whole Foods groceries by drone just so I don’t have to try to “like” wander up and down the isles ” like” trying to understand the meaning of life anymore “dude”.

Until next time……