Lets do lunch!

I've officially joined in with the developing cafe culture that has sprung up all over Edinburgh in the last few years. Take a walk down almost every thoroughfare in Scotland's capital city and you will almost certainly pass at least one Starbucks type coffee bar and at least one bar/restaurant that wouldn't look out of place in New York/Rome/Paris/London.

The only noticeable difference between the cafe's in and around Edinburgh and the cafe's in New York/Rome/Paris/London is the lack of anything close to cultured conversation. Unless of course you are in and around Edinburgh University. This is where the International Bright Young Things of the world hang around in Edinburgh. Sit outside a cafe in this area and you could be forgiven for wondering where you are in the world.

I've haunted this area in my past and have many fond, and often hazy, memories of nights spent lounging and laughing with friends in the drinking dens and evenings spent lugging sound equipment for the band of an old friend. Negociants was the best of the bunch, a great place to hang around, the clientelle was always friendly and the staff were always up for a laugh with the regulars.

To my surprise it hasn't changed much over the years. There is still the same undercurrent of sociality that has always been part of Negociants charm and the customers are still the same mix of people. I could happily spend a whole afternoon sitting reading a book and watching the mixture of aging hippie lecturers smoking Galouise and pondering the universe mingle with their students, whose thinking probably ran along the lines of "where can I score some good dope" or "Should I wash these jeans or keep wearing them in protest of the plight of our free thinking brothers in Cuba."

I'd arranged to meet Jenny at Negociants just after 2pm and as I'd arrived early I sat and read my copy of Motorcycle News while having a coffee and watching the world go by. French accents mingled with Spanish, English, Polish and South American sounds. The occsasional Scottish accent would creep in and I'd remember that I was still somewhere I was familiar with.

Jenny arrived and we sat for a good couple of hours catching up on each others lives. A nice meal of freshly cooked beef burger with a mixed salad and french fries was had by me and Jenny chowed down on a bowl of spicy curly fries. The Chef popped out to say hello to me, I've known him since we worked together in the Zoo catering department, and I informed him that was the best cheese and bacon burger I had ever had.

I settled the bill and Jenny and I walked around to Chambers Street where Jenny had parked her car and she dropped me off at the west end. I had money in my tail and wanted to see if there was anything worth buying in Waterstones or Virgin. I popped into Virgin and picked up a four DVD box set of Back to the Future and a copy of The Goonies which, thanks to the sale, came in at £19.99.

All in all it was a nice day.