turps: (owl (turloughishere))
[personal profile] turps
Monday's child is fair of face

Create: Produce something that focuses on appearance (of a person, a thing, a place etc). Focus on describing and depicting the detail, or the overall impression. It doesn't have to be about beauty or attractiveness in any traditional sense, but whatever it is that is compelling, unique, impressive about the person, thing, place etc. Whilst this prompt is very visual, you can also focus on a non visual aspect of how someone/something appears, the first impression, the feeling, the atmosphere, the striking feature.


I often talk about going to Re.F.Use so I thought it would be a good choice for the prompt.

From the outside, it looks like a slightly old and tired cafe. But once you get inside you see that it's something special.

None of the chairs match, some are solid and take some hefting to move, others are spindly and you have to sit carefully, though I'm sure they're still up to the job.

There is a piano in the corner and the light shades look home created, wire twisted into shapes around bare bulbs. The staff are mostly volunteers who wear brightly coloured t-shirts, volunteers printed across the back, and at one side of the cafe, there's a small counter containing cakes and sweet treats and an area to make hot drinks, while the kitchen itself is hidden in the back.

There is a small kids play area tucked in the corner, with drawings tacked to the wall and small children pretending to cook on the wooden kitchen that dominates the area.

But what makes the place so special is the ethos and feel. All meals are made using food that would have been otherwise thrown away. The shops donate it to Re.F.Use who then use that food to create a breakfast and lunch menu. That does mean that you can never be sure what's available each day as that's depending on what has been donated, but the chefs always come up with something great.

The cakes in the display case always look tasty, but never perfect as they're made by a volunteer. I've often seen her come in, cakes stacked in plastic containers which she hands over and a volunteer slices then put them in the display case. And yes, on occasions the cakes have been wonky on top or a scone a touch too hard, but that never matters.

You can pay for your food with money or time. The last time I was there I was talking to a man who had mopped the floors first thing and in return, he was having a hot meal for breakfast and then lunch. I've talked to many people who are homeless or live in shelters. Petted their dogs and passed the time of day as we enjoyed our food. I've also talked to people who are there because they believe in the cause, people who pay over the odds for their meals and shop by buying multiple Waste Not Boxes which are for sale for £15.

Often you see these boxes pushed under the tables, cardboard crates filled with surplus products and I like to check them out to see what was an excess that day. Fillets of fish, chops, veggie burgers, sausages and fruit, dairy products and bread and milk and so many things that change each time.

Re.F.Use states no one should ever be hungry. They leave envelopes on each table and you can fill them with as much, or as little money as you want for the food. You do have to pay for drinks, but can get a water or instant tea and coffee which costs very little.

And I love it's a place with no shame. No one checks or looks as you slip your envelope into the box at the side of the counter, if you pay by card they don't look as you input an amount.

Often there is food on display to be taken away freely, surplus stuff that would otherwise end in a skip. On Saturday there was a table near the entrance heaped high with different kinds of bread products, at the back a chiller and boxes filled with food that was constantly replenished after people had helped themselves.

No one looked as you checked out the products, and nearly everyone there had a filled brown paper bag at their table.

It's a place that's more than a cafe. It's a place that reminds you there is still a lot of good in the world, and that's why I love it.

And for the create.

Have a quick picspam of Santiago Cabrera who I think is incredibly attractive.

I first started to pay attention to him in Heroes, then enjoyed him in Merlin. Got obsessed when he was in The Musketeers and now of course am enjoying him in Picard.



This top one, just because.

santi.JPG

MV5BZTVmNGUzODgtMjljNS00NzExLTgwMDAtMmMwOGM1ZTBmZWM2L2ltYWdlL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjg2MTMyNTM@._V1_.jpg

Isaac-Mendez-Heroes-NBC-Santiago-Cabrera-a.jpg

Isaac-Mendez-Heroes-NBC-Santiago-Cabrera.jpg

The-Musketeers-2-7-Aramis-SANTIAGO-CABRERA.jpg

Lancelot-lancelot-from-merlin-bbc-24511659-1600-1200.jpg

mushketery-the-musketeers-2070.jpg

1g50g3g4cup41.jpg

Date: 2021-08-24 01:13 am (UTC)
dine: (zen coffee - lanning)
From: [personal profile] dine
Re.F.Use always sounds like such an awesome place! what a wonderful resource for everyone

well, I can certainly see why you'd think him attractive!

Profile

turps: (Default)
turps

May 2025

S M T W T F S
     1 23
45 67 8910
1112 131415 1617
18 1920 212223 24
25262728293031

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated May. 25th, 2025 03:46 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios