Neal's Yard HDR

I met a friend at Monmouth Coffee on Monmouth Street in Covent Garden today: their coffee is one of the benchmarks for decent coffee in London. They roast carefully selected coffees from farms, estates, and co-operatives around the world: they visit them, develop a relationship, and then they roast their coffees very well. Many decent cafes around London use Monmouth Coffee, and it seems to be one of the ways that cafes try to tell potential customers that they're serious about the quality of their coffee.

I had a cappuccino which was delightful: bold and interesting with silky smooth foam (no layers!), but it certainly wasn't the finest cappuccino I've had recently... That tends to be my impression of Monmouth: I've only ever had very delicious coffee from them, but they rarely wow me. Perhaps it is because they do what they do so well that they don't need to take risks or try to make an extra special impression.
I'm being critical: it is always a treat.

I had a little wander around the area, and am always drawn (photographically) to Neal's Yard for its bold colours and quirky "health food cafes and new age retailers" (as Wikipedia puts it). I've never bought anything... I've taken pictures there a few times, but I haven't yet taken a photo with which I'm satisfied! It is the composition that I struggle with... That is still the case here; I like the colours and scene, but it still seems messy and unsatisfactory to me. I took pictures of black-headed gulls today (including a beautiful juvenile), but this is more representative of my day, and is more of change from my usual fare.

And now the sad but positive news: the fledglings have flown the pond (or at least aren't there today). I think I saw at least a couple of them on the nearby boating pond, but it was only the parents on Eagle Pond. I'll be back to check on Wednesday, but they may now officially be juvenile geese (having left their parents). Eep! Exciting, but I feel rather sad that I won't see them regularly any more.