Writing and Coffee Shops

A great coffee shop with an embracing atmosphere is, to me, a wonderful place to work on a manuscript. Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape of South Africa is literally littered with great places to enjoy a coffee, become inspired and work on a manuscript.

I also enjoy the interaction and buzz one can get in establishments like a coffee shop, but on a rainy day, a friendly smile from one of the staff, a corner seat with (preferably) a view, you just can’t go wrong.

In Plettenberg Bay my two favourite coffee shops are Le Fournil, (with amazing Almond Croissants), or Lederleys, with it’s million dollar views of the ocean.

In Cape Town, a coffee shop of note is Truth Coffee. However it is impossible to work on a manuscript there - it is so eclectic, the decor will blow you away, and the buzz and activity will keep your mind anywhere but on work! (And that’s before you even start on the unbelievable coffee!)

Just a little side story, when I last visited Cape Town last year, I went to Truth Coffee I sat at one of those communal tables and caught up on my emails, enjoying a coffee and a rather decadent chocolate croissant, not really paying much attention to the people gathered at my table also enjoying a bit of socialising, an informal meeting, or tourists simply catching up on Facebook with their relatives and friends in other countries. A lady sat down beside me and for 20 minutes or so we occasionally bumped elbows. When I got up to leave I glanced over at this lady, who was engrossed in conversation with her friend, and realised she was Ruth, an old friend of mine. We went to nursery school and high school together when we both lived in Zimbabwe! (Our looks of surprise when we realised we had unknowingly been sitting side by side for 20 minutes had her friend laughing for quite some time!)

Researching the Langbourne series has brought with it some incredible coincidences - and many of them! And a number of them involved coffee!