Mornings

Down the road from us in Covent Garden is Timberyard, one of the new breed of coffeehouse/workspace. The water bottles have artfully hand-lettered cardboard tags that say “Workplace powered by purchases.” The only difference I see from a non-hybrid coffee shop is that you can rent meeting rooms. 

This morning the barista greets everyone, “Hello, you all right?” With an English accent, she somehow avoids implying that you look like hell—it’s the equivalent of “how are you?”