Cafe dharma
Sunshine Books, Art and Coffee in Hove Street
My book last read is ‘Diary of a Lady’ by Rachel Johnson where she tells of her time at The Lady magazine attempting to turn it around to attract new readers while not losing too many of its loyal subscribers. It’s an excellent insight to the world of publishing and magazines told with flair. This is my diary in a way told through my tales of cafes making use of my time by not just idling away the hours but exercising the writer within, taking a few photos and spreading the word about my favourites. August is whizzing by with first my birthday party bbq on a fortunately warm evening, my day out filming as an extra and its now a bit of a reality check with a visit to a new cafe that’s just opened in Hove.
What a brilliant idea to sell books in a cafe. Waterstone’s and Borders to it the other way around by having a cafe in a bookshop but this independent is doing it with some panache. Hove St. is one of those little cut through roads that people tend to forget about. In the past few years a few new businesses have moved in bringing this stretch of Hove to life. Now with the addition of a new cafe it’s most definitely on my map. The sunflower yellow awning gives a golden glow to the tables below on the double-width west facing pavement. It’s the perfect place for sitting out enjoying a tea or coffee with plenty of outdoor seating. The blackboard outside declares that they make the ‘best coffee in town’ as well as ‘mouth-watering cakes’ and ‘freshly made sandwiches’. To the south you can see Zippo’s Circus setting up on Hove Lawns and to the north the busy junction where Church Rd transmutes into New Church Rd. Kim the owner has put a lot of detail into setting up her new venture from the recycled wood for the indoor tables and the choice of the art displayed on the brilliant white walls. The art on display will change regularly and will be the work of local artists. The natural light streams through the full length windows and there’s a really light and airy feel about this cafe. There’s a great selection of contemporary second-hand books lined up in the two bookcases by the door which look well worth a browse through. As well as the wooden tables and chairs inside there are two areas of lime coloured tub chairs for those who want to settle in for the long haul. Kim wants to get local writers and book groups involved to make this cafe a community hub for those who love reading and writing.
My current read is a paperback titled ‘Whitehawk’ by Simon Nolan. I picked up this copy on a book swap evening I went to last week and find it a dark yet riveting read. The story is of a social worker’s weird entanglement with a dysfunctional family on the notoriously bleak estate to the north-east of Brighton. So my recent reading has taken me from the privileged and hard-nosed publishing world of central London to the desolate and bizarre lives of a family in my home town. It’s all too easy to get carried away with a good read and to remember that real life actually goes on beyond the pages of a well thumbed book.
