Costa Allotta


It's a cold dank day today, as my brief "bosoms II" video will testify to
A day which you sometimes just want to sit with a grand cup of coffee and watch the weather.
Now North Wales is a pretty place but it does have it's drawbacks, and one of those. drawbacks is that you cannot buy a good cup of coffee unless you drive at least ten miles or so from Trelawnyd
I am not really a fan of coffee chains, but only a mile and a half away a new costa coffee shop has opened in the new Prestatyn Shopping Centre....!
A shopping centre which may well save the fortunes of a dying seaside town.
When I was a boy, Prestatyn was a thriving retail centre, with every shop in the high street occupied and busy.Over the past few years well over a third of the shops have now closed and the once proud High Street has taken over the mantle of a charity shop Mecca.
Today, Marks and Spencer, Tesco and other " chain" shops are opening in an area of regeneration right in the centre of the town, and even though its not a collection of independent shops, it will, I am sure bring people back into a town which is desperate for an injection of hope and financial support.

I will be doing my bit today
I am going to order my own costa allotta!
Which reminds me

54 comments:

  1. I remember, in a national service based 'Carry On' film, there was a Private Parts. Boom boom.

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  2. If drinking coffee will help the High Street, I'm all for it :-)

    Enjoy!!

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    1. In the end, the place was so packed, I gave up!

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  3. That is an interesting perspective on the 'chain store' debate, and one that I does have some merit. My experience of Prestatyn was that was 'dying' anyway without the arrival of chain stores, and so anything new is, in this case, probably an improvement. This does not apply everywhere, of course.

    The sadder story is the longer-term abandonment of North Wales by the political classes. Although, of course, any profits the new stores make will leave Prestatyn, they will provide much-needed employment. Your problem, I think, is (as everywhere) the local council...but that is another discussion...

    Give me a call, in tonight.

    Nx

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  4. If a new retail centre will bring the punters to Prestatyn then lets hope this regeneration will help this dying sea side town revive. Maybe then some new independent shops will open too. Costa hot choc is good too.

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  5. hope you've taken out a mortgage to pay for that coffee ;-)

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  6. Just don't order nay food with the coffee or you may need a mortgage application form to go with it.

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  7. That looks good! It's nice to see someone able to dig in the earth when the snow and ice still covers the ground here.

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  8. ooh - send me some photos of the new centre when you get a chance eh? x

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    1. Will do , dear heart........ You will be impressed x

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  9. I reckon the poultry would have a good scratch about in the new allotment John and kill off any nasty wire worms and chafer grubs for you.

    Think the North Wales resorts have been in decline for yonks. I remember going to them on day trips before the motorways. Think you have got a great subject there for a book. I would read it!

    Great video.

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    1. The hens have already raided the lot... +++++++

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  10. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every town had it's own market and high street lined with old family stores and independent retailers and barter stores - but alas we have to live in the real world and frankly anything that keeps our town centres alive is welcome - and coffee is never a bad thing. Enjoy and don't forget M&S scotch eggs!

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  11. Ah yes, a parody from a James Bond flick. Plenty O'Toole. Named after her father, Bond replied. Big chain coffee, blah.

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    1. Don't forget dr godhead in moon ranker!

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  12. We have only two family-owned stores left in our town. One by one, they have all closed over the past ten years. They cannot compete with all the shiny new Target or Starbucks stores that have popped up all over. Main Street is no longer the place to go in most of the small towns everywhere.

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  13. If local councils really wanted to keep their high streets alive, they should declare them as areas requiring financial concessions and abolish or drastically reduce the rates they charge commercial properties. You've got some poor bastard family butcher serving good honest cuts of meat that has been there for generations and gets wiped out because the council zone an area of farmland commercial and allow Tescos in. Now I have nothing against Tescos, per se, but if the decision of the council blows the livlihood of the very citizens they represent, surely those citizens are entitled to some form of compensation? So how about binning their rates? Councils are supposed to protect the communities they serve, not rip the fucking hearts out of them. They'll spend millions protecting listed buildings, well how about spending a few bob protecting the high street, the core of the community? Boarded up high street shops don't earn the council anything and contribute nothing to the local economy.

    Your Chris is a University big wig, isn't he? Why don't you ask him if it would be possible for the Universtity to fund some of its economics students to assess the impact of drastically reducing the cost of operating a business out of the areas in decline, such as the high streets?

    Glad to see you are on your feet again John...

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    1. I told chris of your idea...... He just said "pah" very loudly x

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  14. Ukrainian Village.....that made my morning coffee a delight.

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  15. And with the added advantage that Costa actually pay taxes which is more than other coffee chains do! But I prefer to make my own.

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  16. seymore butts. ron johnson. john thomas. richard head. yeah!

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    1. oooooh, forgot that one! but then again, I'm not into girls! ;-)

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  17. We tend to try and use independant coffee shops where we can but our tint market town only has Costa's so it's that or nothing on the odd occasion. They don't charge extra for soya milk which other chains do (makes my blood boil) and they have an ok selection of gluten free cake for freaks like me too

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  18. I didn't realize just how huge your allotment is. No doubt, you will need alota coffee to tackle that one sunny day!

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    1. It's like me...we both look bigger on camera x

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  19. Watching your vid made me start singing, 'They plough their fields and scatter' The office was traumatised. Mike Myers and Austin Powers...truly, truly funny. There's a horrible irony that in the high streets that the supermarkets and out of town stores have decimated they're returning with 'Sainsbury Local' and 'Tesco Metro' etc So essentially the same shops that we had before, but with the profits going to shareholders and not local businesses. Grr I believe that most Costas are franchises...so I think that means more of the money stays in the local community...a good thing

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  20. Good coffee in the morning is as essential as a shower before work to me! I grind beans fresh every morning and enjoy a cup or three. :)

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  21. I'm dissapointed that it isn't a large Tesco. I have to go all the way to Asda Queensferry to do my shop!

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  22. I've always fancied one of those coffee machines that George Clooney likes to loiter around..

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    1. I've always fancied George Clooney
      I would loiter around him anyday

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  23. We've tried the small locally owned coffee shops and they just don't compare, in our minds, to our favourite Starbucks as far as flavour and strength goes. It costs but well worth it. There you have it...

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  24. Have you tried buying Taylor's of Harrogate Lazy Sunday coffee - pouring on boiling water, giving it a good stir and then sitting by the log burner with a good book and a mug ready to empty the coffee pot? (A good chocolate digestive or a cafe noir to dunk helps too.)

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  25. OK, Sniffles, I guess I won't complain anymore about our gray skies.

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  26. Bro,
    Would you believe it Prestatyn has an escalator, actually we have two, one to go up and one down. Yipee we've been riding them with the kids. T & A xxx

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  27. May this breath life into the surrounding areas too.

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  28. Exactly what Hippo has described above is happening in my locale. Today it was announced in the local press that Sainsbury's has been granted planning permission to open a store - in direct competition to Tesco which is within throwing distance and in turn, Tesco has been the death knell of the pretty little high street which used to be full of family businesses. Don't encourage these conglomerates - go and buy yourself a nice little Krups capuccino machine and make your own.

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    1. Nana
      I have discussed this at length with a friend tonight... Both of us think that in this case, it's the last chance saloon chance for the town......

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  29. That's going to be a huge allotment!

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  30. Sounds like your small towns are going the same way as ours over here.Is 30 km too far to drive for a cuppa?

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  31. I prefer the independent shops, but something to bring in business is good regardless I suppose.

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  32. The field prep took a lot of work! What will be planted there?

    I am all for coffee, right this very minute.

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  33. I have heard that the RAF are going to use Prestatyn for target practice so you'd best wear a helmet when slurping your latte in Costa Coffee.

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  34. Haha, I just watched that again a couple of days ago.

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  35. Her name is actually Alotta Fajiner. Trust all your filthy-minded readers to think it was actually something else. She gets very tired of the endless misreadings.

    If a decent cup of coffee is so hard to find, you'll have to invest in some top-of-the-range coffee-making equipment of your own to satisfy your deprived taste buds....

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  36. I had a very nice coffee made by daughter in the deli where she works. I'd met my friend & little grandson... we were supposed to be going to a farm for the day but as you say, the weather was grotty.

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  37. I was finally able to view the video (limited bandwidth where I live). Enjoyed the visit--birds chirping,rooster crowing, and a voice to hear when I read your blog.


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