Having been somewhat unfairly likened to a Philistine bull let loose in a china shop by my long-suffering and oft-frowning van companion Sancho, it was not without trepidation that I approached the world of Art and Crafts via the portal of the Pottery Shop, Buchlyvie. I decided to test its Coffee Kiln Café alone, and try hard not to break anything. Yes dear reader, parking gratis on Main Street Buchlyvie I voluntarily entered a pottery. Virgin territory for many of our kind: Picky Mens in their Vans.
The Pottery Shop interior is pleasantly spattered with much pottery of course, pictures, jewellery, trinkletage, bunting, felted baubles and more with a café squeezed in. The nourishing, beige aural porridge of Radio 4 was flowing in the background. An actual artist was at work round the back in the Pottery Sales Counter (form an orderly queue, no pushing there!), being creative and chatting with the staff and punters. The effect was exactly like being in Sancho’s studio/office/glory hole so I felt right at home. Except that in Sancho’s lair I am not really wanted and often forced to provide room service or just go away.
Contrastingly, in the Coffee Kiln Café a friendly high school dude ran the table service. The whole café and kitchen enterprise was being magnificently managed by a pink-haired force of nature with a strong Spanish accent. Said person’s attitude to making sure I got what I wanted muy pronto was frankly relentless. I was being treasured. Perhaps not like a Ming vase, but at least like a very nice mug.
The CKC menu is reasonably standard but as I was swiftly informed, the mac & cheese was made from scratch and would take at least ten minutes. A very good sign. During my assignments for you I like to maintain the pretence that I am out working, that time is not relative and customers’ own busy lives must be respected so I asked for something quicker.
In less time than it takes me to view an entire craft fair and leave having purchased precisely nothing, (under 5 minutes) I was presented with an excellent HLT (HalloumiLettuceTomato) on brown, served with aplomb, a good feta side salad and an industry standard coffee, £12.50. In that 5 minutes the two staff could not do enough for me and the other customers who dropped in. So I settled back to surreptitiously photograph the interior and attempt to appreciate the contents and not be a low beast of the field where arts and crafts are concerned.
Even with my overpoweringly animalistic nature and its relentless focus on light haulage vehicles, I was forced to admit that this really is a very pleasing establishment; laid-back, creative, snug and most welcoming. And operated with relentless efficiency and charm. Baked goods looked exemplary but remained untested due to time constraints.
I nearly bought a mug. I may yet. Perhaps there is something in this Pottery lark after all.
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