A 0130 alarm call. Dwayne Johnson saying ‘good morning sunshine’ and telling me that I need to get up. For a brief ten minutes, I was convinced my friend would sleep through his alarm so I could go back to bed.
He didn’t, and at just after 0200 we left for Scotland and the border villages. There’s a great burden on you when getting up that early, but as we drove and saw the orange hues, turn to red over the coast, it lifted.
‘Wow,’ was the one thought on my mind, from before we even parked up, but all the way through to 0700. The sunrise. What a spectacle.
In Tron Legacy, Sam marvels to Quorra that the singular best thing about life outside of the world his father had created, was the sunrise. He wasn’t wrong. Sadly, the film depicted the sunrise poorly and it didn’t receive the same feeling. This morning did.
Pure tranquillity. An array of colours lined out from the tips of the sky, to the ripples on the surface of the sea. Calm, quiet, relaxed. Perfect. The thought of getting up early passed by with a yawn, but it was soon out of your mind. With the sunrise, the day took shape. To form one hell of a day.
Three hours rambling, laying on rocks, climbing volcanic layers of history and watching the golden globe rise before us, brought us to Berwick for coffee and cake.
I’m glad Wetherspoons was closed and we decided to go to Nero over Costa, simply because Nero was glowing, while Costa slunk in the shade. The house speciality latte: vanilla latte topped with squirty cream and drizzled with caramel, lay beside a glistening caramel slice. Moisture from the fridge looked like fresh morning dew that dazzled in the coffee shop light.
These days my expectations are low because I’ve been disappointed far too much. But when you eat something lovely, with that outlook, your surprised and comforted by the taste.
Though it wasn’t a taste that smacked you immediately in the throat. It was casual but confident, it’s in the crowd, but not shouting for attention and you simply see it in the corner of your eye, before really giving it a thorough glance.
Noticeably, the flavour was like fudge from a confectioner in Devon, that must have been the caramel boasting over the other two layers. The chocolate, was tasty and familiar, but I could not place it’s branding. As for the base, it’s cold refrigerated body, didn’t take too well to me. The whole slice was hardened because of this, but after time, it grew on me and I think it helped to enjoy it more.
Top marks have been awarded for aesthetics, it was truly a lovely slice to look at. The way the chocolate top had a light ripple to it, reflecting solemnly on the current sea conditions. It’s splash of sprinkled dark chocolate, added just that bit more flair.
£2.00 is coffee shop standard cake prices, but I think it deserves the price tag and I would happily pay for it again. There’s always the worry that my current state affects how I taste my slices. Often I’m tired and looking for a reprieve from the trails of the day, perhaps such emotions provide a better taste. All that said, I’m still convinced that this is a strong contender for the top of the leader board.
A score, not to be sniffed at, (the slice smelt good too):
9.4 out of 10
Three layers 