Sue-Anne's

It is a beautiful sunny morning in early autumn.....a  lone woman, driving on the outskirts of town, reaches the sign she's been searching for, "Welcome to Theescombe" with an arrow pointing left and an admonition to beware of pedestrians and animals.  She makes the left turn then follows more signs toward her destination... Misty Gardens Tea Room.  She is unaware of what lies ahead.....................

Thursday's coffee crawl felt like Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds meets Stephen King's The Mist.  If you are familiar with either one or both of these classics you can imagine how creeped out I was when I arrived at Misty Gardens only to find myself in a somewhat desolate area with no cars in the lot, no humans in sight, an enormous variety of birds chirping and squawking at me, and a very dodgy looking path with months of overgrowth leading into the woods.  In retrospect, I can't believe I actually followed the path which ultimately ends at the dilapidated, abandoned, and ghostly remains of a tea garden.  At the center of the room was a bird cage on a stand with a huge black bird on the perch.  (Ornithology is not my thing, but let's call it a raven for effect... now we're getting Poe involved!)  The raven made a horrible caw that made me jump, turn, and head back down the path.  On my way back to the parking lot I saw a mysterious young woman and three toddlers in a tiny outbuilding just to the left of the path.  I hadn't noticed the building or the woman and children earlier.  I chatted with the woman who told me that Misty Gardens was closed and may reopen in a few months.  Upon reaching my vehicle I saw that my watch had stopped so I didn't know when the other coffee crawlers would arrive.  I was surrounded by birds that felt way too comfortable getting close to me.  Now, I have to say that I was kind of freaked out.

Soon, Fran and Keith deBeer, Beth Vieira, and June Nash and her daughter, Leanne Waller, arrived.  We decided to head back down Kragga Kamma Road to Sue-Anne's, a coffee shop located in the Garden Lovers Garden Centre.  Along with Sue-Anne's, the centre is the site of other businesses including a kids' play park, a Putt-Putt course, a formal/wedding designer dress and jewelry shop, and a garden/nursery.  We entered the nursery through a set of doors which was equipped with a bird chirp alarm to notify the staff of incoming patrons (Oh no!  more birds...and I was just settling down from the fowl fiasco at Misty Gardens!). 

The Garden shop is nicely arranged as a series of walkways with plants, vases, pots, stone figurines, and fountains, all for sale.  At Sue-Anne's, the six of us were greeted and seated by Floor Manager, Wilma.  After our Illy brand coffees were delivered we chatted with Wilma and our waitress, Nikky.  They told us that the owner, Sue-Anne, and the barista, Jaco, were unavailable to come out for pictures and to meet our coffee crawl group, though some of the staff would be willing to pose for a picture.  There was some confusion regarding who would be in the picture, and head waiter, Matthew, disappeared just as I got the camera out.  Suddenly, I noticed smoke and something like the smell of a brush fire emanating from an undetermined source.  Matthew reappeared looking somewhat distracted and muttered something again about Sue-Anne and Jaco being unavailable.....  Strange happenings!?!    I returned to the table.

Unfortunately, I don't remember much about the coffee.  What I do remember, however, is that an Il Divo CD was playing (Elaine, you would love that...we should have gotten the t-shirt!) and some of the discussion at the table revolved around nicknames for Elizabeth (ie, Liz, Lizzy, Beth, Betsy).  I don't know how that topic came about but I only found out later in the day that Liz Taylor had died  (coincidence?...I think not!).

After coffee, a few of us stayed to walk through the garden despite the thickening smoke from the fire.  Now, in the smoke the stone figurines seemed to take on a strange demeanor as if keeping some weird secret...and they aren't talking any time soon!

So, in closing out this week's very strange coffee crawl, and using my best Rod Serling voice, I ask you....
Who are all these stone figures and what did they do with Sue-Anne and Jaco?   Who is the dead guy in the picture? (Tell-Tale Heart?)   Michelle, why did you recommend Misty Gardens?   and...  Where can I get a new watch battery in PE?

Thank you to all the staff at Sue-Anne's, and to Fran for being my partner in crime!  My apologies go out to the coffee crawlers who showed up at Misty Gardens after we left.  Sorry, I just had to get out of there!

And... to Stephen King... if you're running out of ideas for your next book, call me and let's do lunch....or coffee!

Until next week,

Ellen







Thiw Week's Crawlers
Ellen, June, Leanne, Keith, Fran, Beth





SueAnne's Staff
Wilma, Rene, Nikky, Riana