Blakeleys – Chicken and Bacon Salad

I find salad leaves and tomato particularly tricky illustrate; I think it’s because they have a translucent quality that doesn’t lend itself to having an ink outline – I will continue to persevere. Perhaps a layering of colour washes would suit better. Additionally tomatoes have a peculiar red/orange colouration, as well as solid and translucent colouring. Tricky blighters!

Blakeley’s is one of those popular, local cafes which never seem empty. As we queued there’s a tension as to whether we will actually bag a table, or not. We can only dream of finding a space at one of the two window tables! Next on the list for favourite, and therefore highly sought after, spaces are the two tables with settees, rather than regular chairs.

The table we managed to get was right beside the door in and out of the kitchen serving area. Now I do actually like sitting in this spot in cafes – sitting amongst the hurly burly of the waiters and waitresses as they sweep past carrying trays of freshly prepared dishes and returning with the detritus of completed customers.

I choose a light, warm salad today – which seemed to fit with the early summer sunshine well.