Ye Merrie England – Breakfast

When you’re growing up you get used to certain things. And assume, understandably, that everyone is familiar with those things.

For instance, at the moment I’m drawing a a spread about popular biscuits. This would probably be pretty unfamiliar to anyone not from the United Kingdom, although American imports, such as Oreo Cookies are invading our shelves, I’ve tried to keep the illustration to traditional British biccies.

Merrie England -is a set of local teashops. Now when I say local, I really do mean local. There are about eight or so of these cafes and they’re all localised around Huddersfield. It wasn’t until I travelled further afield, as I grew older, that I realised that Ye Merrie England was only a Huddersfield delight.

Picture, if you will, a café decorated in a mock Tudor style. The outer walls clad in beams with diamond-leaded windows. Inside the interior continues with wood panelling and more beams in dark wood. Fleur-de-Lis banners and rampant lion pennants hang from the ceiling, perhaps a suit of armour in the corner and

Now, I hasten to add that they have a bit of a make-over in recent years and are looking a little more modern, but have still pretty much retained the quasi-Tudor look.

The atmosphere is nice and friendly and there are clearly lots of regulars strolling in for breakfast.

I woke up to a breakfast roll and a nice cup of tea.

Bacon, sausage and a runny fried egg.

It must be a runny fired egg in a sandwich – ready to pop once I bite into it and then run round the bacon and sausage. Hopefully dripping onto my plate, so I can mop up the egg yolk with my sandwich.

Delicious.