I’ve found myself recently having coffee in a bar that used to be a regular haunt for me when my wife and I lived opposite the cathedral in Granada a few years ago and a lovely memory came to me.
One day having coffee, we had the only table outside. It was a chilly morning in February. The waiter was middle-aged. I sensed it was his placeas he was taking extra care to ensure that all the tables were clean and tidy for the next wave of customers.
The most popular breakfast in the south of Spain is coffee and toast. With jamón, tomatoes, olive oil or jam usually. But not together. So there are always breadcrumbs after people leave. After he’d done, the tables were immaculate.
Except for one.
One had breadcrumbs. And not only that, there were lots. But why?
It transpired that the waiter/owner always left breadcrumbs for the local sparrows. This was not only a sweet thing to do, but also practical as it meant that they never went to the other tables hassling other customers as they had their own table reserved for them.
That was 11 years ago almost to the day. Today I’ve popped in to the same bar and the waiter/owner is still there, a few years older and greyer as are we all.
One day, I thought that I might talk to him about my experience of his bar. I also wondered if he’d remember me but we were regulars nine years ago.
Then when I paid, he said ‘Me alegro de veros’ – happy to see you.
As if I couldn’t like him, this bar,this town or this country any more…
Away From The Noise 