Duplicate Paradise

After a long day setting up an exhibit, me and a friend wondered down to Borough market, somewhere I had wanted for a long time to go visit (food being something I love). It was a quiet weekday so there weren't so many stalls or people. The usual cafe that my friend went to was closed, so we found a coffee/chocolate shop. It was one of those trendy places where everything was made from 'aged & battered' wood. We sat there for while, talked, and it just struck me that every detail of this place was designed, there was nothing left to chance. Lighting came in the form of drop down raw bulbs with trendy designed shades. It was purposely dark and in the background you could hear jazz music playing. It felt totally contrived and empty. The tea was nice, we had a sample of some cocoa nuts...nice. I just couldn't stand the place.

I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe something with a bit of edge, something raw. I made this comment to my friend. I liked those places where not everyone had a guaranteed smile, that you weren't sure if they were going to be friendly or not. Places where it was a bit dirty and people used a plank of wood because it did the job not because it conveyed a certain meaning or attitude that was in vogue. They even had books for people to read spread nonchalantly on one of these 'battered' wooden tables, and a comments book filled with kids drawings. Sweet.

My friend, on the contrary, liked this.

Maybe I don't like paradise, but I knew as I left that place that there was another one, an exact duplicate in some other trendy part of town.