Having spent a very enjoyable 5 days in the rain in Symonds Yat, we faced what ended up as being a very long drive home. Driving, or crawling, through torrential rain, the journey seemed to be interminable. After 3 hours at the wheel I declared my need to stop for a cuppa so we pulled in at a service station. There was a Starbucks in one building so we pulled up our hoods and hurried in. I wanted Green tea or any herbal tea, even an Earl Grey would be good but I couldn't see tea on the board. A young lad was stacking the shelf full of biscuits so I asked him if they had tea. 'Oh yes,' he said, so I queued patiently. After 10 minutes I reached the front of the queue. 'We only sell coffee, not tea, or we have coca cola.' I left my family drinking their coffee and wandered out in the rain to see what other delights I could find. Spotting another building I ventured in. Two more Starbucks and no tea. You have to be kidding! Tea is the British national drink and although I don't like bog standard tea, I am outraged that they don't sell it, let alone green tea.
I went back to the car and waited for the others to finish. An hour later we found another service station on the A34. It used to be a Little Chef serving eggs and bacon, salad, toasted tea cakes and scones. Now it is a Starbucks selling coffee, small packets of biscuits and even smaller packets of crisps - and no tea! The floor was filthy, as were the tables and even the chairs. I wandered disconsolately back to the car. After nearly five hours of driving I pulled wearily into yet another service station. My heart sank when I saw the familiar sign of Starbucks. I couldn't find the will to get out of the car so I sent my son in to ask the question.
A few minutes later he ran out, shouting in a booming voice, much to the alarm of some and amusement of other travellers, 'they have herbal tea!'
I was due a cheque which didn't arrive so following the instructions for reporting a lost cheque I completed my name, address, account number and, oh dear they want the cheque number. You cannot proceed without the cheque number it said. Well if I had that I wouldn't be reporting it would I?
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