Ideally within strolling distance from your front door, it's a bolt hole where the staff know your name, your drink and your favourite seat. When it closes for a fortnight's holiday, its regulars will soon lament its absence.
I am referring to a neighbourhood cafe. One that's open when you need it and one that's worth getting out of bed on a freezing day and draws you in with its warm glow of familiarity.
You might spot local art on the wall, stacks of magazines to browse and an inviting aroma for you to suck it all in. The wait staff would have to be pretty laid back but attentive - just the style you like it. Neighbours might meet here for the first time and become friends over coffee. It's where a few parents might take her baby on its first outing and where that child will grow up (it is possible). It's truly a place where a community can come together and fed connected.
Each visit may seem much the same as another but their accumulation can account for a significant part of our lives. Whether your purpose of going is for conversation, food and drink, to work or just to switch off, the end result is the same - you will feel much better having gone.
Go explore and visit that cafe at your neighbourhood - the one that you have always wanted to go but never find the time. For some it may require a short bus ride but going out of your way to get there can make the visit all the more memorable and open your eyes to a whole new neighbourhood.
And as a coffee lover visiting London, I have been irreparably spoiled rotten with a plethora of choices. So many cafes scattered around even signage can get interesting.
