A Sunny Disposition - Lunch at WTLGI
Mid May, we started serving lunch on Saturdays, at Where the Light Gets In. It has brought a breath of fresh air into our dining room and made me realise, more than ever, the benefits of spending time.
We have always been lucky with our guests, a diverse crowd, bringing different reactions, reasoning and knowledge into our space. Guests that are engaged in what we do, pleasant to talk with and share our stories, guests that leave feeling inspired by the experience we have offered.
The guests of our Saturday lunch service have brought a slightly different energy which I believe to be due to the time of day. A good lunch carries with it an idea of complete relaxation. We all enjoy to go out in the evenings, to a favourite restaurant, a few bars or a club. It is our time away from work, well earned, our escape and a chance to cocoon ourselves away from worries or obligations that we hold in our daytime occupations. But with this we feel a certain pressure - that we must have a good time. There is a responsibility, on our side and a wariness that this is your Saturday night and it is precious.
Lunch time is a little different. Lunch is more frivilous. The afternoon is cushioned between the morning and the party to follow, it can, as easily, be filled with a weekend shop, washing the car, cleaning the house or any other chore that keeps our domestic life in check, and so a room well lit by the sun, a breezy dining room and a daytime glass of wine seems to offer a more opulent expression of passing the time.
Since we started serving lunch at WTLGI, I have been inspired to spend my Sunday afternoons in the same vain. A train or drive out to the countryside to find a good pub or a stroll into town to find a simple bistro. To while away an afternoon over plates of food and a few good bottles of wine.
Our team too, myself included, have been more breezy, carrying a lighter mood whilst serving lunch. Even though it is a big push for us to get ready for the night time service, where the lights are dimmed, the music turned up and the jostle of a Saturday night keeps us on our toes, we slide easily into this affable and gentle sway of a Saturday afternoon with our guests.
And I think we all appreciate the sunny disposition of an afternoon well spent.