The Touring Tea Room

17/06/2026

The touring tea room is turning 6 !

It’s been 6 years of making cofffee, stuffing my face with cake for lunch, making friends, enjoying the park and building a community.

I would like to say there are no downs, but that would be a lie…. It’s also been 6 years of questioning why the hell I bother working in hospitality, missing weekends, birthdays, massive mistakes, and borrowing money from family we aren’t always sure we can pay back.

I love my job… I don’t think I could do anything else and I get told all the time “wow how lucky are you to work in a place like this and not have a boss” and yes I am lucky I feel incredibly lucky to work in clyne and yes it’s cool to not have a boss
But do you know what I also don’t have… sick pay, maternity cover, annual leave or a stable income.

I hear a lot of people say “support small business” but in the same breath complain about the price of things …. But it’s not just the cost everything going up that small business have to contend with they sacrifice a lot more !

I have missed friend’s birthdays and family celebrations.
I have come into work an hour after finding out I had a miscarriage.
And came back to work 6 weeks after having my son.
I didn’t get anytime off when my father died.
And I had to come into work 2 days after having a second trimester miscarriage (or tfmr)
All because shutting the van isn’t an option sometimes.

The van gives me and my family a very amazing life….. but it’s not without sacrifice and a lot of tears and self doubt.
And I know ALL small business owners are in the same boat.

The tiny profit margins
The rising cost of EVERYTHING
The constantly changing government regulations
The wims of the British weather
The list can go on and on …

Its no wonder why so many places are shutting down or sell up.
So to anyone who has supported us in the past few years thank you.
Thanks for keeping the hatch open.
Thanks for helping us pay for my son’s bike and gymnastics lessons.
And for helping me and my family live a very happy albeit stressful life.

Here’s to six more !!!

11/03/2026

Spring is in the air ☀️, Clyne In Bloom just around the corner.

Details below 👇👇

It's nearly that time again 😎

11/03/2026

Walks and talks round Clyne 👇👇

28/02/2026

Say it again for the people at the back !

Small business are the back bones of communities and we know that what we are charging is expensive …. But you aren’t just paying for a “cake” or a “pint”

You”re paying for the electric that heats the milk for your coffee
You”re paying for water that washes the cups
And paying the tax we have to give bloody HmRC !

But you”re also paying for the staffs wages who smile and ask you about your day and have yiur order ready before you get to the counter

You”re paying for my sons new shoes who waves at you every morning and strokes your dog !

You”re paying for the community around you who makes your days feel lighter when the world feels a bit crap !

Right.
Apparently, pubs are “too expensive.” 😬🥵💰

I hear it every day. 🤯

Usually from someone clutching a £6 artisan coffee, scrolling TikTok on a £1,200 phone, while explaining how a pint is daylight robbery. 💎

But sure. The pub is the problem. 👌

Let me explain this slowly…

You’re not paying for “beer”! 🍺

You’re paying for an experience, for a community, for…

💸 The heating being on before you arrive.
💸 The lights staying on after you leave.
💸 The loos being scrubbed (you’re welcome).
💸 The glasses being washed.
💸 The staff being paid.
💸 The licences. The insurance. The rates. The tax.
💸 The little bite the card machine takes every single time you tap.
💸 And the fact that when the cellar floods at 11pm on a Tuesday… it’s me in wellies.

You’re not just buying a drink. 🍷

You’re renting a space to exist in public without being moved on. To socialise. To make friends. To feel welcome. To belong. ❤️

Go and sit in the middle of ASDA for three hours debating VAR and see how long that lasts. Try getting banter from a self-checkout. 😅

Pubs aren’t competing with supermarket booze. 🛒

We’re competing with the idea that community should be free. 🏘️❤️

And here’s the bit I find fascinating…

The same people who mourn “the death of the British pub” are the ones who treat us like overpriced off-licences. 🍾

We don’t sell beer. 🍺

We sell:
👉 First dates that turned into marriages.
👉 Wakes where the real stories came out.
👉 “Ok, just one” that became the best night of the year.
👉 Somewhere to decompress when the world’s had enough of you and you’ve had enough of the world.

We sell a place to not be alone. 🫂

If you want cheap: stay on your sofa with a four-pack of lukewarm cans 🛋️🥵🍻

But PLEASE don’t confuse low cost with value! 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, I’ll be over here - overcharging for heating, chairs, and human interaction. 🔥🪑🤗

03/02/2026

Perfect start to the morning … Coffee by Cuppa Gŵyr with nails by julzcoll 👌

13/01/2026

Happy 2nd birthday to little Em !!

I may say no to tv more often than you like, I may say no to cake occasionally, but I will never say no to puddle jumping, river walking, tree climbing or getting knee high in mud 🥾🌲

Enjoy your birthday you biscute munching, dog loving, puddle stomping, wild thing 🥰

27/11/2025

I see small cafes and businesses shutting regularly because of decisions like this … cafes changing their menus, trying new things and still struggling to make ends meet …. Small business are the back bone of communities and villages but we are under constant pressure from the government and rising cost of bloody EVERYTHING ! and sometimes it’s impossible to make things work …. But sometimes somehow we still do !

Please support any small business you can … it really does mean the WORLD!

Minimum wage to go up in April… tax threshold to stay the same?? So who’s gaining here? Government a way to get more tax!
Who looses? Independent businesses..
Small coffee shop with 2 kitchen staff and 2 FOH £50.80 pr hr in staff wages that’s if they are on minimum wage!
When customers come to our cafe and say it’s too expensive.. guys you don’t have to tell me.. I know..
Regular breakfast £10.85
Cost of the food £4.69
Sausage 40p
Bacon 52p
Beans 28p
Mushroom 37p
Tomatoes 66p
Hash brown 21p
Butter 8p
Bread 38p
Sauce 20p
Egg 17p
Salt 1p
Napkin 3p
Oil to cook in 30p
20% VAT £2.17
£3.99 profit… now make that cover
Electricity £3000pm
Rent £2535 pm
Insurance £350 pm
Music license £175pm
Accountant £200pm
Hr £251pm
Water £150pm
Bin collection £400-£450 pm
WIFI £22pm
Cleaning products £250 pm
Staff wages that’s £50.80pm (that’s if 4 staff were on minimum wage) 65% are not..
let’s not even talk about staff breakages, complaints, discounts, waste, mistakes…

So to break even.. we would need to sell 4700 regular breakfasts in a month 😬🤞
That’s 24 ph…our cafe seats 24 people!

So when prices go up and you complain… please tell us how we can do it? Genuinely if you have a solution let us know… if you want to see us here for Christmas 2026 support us please now more than ever!

This government does not want small family run businesses…sad sad times!

05/09/2025

Great to see the new shelter in clyne being put up on a wonderful sunny day !! Can’t wait to see it finished 🥰☀️

07/07/2025

Just a little update on “storytime” and whats happening with it !

I wrote a piece for about my top tips for storytelling and I thought it would be the best time to let you guys know where my head has been with “storytime” and why I haven’t started it back.

I hope you guys can understand why I am having a break from it at the moment 🥰❤️

But for now … here are a few of my tips for your own “storytelling adventures” 🙌🏻