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Greg Evans
Jun 15, 2019
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Getty Images/iStockphoto/Twitter
A Twitter thread went viral earlier this week about a cafe in Walthamstow, north London, where a man paid £20 for a boiled egg, piece of toast and cup of tea.
However, this thread wasn't complaining about an overpriced cafe in a gentrified part of the British capital.
That couldn't be further from the truth and as the twist in the story develops you will see why this otherwise basic meal cost Twitter user, Steve Parks so much.
We'll let you discover for yourself.
£20 for a boiled egg, one piece of toast and a mug of tea? The story of a modern London cafe... (Read to end of t… https://t.co/9rG3EsomH6— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560429418
So this is the cafe. Just near Wood Street overground station. It’s nothing flashy... https://t.co/itITo34zkU— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560429468
The menu is basic too. The sign outside boasts that it is ‘the smallest menu in wood street’ ! It only does boiled… https://t.co/VKuNimWcXZ— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560429679
But then you get to the boiled eggs, and it’s self service! They have an egg boiling station. You pop your egg in… https://t.co/zIvUKeL0Jo— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560429750
... you can grab one of the timers to get your egg just right... https://t.co/cWJxzEtiOt— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560429804
...meanwhile you take a slice of bread and toast it (self service again), then you grab a mug of tea and find a sea… https://t.co/7kZIzLjN0R— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560429891
Delicious. Love a boiled egg and soldiers. Next up, take your plate and cutlery back, scrape the food waste into a… https://t.co/FTRcmmzlrn— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560430023
“£20 for a boiled egg and soldiers?!?!” I hear you say, “what kind of hipster millennial middle-class privileged Lo… https://t.co/rRW85QbgaS— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560430444
On one hand there is a finance sector where juniors can expect bonuses of five figures on top of generous salaries,… https://t.co/8diL0q2tCB— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560431000
But then there’s the shocking fact that 28% of people, in a thriving major capital city, are living in poverty, acc… https://t.co/rN1gAeyxUG— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560431195
And poverty is not just about unemployment - it affects people in part-time and full-time employment, because of di… https://t.co/sPlJaLA1rV— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560431355
(The charity @magic_breakfast, run by the amazing @MagicCarmel, has been doing fantastic work in providing healthy… https://t.co/n9ubXCgzLU— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560431728
But the problems of poverty in the UK have been rapidly growing in recent years, as highlighted by the recent UN re… https://t.co/yas8U6Z8Rw— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560431832
Homelessness has spiked massively in the UK, and particularly in London https://t.co/YmPSVVLkb4— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560431904
There are brilliant charities and volunteers that provide food handouts, soup kitchens, food banks and so on. And… https://t.co/21LHJRmiiO— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560432487
The cafe is a just normal cafe, bright and welcoming on the main street people walk down to the station. Nothing to… https://t.co/2BB3Ap1To3— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560432863
If you want to pay, there’s a small donation box next to where you drop off your dirty plates. But nobody sees, and… https://t.co/d7nBdHJUXw— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560433018
And I love the idea. A whole community mixed up together, regardless of background or status, all able to chat and… https://t.co/dLJCsJbjBB— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560433191
So - although it’s depressing that poverty is such a problem in the UK, and our politicians would rather start figh… https://t.co/QpkMD1tEYK— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560433457
The End You can now safely comment without jumping to conclusions 😉— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560433739
P.S. To clarify, you donate what you like for the breakfast. That can be nothing if you’re hard up. It can be a few… https://t.co/HKZmiWjtbp— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560444579
P.P.S. If you want to go this wonderful little cafe, or send them love or donations, they are @EggsBread1, you can… https://t.co/OzoV3fNUSO— Steve Parks (@Steve Parks) 1560447413
So, as it turns out the £20 fee that Parks paid was just as a donation that he chose but not one that is compulsory for everyone.
You can literally pay nothing but the cafe is focused on offering an equal experience to anyone that wants to eat there and all in the name of a very good cause.
The thread has already been shared on Twitter more than 37,000 times and many people love it.
Read this thread https://t.co/rW9THokbqe— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@Yashar Ali 🐘) 1560596266
This is... well, go on, just read it all. https://t.co/aMgk4T85qv— Gina Martin (@Gina Martin) 1560521140
What a wonderful thread. ♥️♥️♥️ https://t.co/3EAwDA7l7g— Amanda Abbington (@Amanda Abbington) 1560494399
This is a long thread and I encourage you to keep reading.... because it’s brilliant. https://t.co/IduGhGdypo— Fr. Matthew Cashmore (@Fr. Matthew Cashmore) 1560492801
Love this. https://t.co/v9EMigtOUy— Dave Gorman (@Dave Gorman) 1560588648
I'm going to spoil the ending and say this is a brilliant way of serving eggs to people who might otherwise struggl… https://t.co/ytEQNRAreI— Liam Stokes (@Liam Stokes) 1560580966
Some people also gave nods to other establishments that operate on a similar premise.
@steveparks If you're ever in Belfast, then I recommend popping into The Dock Cafe... Similar wonderful concept and… https://t.co/FXnFk9ZUdx— ✍️ Rachel McArthur (@✍️ Rachel McArthur) 1560540738
@steveparks We are a radical 100% pay-what-you-can community cafe, using surplus food saved from landfill, and open… https://t.co/lie7fmcV9H— Brixton Pound (@Brixton Pound) 1560524776
HT The Poke
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