5) Taylor's Ormskirk - Practically Gourmet.

When I set myself this herculean task of 180 cakes and 180 cups of tea in 180 weeks I thought to myself, I am only going to say good things.  I did not want to appear mean. 
 
But in Taylor’s I thought I had gone asleep and woken up in early East Germany.  I would not have been surprised to see Erich Honecker with the cast of Life on Mars on the table next to me, being served by Lord Lucan.  With a Trabant parked outside. 

Which reminds me, I once tried to run the Berlin marathon and after 18 miles I just kept on hitting The Wall.  What was so disappointing about Taylor’s was the formica tables.  And I was not given fresh milk, instead I was given disposable tubes of milk.  Apart from the Sky TV (Sky!) on the wall I thought I’d gone back in time.

The tea came in a metal pot and the cake came in a bag.  A Farmhouse Fruitcake it said.  It said on the packet it was from Margaret’s Country Kitchen (www.margarethall.com) and it contained vine fruits 33% (Raisins, sultanas and currants in variable proportions).  £1.99. 

The specials board pointed out the various dishes one could have chips with, including egg.  Mrs Ranger and I once visited a park in America which included a meal.  We were shown round by a guide who at the end of the tour assured us that the food was "practically gourmet."  It wasn't.  Since then if the food offered is disappointing, we suggest to each other that its "practically gourmet".  The phrase comes to mind now.

On the plus side its part of a good and valued independent shop which sells news and artists’ supplies.  And it is right in centre of town and you can get to it on the Northern Line to Ormskirk.  Plus all the usual buses go there.  Including the 311.  I think I just expected more.

5 down 175 to go.

Taylor’s,

21-25 Moor Street

, Ormskirk L39 2AA