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May 12th, 2007

Places to do thinking

On Thursday I went to London to do a bit of thinking. I need to do thinking as otherwise I do not have any ideas, and when I do not have ideas I cannot do any cartoons, and when I do not do cartoons then there are various problems.

I like to go to places which have some sort of church connection, as there is a chance I will see interesting leaflets or see church-type people doing church-type things, all of which help my thinking along a bit.

These are some photos of some of the places I went on Thursday:

sally army cafe

Above: The cafe at the Salvation Army headquarters near the Millennium bridge. I often go here. It is modern and spacious and there are Salvationists going about their business. I have a lot of respect for the Salvationists. The man in the picture is a Salvationist, and as you can see he is going about his business.

methodists lunching

Above: This is the cafe at the Methodist Central Hall. It is a bit more like a canteen than a cafe, but it suits my purposes just fine. It is opposite Westminster Abbey and just down the road from Church House, the Church House bookshop and the SPCK. In the picture you can see some Methodists lunching.

methodist wallpaper

Above: The only problem with the Methodist canteen is the wallpaper. It is a bit yellow for my liking. That said, I do not think that the Methodists should devote their energy to changing their canteen wallpaper as thy have many more pressing concerns. If I am to be honest the yellow Methodist wallpaper is not one of my greatest worries either.

Questions for study groups
1) Where do you go to do your thinking?
2) Why do you think the Methodists chose yellow wallpaper?

16 Comments »



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16 Responses to “Places to do thinking”


  1. ginny says:

    My husband and I also lunched at the Methodist Canteen – we are not Methodists but they were perfectly willing to take our money for a reasonably priced meal, close by the Abbey. This was several years ago now, but it seemed a cheerful enough place for a cafeteria in the basement of the Methodist Hall.

    Maybe it was the yellow wallpaper? It’s pretty bright in your photo.

    May 13th, 2007 at 12:35 am
  2. ash says:

    I do my best thinking in the shower. I like to spend a long time in the shower thinking about things. However, this means I use up a lot of water, so I try not to think very often.

    May 13th, 2007 at 2:23 am
  3. Ann says:

    The shower is where I go when I have “overthought” – things seem to get sorted out under the water.
    I have no idea why the Methodists chose yellow – because it is the color of the Son?

    May 13th, 2007 at 2:50 am
  4. Aaron says:

    “because it is the color of the Son?”

    I’m trying to sort out if that’s a typo or a profundity. I’m leaning toward the second…

    May 13th, 2007 at 4:11 am
  5. Paul says:

    Why did Methodists choose yellow wallpaper? Because it was going cheap!!

    May 13th, 2007 at 7:56 am
  6. James says:

    I do my thinking in the bath – which, in our house, is in a yellow painted room (but without wallpaper). This always has to be late at night because the bathroom is usually occupied earlier on – presumably by other people doing their thinking.

    May 13th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
  7. Carolyn says:

    For some reason I like to think while sitting on the right side of my sofa. The left side is too distracting for some reason.

    Also, the Methodist church I attend (in the USA) has a lot of rooms painted a very pleasant (mellow) yellow. Sometimes when I am sitting on my sofa I try to imagine what my living room would look like painted that color.

    May 13th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
  8. jody says:

    in the car – 1.25hrs to college and 1.25hrs home, once a week, very pleasant.

    in the shower – normally accompanied by some singing, you’d have to ask my family if that too is ‘very pleasant’.

    in the garden – when I consciously think ‘I have to think’ normally I ‘go out’ on purpose, if you know what I mean.

    on the colour of wallpaper – colour is okay, pattern is the thing that I find worrying, it makes my eyes hurt.

    May 13th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
  9. ginny says:

    Thinking: sometimes I can’t stop thinking, no matter where I am. This makes it hard to get to sleep at night!

    Best thinking place when I was a child: my playhouse
    Best thinking place now: anywhere my laptop can get a wireless connection. Could be outside the house!

    May 13th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
  10. Marcus says:

    Dave,

    I’ve been visiting your site for a couple of months now and decided that, as a Salvationist who has also done some thinking in Cafe 101, I would drop a note to say hello and I really enjoy your posts:

    “Hello. I really enjoy your posts”

    May 13th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
  11. Dave says:

    Thanks all. Lots of splendid comments as per usual.

    Ginny – I find that the laptop is the one thing I don’t need if I am to get thinking done.

    Marcus – hello and welcome. Do you work at the Headquarters? If so perhaps I’ll see you there one day. Look out for someone looking a bit like me.

    May 13th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
  12. Chris Pettifer says:

    I presume both venues are open for anyone to just pop in to on the way past? They both look like interesting venues to visit next time I’m up there (particularly the Salvation HQ).

    May 14th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
  13. Marcus says:

    Dave,

    No, I’m in Dublin, but have visited our HQ from time to time. I’ll be sure to keep my eyes peeled next time I’m there.

    Chris,

    Yes, the cafe is open to everyone. A good place to stop for a coffee or lunch if you’re visiting St Paul’s (in one direction)or the Tate (in the other direction) or even Salvation Army HQ (in the above direction).

    May 14th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
  14. Rachel says:

    I think while I am weeding (there is alot of scope for this in our garden). Mowing the grass is also good, but only the straight up and down bits. The round the bushes bits take too much concentration.

    I can only get so far by myself and then my thoughts are developed by talking to someone, preferably over food.

    May 14th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
  15. Dave says:

    Chris – yes, both places are open to the public. The Methodist cafe is guarded by about 3 security guards. They may ask to search your bag to make sure you aren’t going in just to photograph the wallpaper.

    Marcus – apologies, I should have clicked your link before I asked. ‘I was in a hurry’ shall be my defence.

    May 14th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
  16. Different Rachel says:

    Wallpaper? for Methodists? It was always Yellow paint in the church hall back home!

    May 17th, 2007 at 12:28 pm