ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

A French Quarter finance worker has spent this afternoon telling his colleagues about a popular cafe chain back home in his native England, explaining to them that he misses it.

Jame Cole, a polite but largely forgettable Londoner who works at the Diamantina Credit Union in some capacity, told coworkers that he used to duck into Pret A Manger each morning for a baguette and an Americano.

Something he misses, he says.

Our reporter spoke briefly to the 34-year-old about something unrelated to Pret A Manger but Jame directed the conversation back to the cafe chain at each opportunity.

“I used to pop into Pret [A Manger] almost every morning,” he said.

“Once there, I’d get a scotch egg and a coffee. Sometimes I’d sit in the cafe and watch the world go by. Other times I’d have to eat on the go. The best times were went I’d hop off the tube busting to take a piss and a shit. Like Usain Bolt, I’d pace into Pret, order a coffee without breaking my stride and lock myself in the disabled toilet for 15 minutes,”

“Then I’d go out to pay and pick up the coffee without washing my hands. That is the epitome of English culture.”

Betoota’s only Pret A Manger is inside Terminal 2 at Remienko Air Park, something Jame didn’t know until our reporter told him.

“Oh,” he said.

“Guess I’ll have to pop in for a scotch egg and an Americano.”

More to come.

