Welcome to the 8th edition of the new CHEQS Magazine! Your community magazine – supported by representatives of the five village communities, Coln St Aldwyns, Hatherop, Quenington, Eastleach and Southrop.
Hello from…… Rob Broadbent
If I had a pound for every person who said to me, ‘Why would you move here from Australia?’ I
wouldn’t need to go to work every day! My comedic answer is always the same ‘the weather of course’ but in truth there are several more real reasons for moving to the UK from Australia
five years ago. First and foremost, my wife of 20 years is a born-and-bred Cambridge girl who took a gap year after university and came back to England 16 years later with an Aussie guy in tow.
My background in cafés and restaurants goes back over 30 years, so every visit to the UK during our early years of marriage was plagued with me complaining about how you couldn’t get a good coffee in the UK!
The market was dominated by large chains who had scant regard for good coffee. So, at the end of 2014 we took the leap to send all our furniture, two dogs, one daughter and the kitchen sink to Hatherop and set up a café in Lechlade.
Using our family property name ‘Lynwood’ (which was also a café run by my parents in Collector, New South Wales) we set out to serve the best coffee, in a relaxed Aussie-style café with a heavy emphasis on quality local produce, and the community.
After two years it became clear that the concept was well received, and expansion was the right thing to do. So, with the help of our likeminded partner/investors we’ve been able to open four cafés in total, all serviced by our central kitchen/bakery located in Hatherop where all the bread, cakes and pastries are made.
So, to seriously answer the question everyone asks ‘Why would you move here from Australia’… We are now a family of four. Kats and I, and our daughters Elke (10) and Willa (4) live in our little cottage in Hatherop surrounded by the most amazing group of neighbours
in an idyllic location. What more could you ask for?
Although I will always be an Aussie, my feet are firmly planted here in this beautiful part of the world with no complaints whatsoever… oh, and I can finally get a decent cup of coffee!
Margaret Stranks – Editor
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