Who doesn't love a greasy spoon. They are a British institution whether in small parochial town centres or in laybys up and down the county I find these places fascinating and I love observing life over a cuppa and a bacon butty.

I stopped at the Butter Market Cafe for one such experience. Never been before. I was in Mountsorrel, a village on the outskirts of Leicester for a meeting. Never been there before and an interesting monument in what I now know is the market square and a cafe with tables outside and people with dogs and kids enjoying some winter sunshine. I don't know if there's a posh school nearby as I overheard a couple of parents talking to disinterested teenagers about their studies or lack of.

The service was absolutely shocking and the food not much better, thin cardboard bread, tasteless under cooked tomatoes, watery mushrooms and two rashers of floppy fatty bacon.

Thank goodness for the tables outside and the nice day or I'd have been eating my sandwich in the car.