In this era of relentless, irony-free, fact-free braggadocio, I can’t get enough of amusingly bashful self-promotionRiding through the southern fringes of the city of Worcester a couple of days ago, I passed a sign with an arrow pointing in the direction of Bennetts Willow Barn – “possibly the best farm cafe in Lower Wick”. Nice, that. Very British somehow, this kind of tongue-in-cheek modesty. I liked it so much that I’ve made the hour-long motorbike journey back out here to write this. The tea is good, the welcome warm and the sandwich substantial. It is indeed the best farm cafe in Lower Wick – there is no “possibly” about it, because, as I suspected, it is the only farm cafe in Lower Wick.In this era of relentless, irony-free, fact-free boastfulness, a lesser establishment might have shouted about being the best cafe in Worcester, Worcestershire or all of merrie England. So this was refreshing to see. A good 20 years ago, I drove past a sign outside a pub near Warwick promising “crap beer, terrible food, unfriendly service”. I’ve always regretted not popping in to pay tribute to the management. Continue reading...