THE GLOSS is celebrating café conversations, with sisters, mums, chums and others! Whether planned gossip or impromptu catch-up, involving a secret shared, a problem divulged, or great news to impart, we meet up to connect and chat over coffee in our favourite cafés. And sometimes we go solo and listen to other people’s conversations. Eavesdropping? No! We prefer to say, we couldn’t help but overhear ….

What makes café conversations fascinating and fun? We’d love to hear from you. Write a short paragraph (not more than 200 words) telling us about a conversation you had or overheard, and send it to us at digital@thegloss.ie. Your piece could be selected for publication and you could win a gorgeous Butlers gift card to fund more café conversations in lovely Butlers locations all over Ireland …

There is a time and a place for everything, and for everything a season. We know this. Which is why we also know that café conversation is different to, say, pub-and-pints conversation, or late-night dinner party conversation.Café conversation is pacy and eclectic. It is much-interrupted – ‘here are your coffees. Who wanted the croissant?’ – and therefore mutable. Likely to swoop in one direction and then another, depending on what’s happening around it.

A busy café is likely not the place to unburden yourself of a deep concern – private or professional – that needs thorough examination. There is too much chance of being over-heard or interrupted. Save the profound revelations, the ones that need long excavations and consideration from many different angles, for a long walk or an evening encounter. Perhaps with a glass of wine and no need to rush off, back to work or to pick someone up.

But don’t think that means café chat is in any way less than. It’s not. Conversation over coffee and something small and sweet is fast-moving, creative, often hilarious. It can be re-directed and inspired by what’s going on around it. ‘Did the woman behind you really just say…?’ ‘Look, there’s the man who used to…’

 It lends itself to clever observation of the bustling world around you, the lively comings and goings that make up any good coffee shop. It’s a chance to let what you have to say mingle and interact with what those around you are saying; for the person in front of you to deliver all their news in a single dump, while you do the same, then together pick through the bits you want to discuss.

And for writers, there is gold to be found working from a busy café. Impossible to remain stuck for long when all of human life is unspooling right in front of you. Even the ones grabbing something ‘to go’ are worth watching: How they stand, their impatience, the certainty or lack of with which they order. A moment to anticipate who they are, where they’re going. And did the woman behind you really just say that?

Swing by the beautiful Butlers Chocolate Café Blackrock for your sweet treat and caffeine fix. Pre-order on their handy app, then take advantage of 15 minutes free parking to pop in and collect your pre-ordered Butlers beverage. You can even choose your complimentary chocolate when you order.

Discover the Art of Café Conversation at Butlers Chocolate Cafés …