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 ….

In the final entry of our Café Conversation series, we asked you for your overheard café conversations on Instagram, whether funny, moving, intriguing, bizarre or downright unbelievable, and the responses did not disappoint … keep scrolling for a selection of the quotes we received.

May Taylor, reader

There is no place quite like a café to remind me that every person I see is living a life as rich and complex as my own. I am exposed to a cast of characters in the 30 minutes it takes me to drink my americano, inevitably burning my tongue in my impatience.

The door opens, with a gush of cold air.

A father of three rolls in, buggy and beanie on display. He looks like a candidate for one of those leads with harnesses that attach one child to the next, reminiscent of a paper-people chain. Noses of the little ones nearly touch the glass, behind which hide the sweet treasures. They know the drill, they each get one chocolate, so one must choose wisely. Perhaps a caramel or a truffle? Nuts and marzipan are to be avoided, they advise one another. Post chocolate conference, Dad wrangles his angels towards the back of the café, shooting a filthy look at the lone figure occupying an entire booth.

There is something simultaneously calming and chaotic about a bustling café, they have a kind of loud anonymity. One can simply hide in the crowd, in the noise, and listen.

Isobel Tynan, reader

We live in different cities, our lives run along separate lines. She’s a senior leader with an active social life, I’m on a career break, with a young family, nights out more rare than reality. Months pass when we don’t see each other.

A café, with its enveloping waft of roasted caramel, the buzz and hum of a dozen conversations and a couple of nabbed seats, is the perfect place to catch up.

We’re both great talkers and ours is a long-standing friendship, formed in college and forged through life stages – first jobs and working abroad, travelling, families.

Years ago, we jokingly devised an imaginary hourglass – each of us taking timed turns to share our news. The reality is words spilling out, punctuated with frequent laughing at in-jokes and recent capers, over copious coffees and pots of tea.

It’s affirming to witness the trajectory of favourite friends over years, how they’ve grown and who they’ve become, and to experience, in return, that bone-deep sense of being seen and being known.

As we unspool, dissect and input into the landmark events and daily minutiae of our lives a café is always the perfect place for cherished catch-ups.

OVERHEARD CAFÉ CONVERSATIONS

We asked for your overheard café conversations on Instagram, whether funny, moving, intriguing, bizarre or downright unbelievable, and the responses did not disappoint … Here’s a selection of the quotes we received:

I once overheard…

“Two women discussing how they would completely undermine the chair of their kids’ tennis club.”

“A lady telling her husband on the phone: ‘I’m emptying the dishwasher, what do you think I’m doing?’”

“A man talking about a ‘sound’ 15 million return he would make on an investment.”

“’While the cat’s away, the mice will play’ Two women aged 70+ planning a night away without their husbands!”

“’You’re costing me a fortune!’ A main said having bought a drink for his date.”

“She told me she was in Marbella so she couldn’t come to my engagement party and then I see her shopping in Donnybrook Fair on Saturday! That’s her off the wedding guest list.”

“I’ll have a scone please as the raisins can be one of my five a day.”

A friendly welcome awaits at your neighbourhood Butlers Chocolate Cafés in Ranelagh or Rathmines – a quiet sanctuary for you to indulge in your favourite morning ritual or long overdue catch-up. While away a perfect summer afternoon and enjoy a gorgeous flat white accompanied by a freshly made toastie in the spacious outdoor seating area in Ballsbridge.

Discover the Art of Café Conversation at Butlers Chocolate Cafés …