A Welsh Breakfast – Welsh 100: No 43

Some of the Welsh 100 challenges are full of pain, but others are full of pleasure. This particular item on the list did turn out to be rather more of a challenge than you’d expect. Finding somewhere that would provide a breakfast with a Welsh twist was surprisingly difficult. It is easy to find breakfasts with eggs, bacon and sausages. But what about the additional and necessary laver bread and cockles? Now that is a very different matter!

It turned out that the very place to go for a Welsh Breakfast was Hayles Cafe slap bang in the centre of the Swansea Indoor Market. Aunty chickened out and only had a sausage bap. But this was a Welsh 100, and so I girded my loins and prepared for the battle to get through the plate heaped with goodies. It turned out that I received far more than that promised on the menu. But it would be churlish to complain. I am a determined chap, and tackled the task before me with valiant enthusiasm and gusto.

The laver bread and cockles added an unusual element to a cooked breakfast, but it was not unpleasant (though the sausages were a bit doubtful). The cockles and laver bread came straight from Carol Watts’ stall next door in the market. Each time a Welsh Breakfast is ordered the staff cross the 6 foot space between the cafe and the cockle stall. Pretty fresh! If given the choice I would probably repeat the experience – but only after a few months and not before I’ve worked off all those calories. And it all depends on if Aunty is supervising me of course.