THE fate of village post offices is much in the news. So too is the future of the shop, once the hub of village life but now often struggling to survive in a dormitory community.

It is always refreshing to come across enterprise. When we heard that there was a café in Welburn village, we set off to investigate.

You can find the village off the A64 at the top of Whitwell Hill just as the dual carriageway ends.

There is the option to sit at outside tables or within the shop that appears to specialise in upmarket goods.

The modest menu offers the usual range of snacks. Treats on toast at £2.95 included poached or scrambled eggs and sardines.

There was a gamekeeper's lunch (£5.95) of salad to go with pork pie and pickles in addition to the standard ploughman's.

Ann chose a baguette with prawn and seafood dressing (£3.50). This proved to be homebaked and still warm. The filling was generous. The accompanying salad included grapes, strawberries and the inevitable red onion.

The spring vegetable soup was hot, although probably not homemade. My baguette was also still warm.

While enjoying a pot of tea, we shared fruit cake with Wensleydale cheese and black grapes (£2.25) and apple pie with cream (£2.75).

Customers were leaving as we arrived but sadly no one else joined us during our stay.

We appreciate that the proprietors have to eat, but to have them eating with us in the café is not what we usually experience.