Jessie Crabtree on TREAT FRIDAY: Northpoint
As with all the best University towns St Andrews, with its student red gowns, fashion shows and Raisin Weekend, is rife with traditions. But sometimes the best traditions are the ones you come up with yourself. Treat Friday is one of those and was created in the usual way. Procrastination.
In the second term of my first year, my friends and I had a gap between our tutorials on a Friday and, unlike other more studious members of our classes, we spent it in Northpoint café pretending to cram instead of in the library actually cramming. I often pretended to learn my Greek vocabulary during this time, whilst really participating in the café’s delicious treats and in discussions of the previous Thursday night antics. Thus Treat Friday was born…
Now I am a much more mature second year. I have work to do and a minimum of an 11 to get (imagine having to work at university! It’s not at all what I expected…), but Treat Friday still remains. From humble beginnings (only the place where Kate met Wills for coffee!) to a variety of different delights St. Andrews has to offer, Treat Friday still remains my favourite St. Andrews Tradition.
This week we will go back to the beginning by taking a trip to St. Andrews’ much loved institution, Northpoint café. My memories of Northpoint are fond, not only because the lovely people who work there remembered my order every week (a bacon sandwich, sometimes two… don’t judge), but because of the cosy atmosphere that allows friendships to blossom as well as (even royal) romances.
This Friday I reluctantly dragged myself out of my warm bed and out into the cold drizzly day with the promise of Northpoint to inspire me. Making the long (by St. Andrews standards) trek to the end of North Street, I approached the popular café.
We crowded round a table in the corner, moving chairs to fit us all in and ordered an array from the menu. Carrot cake, hot chocolate, chai latte, bagels, pancakes – Northpoint pretty much has anything and everything you could possibly want, even serving Pimms! The food is simple but tasty and cheap, and the service quick.
What Northpoint lacks in space, it makes up for in atmosphere. Whenever you go in it is warm, busy and bustling; there are students and locals, groups of friends, people on dates, people working – Northpoint caters for everyone. It’s cosy and friendly, the staff are always chatty and it feels a bit like a nicer version of your own flat.
Northpoint is a beloved St. Andrews café. Fresher’s Week sees scores of people queuing up outside trying to get in and many photos been taken to send home to the family. While there is no longer any chance of glimpsing Wills in there, it is still one of the most desirable places to go in St. Andrews.
The concept of Treat Friday is simple but brilliant, as all good ideas tend to be. Our semesters are long and it’s the little things that keep you happy and motivated. Whether it’s a hot chocolate at Northpoint, a Tesco raid or cocktails at 40s; it’s important to reward yourself once in a while and what better day than Friday!