The epicentre of Northumbrian cafe society and watering hole of artists, intellectuals and local celebrities, was gutted by fire this week. Fire crews were called in to deal with the ferocious blaze at The Barresdale Bistro in the west-end of Alnwick, after a cocktail, mixed by the bistro barman Joe Plush, exploded when it was poured into a glass. Exterior designer and member of the influential arts movement “The Gardeners of St. Pails” Lawrence Llewellyn Brown, who was in the bistro at the time, said “Joe was making a drink known as a “Guff Miller” which is a mixture of vodka, Ajax and soot. It went off like a bomb”.  Nobody was seriously injured in the blast but several priceless works of art were destroyed including the well known sculpture “The Button Schooled Wheelbarrow”. Regulars of The Barresdale Bistro will now be frequenting the Summer Palace on the Penile Estates until the building is refurbished.  ... “We’ll be back “ said Mr. Brown