When we first started talking about reopening the café in the Bentley station waiting room, we had a simple idea. We wanted to find a useful and creative way to support the village while raising money for Bentley Green.

We noticed there was something missing at the station. Every morning, people board trains before and after Bentley holding a hot coffee, so we thought, why not here too? A non-profit café had run successfully from the station around ten years ago, before Covid, and it felt like the right time to bring it back.

What has surprised us most is how quickly it has become about far more than coffee.

The café has become a place where people stop for a chat before work, where neighbours meet for the first time, and where commuters can start the day with a smile, especially when the weather is miserable or the trains are delayed. There is something really lovely about seeing familiar faces every week and getting to know people who might otherwise just pass through the station unnoticed.

Since opening on 6 May, we have raised an amazing £1,005.18 for Bentley Green projects.

We are genuinely so grateful to our growing group of volunteers, our regular customers, and all the people who have donated supplies or supported us behind the scenes. Every bit of help means that more of the money raised can go directly back into the community.

A huge thank you goes to Milk Club, Artefact Coffee, and Jonny Woods, whose generosity has helped keep our costs down from the very beginning.

One of the best things about the café has been the people we have met. We have served commuters travelling to the Opening of Parliament in full finery, and then spotted them on television later that evening. We have met people heading to the Chelsea Flower Show, international cricket matches, GCSE exams, and Forestry Commission meetings. We have chatted with nurses, actors, journalists, authors, tech entrepreneurs, grandparents helping with childcare during the holidays, Amery Hill students, American tourists, and visitors from Scotland.

The café has also become a friendly stop for dog walkers, cyclists, and visitors using Alice Holt Forest, the Shipwrights Way, and the butterfly reserve.

Inside the waiting room, we are slowly making the space feel more welcoming with friendly signs, more choice, and lots of greenery. Our Houseplants Hospital has already welcomed its first patient, and we are fully committed to filling the waiting room with plants, coffee, and good vibes.

We will continue serving every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 6.30am until 8.30am, for as long as we can.

Getting to this point took a lot of persistence. There was plenty of bureaucracy involved in securing permission to operate from the waiting room, but with support from Hampshire Community Rail Partnership, South Western Railway, Network Rail, and Amey, we got there in the end.

And finally, a very special thank you to James in the Ticket Office, who is one of life’s genuine ‘yes’ people. Throughout the whole process, he has always helped us focus on what could be done rather than what could not.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the café so far. We are only just getting started.