Beijing Boyce

A beautiful sunny and breezy Sunday, the rooftop garden at The Bookworm, a coffee on the way, my fingers tapping out this newsletter — it sounds as though all is well in the universe. Unfortunately, something sad unfolds before me. First Cafe, which instantly became my favorite bar after I arrived in Beijing and which is across the way from The Bookworm, is being destroyed. Dust rises and plaster falls at the bidding of sledgehammers; a few soldiers in the small army of destruction workers hacksaw through the roof’s metal skeleton; others cart away rubble. The building is increasingly emaciated, with the only distinguishing mark being the Romanesque trimming. First Cafe was my great escape when I was a newcomer struggling to adjust to living and working in Beijing, and a visit there meant meeting old friends, new friends and soon-to-be friends, including newsletter regulars Agent Red Wolf and M-Dawg. But nothing lasts forever claim sappy rock ballads and even sappier R&B songs, and that includes this bar, disappearing before my eyes, broken brick by broken brick. So, to all the First Cafe fans — and there are dozens on this mailing list — this coming weekend raise a glass and toast the end of one of our city’s most special watering holes.

(From Beijing Boyce XXI, first emailed on July 27, 2006)