FROM next April (downpours permitting), a new kiosk café will open on the unused space behind St Martin-in-the-Fields, in Trafalgar Square, London. There is already a very good and overcrowded Café in the Crypt, and this Café in the Courtyard could prove a welcome overflow area for both tourists and office workers.

But what makes it unusual, says Steven Harding, of Platform 5 Architects, who have designed it, is not only that it is temporary, and can be packed away for the winter, but that all the catering equipment, chairs, and tables can be packed away inside it.

Mr Stevens is proud of the way that, although this temporary café is made of contemporary materials, it fits in well with the world-famous 18th-century church. He is hoping that the idea will catch on at other tourist venues, such as cathedrals, which could make good use of extra catering facilities in the summer months.