Roundup

Haven't blogged in a while my dear Blogateers so here's a lightening round up of dinners I've had and beers I've drunk.....yawn.

                                                       Ham Hock somewhere in Wales

                                                     Lamb shank, very nice

                                                   Starbucks Raspberry & white choc cheesecake muffin and café noir

                                                    Two Dragons. A fine Welsh beer

                                                    Tomato soup

                                                   Welsh Faggots.....a mistake to have chips though

                                                   A rather nice venison pie in The White Horse, Harrow

                                                    Memsahibs Veggie burger in the same place.

                                                   Rather unimaginatively had another pie, this time steak in Devon

                                                    Garlic mushrooms. Cornwall I think

                                                    Steak. Cooked rare of course!

                                                    Another day, another Starbucks!

                                                    Salmon mousse thing

                                                    Pork Rouillard

                                                    Asparagus with a crispy poached egg

                                                     Burger with all the trimmings

I've been away a tad, do you see, although the venison pie in Harrow will feature in a future blog. I should state here that inbetween all the food and drink I was actually working, & bloody hard too! My time in South Wales then Devon & Cornwall clocked up nearly 2000 miles!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Ridiculous 6

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Ridiculous 6: If you fancy watching a comedy film then find 'The Ridiculous 6' starring Adam Sandler. It's not a new film, it came out in 201...

The Ridiculous 6

If you fancy watching a comedy film then find 'The Ridiculous 6' starring Adam Sandler. It's not a new film, it came out in 2015 but it is amusing.
It does more than just doff it's cap to the great Mel Brookes and 'Blazing Saddles' there's a very similar feel to the film, not that it is a bad thing.
Its the story of six half brothers ( all completely different  without the merest whisper of any resemblance) who eventually band together to find their dad (played by Nick Nolte) who's a crook. Adam Sandler stars as 'White Knife' as he was brought up by Native Americans. Sandler's part is rather understated I thought, he wasn't always the main focus of the scene. He manages to find roles for his wife and nephew as well! He did write it! The film also stars Luke Owen and non other than Harvey Keitel in a cameo appearance as 'Smiley' a bar owner.
It's a great little film, try it!

 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Birthday

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Birthday: T thought it would be nice to organise a surprise Birthday get together for her Mum on her 79th Birthday. All of her Mum's notable bir...

Birthday

T thought it would be nice to organise a surprise Birthday get together for her Mum on her 79th Birthday.
All of her Mum's notable birthdays have been marked by parties she has done herself so T thought it would be nice to do one for her, & one she wouldn't be expecting.
16 of us assembled for it, a goodly number, after all we didn't want to kill her off with too much of a surprise! Weather wasn't bad so there was a few games in the garden for those who wanted to. Ella was absolutely flabbergasted and loved the whole thing. T got Ella's step and half sisters over which was great as they hadn't met up for ages. A grand day couldn't have gone better to be honest!

 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Easter in Kent

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Easter in Kent: Another few fab days spent with our dear friends in sunny (as it turns out) Kent. Highlight was probably our visit to the Drop Redoubt in ...

Easter in Kent

Another few fab days spent with our dear friends in sunny (as it turns out) Kent.
Highlight was probably our visit to the Drop Redoubt in Dover. Built in the late 18th century and extended in mid Victorian times it is an awesome structure. A team of dedicated volunteers keep it running  and give guided tours on certain  weekends, they also maintain and if possible renovate it. They can't dig mores the pity , its English Heritage owned and they'd have to grant a license  for any digging, their usual position is leave well alone certainly if any amateur group is asking anyway. The group can tidy things up and get some finds that way. One of the volunteers showed us a particularly fine swagger stick top in silver coloured metal with the badge of the East Surrey Regiment clearly shown on it. That was vital as through their records they found a battalion of the East Surreys had been stationed there between 1922-26. Unable to find the owner of it of course but to narrow it down is pretty good!
The tour was a around two hours and very good it was too, the guns were taken out years ago but I think I recall being told there was Ack-Ack guns there during world war two when this whole area was then known as 'Hell Fire Corner.'
From the top of the redoubt you look over the bay where cross Channel ferries now go to and fro, look to the left & there on the next hilltop is the splendid Dover Castle, but that's a trip for another day.

The weather was glorious as it often seems to be down on the South Coast of Kent. We pottered along the beach a couple of times and had a very good time over at their friends Pat & Pauls who live on the only fisherman's cottage still in existence down here. Paul , a keen birder  and lover of all things of the natural world  has a blog that I highly recommend called 'Plovers.' Follow this link to find out more http://www.plovers.co.uk/  As ever we had the best time with our friends, roll on the next time!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: First gig of the year.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: First gig of the year.: Always a special night out going to a gig, this one especially for me as I was going with Olly & Gary. Some time ago I played a CD by...