Middle England on Sea

10 years on and I'm still seeing out the old year and celebrating the new one in Blakeney, en famille and friends.  I usually like to go to different places but there's something very comforting about North Norfolk which I've visited for the past 30 years and although some moan that it's gone 'up-market and London,' this has resulted in some great places for food and drink.

 

 fabulousnorfolk.co.uk

We stopped for lunch at The Duck, Stanhoe and probably over-influenced by it's pretty name, I opted for Fairytale Pumpkin, Hazelnut & Parmesan Risotto, which did actually live up to it's title, being just the right texture with soft slivers of pumpkin blended beautifully into the rice; with hazelnuts giving a nutty, earthly, flavour, perfect for winter.

Anther meal of note was a New Years day Rib Eye Steak, perfectly cooked medium rare with chunky chips and onion rings, accompanied by green peppercorn sauce at the lovely and welcoming, Wiveton Bell, accompanied by a few glasses of red.

It wasn't all eating, though you wouldn't know it from the tightness of my post-New Year waist band.  There are inland and coastal walks under the fabled big skies of Norfolk and we enjoyed walking from Blakeney to Glandford, although the Arts Café at Glandford which is supposed to be good, was closed. 

We did a walk that took in great coastal views, a windmill, a stately home and rolling parkland (Norfolk's not as flat as made out) at Sherringham Park and headed onto Cromer having a drink at the traditional Red Lion and fish and chips from Mary Jane's.

We kept up our tradition (along with many others!) of walking along the beach from Wells with it's cute beach huts towards Holkham with it's Shakespeare in Love and royal connections and back through the pine woods, looking forward to a pit-stop in the Red Lion, Stiffkey, my husband's most favourite pub in the world.

The Good: Fab drinking, eating and company.
Go again : At least twice a year.











  

Evington House, Leicester

Evington House

If like me, you look up and catch a glimpse of an interesting window or the gorgeouss façade of an old building you probably wonder what’s behind the locked door, so Heritage Open Week was a good opportunity to indulge my nosiness, with buildings across the country throwing open their doors to the public.  

Evington House in Leicester sounded good with its mention of ghosts and WWI – maybe a mini Downton Abbey? 

I’d not been to Evington Park for ages and had forgotten how nice it is:  lovely mature trees, nice planting but not too neat and municipal.   Evington House, in the middle of the park is an impressive looking ivy clad mansion, once a private residence.



Oak Panelled Room in 1930s

The house now belongs to Leicester City Council Parks and Jane, who works at Evington Park, was incredibly enthusiastic in showing us around.  Although making no claim to be an expert,  she was really enthusiastic in sharing what she did know about the house and it was obvious she loved the atmosphere of the house and felt privileged to be working in such a lovely place. 
  

The house is a higgledy-piggledy parade of rooms, stud partitioned into offices, rooms added on and bits and pieces left behind from all sorts of unmatching eras – a clawfoot bath, 1930s photographs, 1970s crockery, etc.  The staircase and especially the impressive oak panelled room with sweeping views from big windows over the park gave more of an idea what it would have been like when newly built by in 1836 by Colonel John Burnaby.
 

Steps to the Cellar

Most interesting of all though was being taken down to the dark, cobwebbed cellars.  The place was a hospital for wounded war soldiers during WW1 and the cellars the most likely place for the makeshift mortuary.  Evington house do hold regular paranormal evenings and many ghostly sightings and happenings have been reported, although the ghost who’s most known is Edna, a lady who used to work at the house. 



Spooky Servant Bells

The other spooky things were the servant bells still lining the walls and if you’ve read ‘Little Stranger’ by Sarah Waters, you definitely wouldn’t want to be working late at the office to hear one of those bells eerily ringing out. 

 

Although Evington House is no Downton Abby, it's a charming old house with an interesting atmosphere.

 The Good : Heritage Open Days are a really good chance to poke around in places you’re not usually allowed.

The not so good: All good, but shame Heritage Open Days aren't on for longer than a week, as it’s difficult to find the time to visit more than one or two.

Go again : Yes, planning to have a look around Leicester Town Hall tomorrow.

 

 

 

Bread Making with Conibear's Kitchen

Bread Making at Conibear's Kitchen - My End Result!

A bread making course run by Angela of Conibears Kitchen was the start of my middle-aged foray into making bread from scratch.  Ange immediately put us at ease with introductions and chat over coffee and her homemade beetroot and chocolate muffins.  This may sound a weird flavour combo, to those uninitiated to veggies in cake, but the taste was deliciously moist and chocolatie.

Then we got stuck straight into the business of bread making.   I’ve made dough before (mainly for pizza bases, I have to confess) but Ange showed us a technique of making dough much wetter than I’d normally make and using a spatula to scrape, stretch and slap the dough, rather than the kneading and pummelling technique (or food processor) I’ve used in the past. 

Slapping it about

 



Fougass - Ready for the Oven

Although tentative at first, we all quickly got the hang of this new technique, with one of the participants slapping her dough down so hard, it shot off the work station, narrowly missing Angela.  It was great fun and great therapy, although I must have put a bit too much welly into it as I ended up with a blister on my finger.   On the plus side, I think it has helped to sort out the old bingo wings!

We made Fougass,  a French leaf shaped bread, ideal for dunking in balsamic and oil; a white tin loaf and then some brown rolls and the morning just flew by.  We saved some dough from our loaf to make into our lunch – a pizza base which we topped with lovely home-made tomato, garlic and basil sauce to which I added goats cheese, yellow courgettes, grated cheddar, a few chilli flakes and sliced green and red peppers. 

Over lunch I chatted to Ange and the other two friendly women who’d come on the course and who had been bread making novices but now felt much more confident, with one saying she was going to chuck out her bread maker and make bread from scratch, it was so easy.

 Our end products looked great and we all proudly wrapped up our breads ready to take home.  As the old cliché goes,  the proof of the pudding is in the tasting and although my bread looked great (I thought!),  it now had to pass the family taste test who do not hold back on their opinions. 

 “It’s really good Mum,” was the verdict from the teen as he rooted around in the cupboard to get the balsamic and olive oil - complaining it wasn’t extra-virgin!  -  I’d have been happy with a bit of butter at his age.

I have to say the white loaf did taste a-ma-zing – still fresh and warm from the oven and I hope the brown rolls taste as good because as greedy as we are, we couldn’t manage eight brown rolls in one day, but they’re in the freezer and will be a lunch to look forward to.

 The Good:  It was great to do something a bit different, enjoying making bread from scratch and having a laugh alongside it. 

The Not so Good: My baking blister – didn’t expect that!

Go again? –  Yes definitely.  I’d  recommend Conibear’s Kitchen.  Ange is a warm, patient, fun trainer with her passion for bread making coming over strongly.  I’d also be interested in going on one of  the pasta making courses she’s planning for the future.

Launde Abbey, Leicestershire - Away with the chattering monkeys...



Launde Abbey, Leicestershire

Now work is no longer so much in the way, I’m hoping to get back to this blog and once again share the lovely things of Middle England.

So, time on my side for a while, DMAF (who has the summer holidays off) and I decided to go on a trip.  “Launde Abbey,” she declared:  “Not too far and if it rains we can skip the walk, have a coffee and come home.”  Who can argue with that?

So off we drove, up the A47 and through the gorgeous village of East Norton with its drool-worthy houses until we found the signs pointing us in the direction of Launde Abbey.  Hardly a car in the car-park, we parked, and had a nose around the public areas of this beautiful stone abbey which dates back to the 12^th century.


We checked out the café, having a coffee sitting outside in the pretty courtyard which was very quiet.   And quietness is the essence of this historic place.  Afterall, it is an abbey and offers residential retreats and quiet days although DMAF and I were definitely here for chats, cappuccino and catching up. 

 

Launde Abbey Café

The peaceful atmosphere was no bad thing though as we’ve both been quite frazzled lately and I must admit I have had a dabble with a mindfulness CD, but maybe Launde would quieten the chattering monkeys in my head?


Launde Abbey Lakes

  

A helpful man in reception gave us a choice of circular walks from the Abbey and obviously we opted for the one that would lead us back to lunch in the quickest time which was a 2 mile walk, going around the lakes and Withcote Lodge. 

 

Not much help!

Clutching our piece of paper, we strolled through rolling Leicestershire countryside, stopping at the lakes to watch the skimming of a dragon fly, on through fields with hay bales that could be out of a Constable painting.  And then, of course, we got lost! 

The map and directions must have been old as no matter how hard we looked and turned the paper upside down, we couldn't find the continuation of the path.  A few false starts and stinging nettles later, we came across a couple of walkers who looked very professional with their ordnance survey map and who put us on the right track back to the abbey.
  
Still sunny, so we ordered baguettes and elder flower pressés for outside in the courtyard.  Our waitress let us know that the pressé wasn’t cold, but she could put ice in it which I thought was good service.  Often you get a drink plonked down warm in front of you, no option.

My baguette was filled with tender roast beef and hot horseradish with a serving of very fresh salad (maybe grown in their Victorian kitchen garden).   DMAF went a little adventurous with tuna AND pesto AND olives, not a combination either of us had tried before but one we both thought we might copy to liven up lunch at home in future.  Delicious and good value for money at around £7.00 each.

The Good: Lovely walks, very tranquil setting, generous hospitality to all whether you visit for spiritual reasons or simply to enjoy,  with no charge for car parking or the walk map.

 The not so good: Think the maps need to be updated as we got lost – or maybe it was us!

 Go again:  Definitely do another walk and the Pudding Nights held once a month where you try six delicious puddings sounds good.  Don’t think DMAF and I will be opting for the silent retreat though!

Easton Walled Gardens, Lincs

Snowdrops at Easton Hall

Snowdrop Week at Easton Walled Gardens sounded a lovely and suitably middle-aged outing, so Dear Middle Aged Friend (DMAF) and I set out on a road trip into Lincolnshire.  Misguidedly,  in Sat-Nav I trusted and the jaunt did not start well with the bossy secretarial tones of sat-nav ordering me to take constant u-turns across the path of thundering juggernauts on the A1. 
Like a miracle, a sign appeared telling us Easton Walled Gardens was next left and yellow jacketed men directed us to a parking spot as the place was heaving. 
We were desperate for lunch and a sit-down and as many of the crowds seemed to be in a snowdrop talk (more later), we thought we’d be clever and get in for lunch immediately.
The queues snaked back into the garden from the too-tiny café and I suggested we went to the pub, but DMAF was made of stronger stuff and pointed out by the time we got to the pub, we’d be in and out of the Café.  The queue was all very British, people passing comments down the line about waiting times, nobody, but nobody, bagging a table (which had been my first instinct) and a stoical spirit of we’ll get there in the end.

Not much on the menu, but what was there was freshly prepared and all looked lovely.  Cold from queuing, we both decided to go for the tomato soup, which was hot and delicious with a beautiful sun-dried tomato roll on the side.  A bit of lemon cake afterwards made our mood so much better and we set forth in search of snowdrops.
And snowdrops there were, huge drifts of them prettily sloping down towards a stream and soon we had that glad to be alive feeling, strolling around the lovely grounds under big blue skies and walking under a spooky stretch of yew trees, which once would have led to the now demolished Easton Hall, pulled down in the 1950s like so many of the country's stately homes.  The house had been in the same family for 14 generations and there is a happy ending in that Ursula Cholmeley, a direct descendant of the original owner Sir Henry Cholmeley, is the person who has so beautifully restored the gardens.

Tool Tower!

We walked around the grounds, by ‘The Tool Tower’ giggling at the name with it’s Fifty Shades connotations and then had a look around the shops and decided that in for a penny, in for a pound, and checking it only lasted 10-15 minutes – which fits well with our attention span we went into the Coach House for a talk on snowdrops.
The talk was really interesting, the lady speaking to us a self-confessed galanthophile, (must remember that for the pub quiz) giving us a bit of history, a bit of anecdote and some practical snow-drop care advice.   If you've read Deborah Moggach's Tulip Fever, there's another book here waiting to be written as apparently a recently discovered snowdrop called Wendy’s Gold fetched £150 for a single bulb at auction.
Of course, snowdrops were on sale afterwards, so I purchased a Turkish Snowdrop which flowers in December and DMAF went for the traditional variety and on leaving the Hall, we placed them close together in the car boot hoping they’d morph into a snowdrop that would be worth £150  a bulb.

The Good: The grounds and the snowdrop talk.
The not so good: The queue for lunch.  Snowdrop Week must happen every year so surely the crowds could have been better catered for?  There were plenty of outbuildings that could have been used or perhaps just got an extra tea-urn and cakes outside for people who were after a quick snack rather than lunch.
Go again: Definitely, but if it was a specific week like the snowdrop week,  I'd go after lunch when it wasn’t so busy.  Sweetpea week (June 29th - 6th July) sounds great and the pictures of the grounds in summer look fab.

Silver Arcade, Leicester

In 70s uncool Leicester, Silver Arcade with its arty/studenty clothes shops made me feel a bit more 'happening' and it was en route to the other shop that appealed to my young sensibilities, The Very Bazaar on Silver Street.

Silver Arcade

After years of closure and becoming very tatty looking, Silver Arcade has been transformed and re-opened, so it was time to pay a visit.

Accompanied by Dear Middle Aged Friend (DMAF) we were suitably impressed by the re-furb, which looked great.  DMAF, though, was apoplectic over the boards downstairs which explained the history of the arcade.  The grammar was appalling and the lack of apostrophes in particular, hit DMAF hard, so before she had the chance to get her marker pen out, I quickly whisked her off for lunch at Deli Flavour Delicatessen.


Deli Flavour

Safely in the Deli, we relaxed.  A lovely open, wooden floored space with views of other Leicester buildings that you hardly notice from the ground, I ordered a houmous, falafel, chilli jam, rocket and tomato wrap and, of course a cappuccino, which came to around £7.00 and was very good. 

We were joined by Pensioner Friend (PF) who we were jealous to learn, could now access her pension despite only being in her 50s and looking great, but we had a lovely time catching up with her, enjoying lunch and thinking we must come back and have a look around the artisan chocolate shop Cocoa Amore and the other independent gift/underwear/boutique shops.

The good:  Silver Arcade is a lovely environment and Deli Flavour was a lovely place for lunch with lots of space and great views over surrounding buildings.

The not so good:  Shame there weren't more shops filled and why on earth didn't they open before Christmas?

Go again: Definitely.  I want to have a proper look in the shops.

It's getting to feel a lot like Christmas ....

I love the build up to Christmas and some things I want to do this December to take me away from the eternal to-do lists and planning food and presents are:



Market Harborough ©MHWI

Christmas Shopping

It has to be done so why not go somewhere more festive and less manic than the usual mall-type places to do it?  I'm going to start mine (no, not started yet and determined not to hyper-ventilate) in the quaint market town of Market Harborough which as well as small versions of the bigger stores like Monsoon, East, Phase 8, Boots etc also has a good sprinkling of independent shops - such as Quinns Book shop, Lavender Blue, Bagel & Griff, The Cookshop and Bates Butcher and Delicatessens.

 

Visit Narnia


Narnia at Chatsworth ©Chatsworth House

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was one of my favourites in the CS Lewis Narnia series and this year Chatsworth House are having a Narnia Theme which sounds fab.

Christmas Tree Festival
I'm planning to visit Burton Overy's Christmas Tree Festival this weekend.  The festival's been going for 13 years now and many other churches seem to have followed suit.  Individuals and groups put in a Christmas Tree to be judged by visitors and the entries are truly amazing.  Ones I remember from past festivals are 'Strictly Come Dancing' with lots of little dance shoes for decoration and 'A Cartridge in a Pear Tree' - a tree decorated with used shot-gun cartridges!  It's all very festive.

Go to a Panto
Not sure I'll get anybody to go with me as my teen is much too cool for this, but Jack and the

Jack & The Beanstalk ©Nottingham Playhouse

Beanstalk at Nottingham Playhouse sounds good as does Cinderella at Leicester's Little Theatre.

The Real Jane Austen - Paula Byrne at Leicester Literary Festival

I went to listen to Paula Byrne talk about her biography of Jane Austen last night – The Real JaneAusten – A Life in Small Things, as part of Leicester University’s brilliant but under-attended Literary Leicester Festival.  I can’t believe anything so good is for free!

I have to admit I’ve not yet read Paula’s book, although I’m going to put that right as soon as possible.  I guess I thought well, what else is there to say about Jane Austen, but Paula’s biography with the structure of using objects to take a new look at Jane’s life sounds fascinating.  Paula has taken things that were close to Jane,  such as a silhouette and an East Indian shawl, to take a new look at Jane and explode the myth that the author spent all her life in her Hampshire cottage, coyly hiding her work from others. 

Paula was so far away from the stereotype of an academic and was fast-talking, witty and warm and so lovely at the book signing afterwards.  She looked very glam too in LBD – apparently she was going to Leicester’s Champagne Bar afterwards – a good choice I have to say.

Most of the audience made middle-aged me feel positively young and I wonder why there weren’t more students there – particularly those reading English Lit at either Leicester University or De Montfort. 

I know, I know, it was Friday night and students have got far better things to do – but you could take a wine chaser  in with you and it was only was only 6.00 – 7.15 pm, which leaves plenty of time for partying afterwards, as Paula proved.

The Good: Paula was a very engaging speaker and made me want to read the book.

The not so good: Lady Antonia Fraser who was scheduled to be on after Paula had been taken ill and had to cancel.

Go again: Definitely – Leicester Literary Festival has some brilliant, engaging speakers and given it’s a FREE event should be so much better attended.

 

Swan Lake, The Curve, Leicester

©Curve Theatre

On a miserable November evening, The Curve was a beacon of lit-up floor to ceiling windows, big,  multi-coloured Christmas tree style light bulbs strung garland style across the windows.  I’ve got used to the inside now and like the  huge spaces:  a cross between an aircraft hangar and a factory with all the gleaming pipes above looking as though they’re wrapped in bacofoil. 



Swan Lake©Bill Cooper

We were at The Curve for Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, the story revolving around the Prince, like a slumping shouldered Rodney from Only Fools and Horses with mental health and alcohol issues.  He was pathetically desperate for love, which wasn’t coming from his Queen, played like a controlling but rejecting mother rather than partner.

I loved the sleazy bar scenes, the ballet within a ballet that the Prince and his entourage watched and the laugh-out-loud humour when the Prince’s fluffy-love interest’s mobile went off while they were watching the ballet and us in the audience thinking, OMG – is that mine?

The swans’ dancing was amazing, perfectly choreographed, although the principal white swan’s chest was sweating like past-by-sell-by-date pre-packed ham, but I’m sure it couldn’t be helped.

Swan Lake©Bill Cooper

The scene where the prince unravelled further was set in a ballroom with huge pillars and two great Olympic style torches suggesting the power of the old Eastern Bloc and then the Stranger arrived, like some Russian Mafia man, slapping his black leather trousers, big, bold and dominant, turning every woman’s head not to mention the Princes’, although once again he was rejected.

The female dancer’s costumes in this scene were fabulous:  a black velvet suit with sequin revers, a net dress with two butterflies of chiffon protecting the dancer’s modesty.  The fluffy love interest was in black sequins and lace and the Queen, most definitely the Queen Bee, was in serious scarlet with layers of black beneath.  And how did they manage to dance in high heels?  Only one pair of proper ballet shoes to be seen and that was in the ballet within the ballet.

Next the bewildered, mad, prince is in a blindingly white room, the sinister Svengali figure in cahoots with the Queen, orchestrating electrolysis treatment delivered by robotic, masked medic dancers and … well .. it’s never going to be a happy ending is it?

Overall, this Swan Lake production was one that you could love on so many levels.  The dancing, of course, but even if you aren’t into ballet, the costumes and the scenery were great as well as the actual acting.  I’d not appreciated what good actors that dancers also need to be to convey action and moods with everything being conveyed through body language rather than speech.

The Good:  Going to a ballet and really enjoying it.

The Not so Good: My coffee at the interval was in a horrible, disposable cup.

Go Again: Definitely, I'd like to see another ballet – The Nutcracker maybe?

 

 

Winter in Middle England

Clocks have gone back, it’s getting dark:  what to do about winter?  Embrace it or fight it?  In my middle-aged manner I’m going to sit on the fence and do both, so this month, I’m going to:

Fight it

©Turtle Bay

 

I've heard it's really popular and difficult to get a table, but I want to eat at Turtle Bay in Highcross.  A friend went there recently and said it was just how she remembered beach bars in Barbardos – it sounds a bit of a stretch to me – Highcross to Barbados, and it may be her middle-aged, febrile imagination, but I’m more than willing to go with the fantasy.   She said the spicy food, cocktails and service were brilliant.

Carrying on my usual night out at Dos Hermanos on Queens Road, Leicester.  I love sipping a glass of Cava in the front bar while nibbling on the freebie tapas you sometimes get early doors.  With it's chandeliers, sepia photos of South America, tiles; old wood and general over the top décor, despite the darkness and cars swishing by in the rain outside, you could be in a bar in Havana.

©The Alpine Bar

Embrace it

With it's ski theme, you can't get more winter than the The Alpine Bar, Asfordby, Leicestershire.  Decked out log cabin style like a French Alpine ski bar it's  rustic with huge wooden tables, blankets draped over backs of chairs and a big wood burner surrounded by sofas.  The theme is continued into the food with choices like Tarteflette, Fondue and Pizza Moriszete, though they also do more traditional snacks, meals and cakes too. 

By cosying up with a good book, a real fire, a coffee and a glass of baileys with ice.   I also have a fantasy about a cashmere blanket to add to these winter accessories, but maybe cashmere is a touch too decadent for my budget and an ordinary blanket comes too close to old lady rather than elegant middle-age.  Before I know it, I’d be wearing bed-socks.  I suppose there’s always the onesie – not a route I’ve taken yet!

A book that suits the curling up on the sofa and shutting out the winter is the spine chilling Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, which as well as having a totally engrossing plot is also so well written.  Another ghost story also set in the 1940s, but a much shorter read than Little Stranger, is Helen Dunmore’s creepy but compelling The Greatcoat. 

Ragdale Hall



Ragdale Hall Entrance

I do love a spa day and it should be law that all over-stressed, middle-aged women with too-long to-do lists get sent to RagdaleSpa at least once a year.  I got lucky this October half-term, visiting the spa with two fellow friends in need.
First stop was the spa area and we wandered around middle-earth named places like the Colour Cave, Candle Pool and Thought Zone but best of all was swimming through the warm water lagoon to the waterfall pool outside, enjoying the contrast of the warm water and cool, fresh air and plenty of chatting over the noise of the waterfall massagers.  

Waterfall Pool ©Ragdale Hall

Back inside we did a couple of lengths of the pool (just to show willing); a brief stint in the Jacuzzi and then it was time for a delicious back massage and facial which were included in our Refresh and Revive Spa Day.


Dining Room ©Ragdale Hall

Lunch in the dining room with its huge fireplace, great chandeliers and classical music playing in the background made the atmosphere slightly Downton, although  the Dowager would definitely NOT have approved the white gown dress code.  Thankfully, there was no obvious calorie counting on the menu:  starters served to the table were soup or smoked salmon and then a help yourself salad bar with lots of interesting aubergine, feta, watermelon, etc, etc and hot dishes including chicken tagine and duo of fish.  From the pudding choice, we went  for mousse, a very chocolatey brownie hiding beneath the white chocolate mousse. 


In our dreams!©Ragdale Hall 

We slumped for an hour or so over coffee in the Verandah Lounge, reading out our horoscopes from a Harpers Bazaar magazine and debated the merits of doing an exercise class.  It seemed unlikely with friend relaxing on a beanbag looking as though she’d need a crane to haul her up.
Although reluctant, we did have four hours left and decided that maybe we needed to benefit fitness-wise from our day.  We couldn’t make up our minds which class to take with me pushing for the easier sounding anti-stress aromaball, but dear middle-aged friend (DMAF) surprised us with a burst of energy and her announcement that she was going to do ‘Beaming’.  The photograph of a smiling person one arm outstretched the opposite leg bent onto a thin piece of plastic looked far too complicated for me and friend on a beanbag, so we stuck with the aromaball anti-stress, which we didn’t regret as it was all eyes shut, stretching and lots of breathing over a rubber ball which, unlikely as it sounds, was very relaxing.

DMAF looked very pleased with herself after the ‘Beaming’ experience and we all put on our wet cozzies and had one more trip to the spa area, silly as schoolgirls as we turned on the thunder and lightning effect in the cave shower. 
The day had whizzed by and it was time for a final cup of tea, then back to the car, home and the too-long, to-do lists.

The good: All, but in particular the spa area and treatments.
The not so good: Having to leave – would have been good to stop over.
Go again:  Definitely, the sooner the better.

Ragdale Hall Health Hydro and Thermal Spa
Ragdale Village
Melton Mowbray
Leicestershire
LE14 3PB

Luscious Leaves in Leics, Notts and Northants

Back during my teenage years,  my parents suggestion without fail every October was to ‘go for a walk and look at the leaves,’ filling my teen soul with horror.  Now middle-aged me loves the Autumn and seeing the leaves turn as many shades of rust and gold as Sharon Osbourne’s hair, so  I’m looking forward to a few Autumn ambles, hopefully with a pub en route.  These are some of the places I’m aiming to get to. 

Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire

Major Oak@2012 Experience Nottinghamshire

Did this walk at Sherwood Country Park last year, and even though it was a sunny Sunday  morning it didn’t feel crowded as we followed the easy woodland walk to the major oak – an oak tree over 500 years old, rumoured to be the oak where Robin Hood and his men met up,  now propped up like an old man with walking sticks.

Sacley Forest, Northamptonshire

The tree top walk at Sacley Forest which lets you see the trees from above sounds great if you’ve a head for heights, though not sure I’m brave enough to try their new Tree Ninja, an aerial ropes course, but it could be a way of prising my teen away from his PS3.

Wistow, Leicestershire

Not woods, but a really easy and varied circular walk across farm land and alongside the Grand Union canal with the mature, beautiful trees lining the canal reflected back from the water.  There’s something very soothing about watching the leaves slowly fall from their branches to create patterns on the water.   A circular walk with a great Café at Wistow garden centre which is well worth popping into, not to mention one of my favourite shops, Outer Space which sells gorgeous garden stuff, bunting, fairly lights, etc.



  

 

 

 

Cow and Plough, Oadby



Cow & Plough

I was meeting my Tea Circle friends (TCFs), who 16 years ago I’d met through ante-natal classes.  The venue was the Cow and Plough at Stoughton Park, very appropriate as in our yummy mummy days we were all season ticket holders to what was then a lovely farm park.



Lovely lighting for the middle-aged complexion

What used to be the farm park café where we’d drank  coffee and kept our toddlers happy with cheesey wotsits has now been transformed from a barn like building into a lovely restaurant, with lots of wood panelling, antique furniture and beams wrapped round with fairly lights. Tables were candle-lit and we sat at nicely upholstered dining chairs.  It was nowhere near full on a Thursday night, but the atmosphere was good and on a gloomy September evening we appreciated the fact the heating was on, music was playing in the background AND the lighting was just right: dim without being gloomy which suits the middle-aged complexion perfectly. It did not suit the menu-reading though.  The reading glasses came out and the one TCF who had resisted them experienced a eureka moment as she borrowed a pair. 

It was pie night and after a glance at the main menu, which did look lovely, we decided pies it had to be.  What a decision: fish pie; beef and ale, chicken and mushroom, cottage and a veggie option.  And to have chips or mash?  Thursday Pie Night also meant we were getting a bargain two pies for £16.00.    On arrival we’d been asked what drinks we'd like and I had the usual old faithful’s, a big glass of cool Sauvignon Blanc followed by a Merlot to go with the beef and ale pie I’d decided on.

The pie was delicious and just the comfort food I never get around to making at home, with chunks of tender beef in a rich gravy encased in lots of crusty but light pastry with a cloud of mash and a few carrots, leeks and gravy.   

We reminisced some more about the old days, wondered if there was any way we’d be able to get the kids there to celebrate their 16^th birthdays and decided that although the spirit was willing the stomach was too full to cope with puddings.  Next time, next time…

http://www.steamin-billy.co.uk/cowplough/
The good: Catching up with the Tea Circle, the pies and the service.
The not so good: Knowing that reading glasses are now an essential item.
Go again: Definitely.  I want to try the non-pie menu.

Middle England Foodie Events

Pies at Melton Mowbray Food Festival

Food often gets mentioned in my blog posts as I love it.  It’s great to try out new, minimum fuss recipes and experiment with the odd new ingredient which can usually be found at the back of my fridge a year later. 

For ages, I’d been meaning to go to the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham and last year managed a trip there and found it so disappointing. The exhibition hall was like an aircraft hanger full of people trying to sell olives, cheese and other bits but hardly anything I couldn’t have found in Sainsburys without being charged £20.00 for the privilege of trudging around the NEC - give me a farm shop or farmers market every time!

So this autumn, I've noticed that there are a lot more local outdoor foodie events to go to and I'm definitely going to try one or two of these.  If you do too, leave a comment.

Saturday, September 7, 2013
Weston & Weedon Food Fair, Northants
Due to be opened by Great British Menu’s Matthew Fort and with William Sitwell one of the writer’s for Waitrose Kitchen magazine there too – sounds good.
http://tastespice.co.uk/ai1ec_event/weston-weedon-food-fair/?instance_id=814

Saturday 14th September 2013
Rutland Food & Drink Festival

On the edge of beautiful Rutland Water, near Empingham. There’ll be cooking demonstrations from Rutland’s top chefs; a range of local foods to purchase; locally brewed beer to enjoy; live music and children’s activities.

September 21st - and 22nd 2013
The Great Taste Festival of Food and Drink, Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire

Plenty of food and drink stands as well as a live cookery theatre, special guests and bars and pop–up cafés. There will also be appearances by celebrity chefs offering advice, answering questions and signing
http://www.greatfoodmag.co.uk/all-star-cast-for-clumber-great-taste-festival/

Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th October 2013
Melton Mowbray Food Festival Held in the heart of pork-pie making land, Melton Mowbray is traditional market town set in the rolling Leicestershire countryside. There’ll be live food demonstrations in the Aga Rangemaster Cookery Theatre and activities going on in the Family Food and Fun Zone and of course lots of food and drink stalls.
http://meltonmowbrayfoodfestival.co.uk/

The Castle Cottage Café, Oakham, Rutland

A local's tip led me to this gem of a cafe.  I was in a brilliant clothes shop called the Attic (sadly now a pet shop) with DMAF and we were getting peckish (as is our way).  Luckily, the shop assistant recommended The Castle Cottage Café for lunch, which we'd never have found, being tucked back down a cobbled street near to the church and Oakham Castle.

It’s worth a trip to Oakham just to go to this café and I’ve been back a few times since my first visit and this time it was a sunny August day and just right to sit out in the gorgeous, shabby chic style garden.

I know, I know.  There’s only so much shabby chic a middle-aged woman can take, but this is the real deal of genuine vintage put together with thought and love.  It’s all cream painted picket fence; geraniums in buckets: ornately framed mirrors reflecting the garden back,  tables of all shapes and sizes, pretty cushions on slatted chairs, chandeliers, flowers and, of course, lashings of bunting.

Lashings of bunting 

What to choose for lunch is a dilemma.  The tian of layered smoked salmon, prawns and advocado with a lemon mayo looked beautiful but perhaps something more substantial was needed and both myself and DMAF opted for the Ploughmans Platter which seemed to suit the sunshiney day.

The good: The fabulous shabby-chic garden and imaginative, well-presented lunch-time food.

The not so good: One wasp!

Go again:  Definitely.  Sometimes the café does evening events and wine tastings.  Details on their website.

www.castlecottagecafe.co.uk