Summer Time

This morning on ITV's Daybreak we had Dr Guy Meadows, a sleep expert from the Sleep School, advising on how we can deal with the problems caused by the clocks changing this coming week-end. He advised that we should go to bed half an hour earlier tonight and get up half an hour earlier on Saturday morning. On Saturday night we should go to bed a whole hour earlier and then when the change actually happens during the night, we will be well prepared. People had been contacting the show with their stories of the terrible problems they and their children have experienced when we change to British Summer Time.

What next? Stress counselling for people badly traumatised by the disruption to their lives caused by the hour time change? It occurs to me that, by following Dr Guy's advice, there could be even more trauma, caused by having to go to bed halfway through ITV's Benidorm on Friday night.

Personally, my biggest problem is going round the house changing every watch and clock (not forgetting the cars) ensuring that they are all accurate to the second. This year we will be away on holiday in Burnham, so I will not be home to do the time changes. I will do it on my return from holiday then.



There was a knock on the door at 08:00 this morning. It was the Parcel Force lady with my new 25 kg bag of Caputo Pizzeria flour. I ordered it last Sunday from Nifeislife, the Italian online deli. They provide a very good service. You can choose your preference for delivery day. They also email you weekly with details of various offers. I always wait for the half price delivery offer.  

There is enough flour in the bag to make 125 pizzas. Pizza parties soon then.

Holiday booked

Having fallen for the charms of Burnham on Sea and the Haven Holiday Village on Monday, we have spent the last two days finding accomodation and booking a holiday there.

Sue searched the internet and found a beautiful caravan which was available for w/c Sat 24th March for 9 nights at a very reasonable price. It is 40 x 14 ft, with lots of decking, dishwasher, washing machine/drier, etc.




Sue has now booked the time off work and I have paid for the caravan, so we are definitely going on Saturday. This is the closest to home that I have ever had a holiday. I can't wait.




Last night I was looking for the cat before going to bed. I eventually found him.

A sunny day at Weston-Super-Mare

Monday was fine and sunny all day starting from sunrise. Sue and Sam departed for work and college respectively and I made up my mind to make the most of the fine weather and go out for the day later on, either in the car or on the bike. 

During the morning Sue phoned and said she was thinking of taking the afternoon off from work and going out for a walk. The objective of the walk was to ease the knee pain she had been experiencing since driving my car home from Midsomer Norton last Friday evening. It had been caused by Vauxhall inconsiderately locating the clutch pedal in an awkward position. I said, in that case, I would wait until she got home from work and then we could go out for a walk together. I passed the time usefully by polishing the car.

We set off in the car shortly after 1:00 pm and headed down the M5 aiming for Weston Super Mare. We arrived at W-S-M and parked the car in a residential area I know of, avoiding costly car park fees. We walked along the sea front past The Old Colonial, Bar Zaar, etc and headed for the new Grand Pier.

On the Pier, Sue changed up some pound coins and started to play the 'penny falls' coin pusher machines. I believe the best strategy with these is to find a machine with a good central overhang of coins and then to insert your coins in the middle slot. Inserting coins near the edges pushes others into the 'house tray' at each side and so is best avoided. If or when you have achieved a significant win, then you must move on to another machine. If you continue to pump more money into the same one, over time you WILL lose.

It was at this point that I realised I had left my mobile phone in the car on view on the central console. I knew that I would be unable to relax and enjoy the afternoon unless I returned to retrieve it. I thought it would be wise to be quick, otherwise, left on her own with the Pier amusement machines, Sue would be capable of losing a small fortune. So I jogged from the pier back to the car (a distance of about half a mile) and then back again. This is the furthest I have run since early December and at the time of writing, my heel is still relatively pain free. Not entirely so, but it is an encouraging indication that the plantar fasciitis, which has been with me since early December, is finally improving.

After the Pier visit, we headed for the shops. Poundland is always a favourite. There is always the possibility of finding a real bargain for ..... a pound. Last year I bought a live Stereophonics DVD for £1 in Poundland, Exeter.

Burnham on Sea

We headed back towards the car and stopped off at the Old Colonial (Marstons Inns) for a coffee. It was going to be a fine evening so we decided to drive to Burnham on Sea. We arrived at Burnham just as the sun was about to set, so I took a few pictures. I quite like this one:

We walked around for a while and then, as it was getting dark and cold, we drove around the town. There are plenty of pubs, cafes, restaurants and a small pier, the shortest pier in Britain in fact. We started to drive towards home and had not gone far when we saw a sign for Burnham on Sea Holiday Village. We just had to go in to investigate.

We parked outside the  Entertainment Complex and headed towards the entrance. As luck would have it, as we got to the door, the security man responsible for checking entertainment passes was distracted talking to someone, so we slipped in unnoticed. We passed an assortment of amusement machines and went into the Mash and Barrel restaurant/bar. It all looked brand new. 

At the bar I ordered a pint of San Miguel, my favourite 'ordinary' lager and a draft Gaymers pear cider for Sue. We sat down and I looked at the menu. I read out the vegetarian options to Sue. She had left her reading glasses in the car and couldn't go out to retrieve them as she would need to get in past security again.

We ordered our meals, vegetable lasagna, with chips, garlic bread and salad for Sue,

 and a chicken fillet burger with chips and salad for me.

The meals were very good. Better quality than good pub grub and for £5.95 each, a real bargain. Feeling full, we made our way upstairs to the show bar, purchased more drinks and settled down to an hour of first class entertainment. The cabaret act was a singer/comedian.

Sadly, we had to set off for home. Sue had to go to work the next day. The walk around Weston had been successful in easing Sue's knee pain and my heel was OK.

Mothers Day

Mothers Day started off with Sue and Sam setting off to visit Sue's parents. She took my car as it's larger and easier for her parents to get in and out. They had to visit Spec Savers to pick up Sue's mum's new glasses and to go shopping at Morrisons.

They arrived back home early afternoon and Sue had kindly taken my car to Waves at Tesco for a car wash. Then she vacuumed and cleaned the interior for me. What a star. It had been badly in need of cleaning.

Sue opened her cards and presents from Sam and me and Christopher came to visit and we were all going out for a meal later. The consensus of opinion was that we would go for a carvery meal.

We drove out to Cribbs Causeway to the Preview Buffet Bar. This is predominantly a carvery restaurant, but the menu does have a few alternatives. We all decided to have carvery meals with Sue having the vegetarian nut roast.

Now, carvery meals are not exactly my favourite. I enjoy my Christmas roast dinner once a year, which I cook myself, agonising that everything should be cooked to perfection and that it all reaches the table piping hot. But that will do for me until the following Christmas.

I regard a carvery meal as bit of a cop out, in that it is so cheap and easy to roast some meat and potatoes and boil the life out of some poor vegetables. Crown carvery have got it right in that they charge a realistic £3.88, although I believe it rises to £6.99 on a Sunday. Here, at the Preview Buffet Bar, a carvery meal was £8.95 and for that money you can buy a good quality 'proper' meal elsewhere.

The meat was just about passable, the beef was certainly not pink in the middle. The roast potatoes were black, the veg was ............. I can't be bothered wasting my time writing any more words about it. It was not good. I saw people returning to their tables with plates piled high with a mountain of vegetables, which should have had a red light on the top to warn low flying aircraft. They really need to get out more often.

The consensus of opinion was to follow up with a dessert. We all opted for various ice cream based desserts, all priced at £3.95. Mine was chocolate ice cream with  Maltesers, chocolate flake, chocolate sauce and bulked out with squirty cream. The ice cream was very low quality and tasted watery. I cannot remember having had such cheap ice cream in a restaurant. There is no excuse for this if they are charging £3.95 for the dessert.

We left and I made a mental note never to go there again. My dear wife deserves to be treated to something much better than this on Mother's Day. Having said that, no one else complained, so perhaps it's just me.

Whoops!!!!

We asked Suzanne and Howard if they would like to come round for drinks this eveing. They were entertaining Suzanne's parents and having a meal until around 8:00 pm, but said they would like to come round to us when the parents had gone home. 

They were cooking some M&S roast parsnips as part of their meal. They had some left over and so brought them round in a plastic tray for us to have as an addition to our meals. Sue had bought some vegetable cannelloni ready meals for us. I put the parsnips into a hot oven in their plastic tray, which I had assumed to be the oven proof tray they are sold in. The cannelloni went into another oven at a lower temperature.

Half way through cooking the parsnips, I thought I should turn them over. I opened the oven and was confused by what I saw. I quickly realised that the parsnips were sitting in molten plastic, luckily on top of a metal baking tray. I managed to remove the parsnips from the molten plastic and gently prised the plastic from the metal tray. By now the plastic was becoming solid again and on turning it over I could make out the word 'IKEA'. This was obviously not the oven proof plastic which these foods are sold in as I had thought, but one of Suzanne and Howard's kitchen containers, which now looked like this:

When they arrived for drinks, we all had a good laugh about my mistake (I think) and I vowed to visit IKEA soon in search of a replacement.

Teresa's Surprise 50th Party

Wayne had arranged a surprise birthday party for Teresa's 50th at Paulton Rovers Social Club. We arrived  shortly after 8:30 pm having missed Teresa's surprise arrival at 8:00. We spent the evening with Jo, Steve, Becks and her boyfriend. We had met Jo, Steve and family at the Hotel Bahamas, Playa den Bossa, Ibiza several years ago., so reminisced about some good holidays spent together.    

Wayne and Kieran were running the disco (their own venture, available for functions, parties, etc.). We met Wayne, Teresa and family while on holiday in Ibiza in the early 1990's.

It was a good evening.     

Going out is the new Staying in

Last night we decided that we should stay in more. Luckily, we only managed one night, because we are out again tonight.

I wanted to try the Robin Hood's Retreat, (Gastro Pub), in Gloucester Rd as their web site claims that they have Theakston's Old Peculier on draft. Also, they are building a good reputation for their quality food and they are listed favourably in the AA ‘Pub Guide‘ and the ‘Good Pub Guide‘.

Not entirely unexpectedly, there was no draft Old Peculier, so I tried some Anstell lager and Sue tried a real ale.

The decor and ambience was not to our liking so we moved on to the Bristol Flyer.

Things started to improve when I discovered that the Bristol Flyer sold draft Leffe Blonde. We bought our drinks and sat in a nice seat by the window. I was facing the kitchen area and had a good view of the pass, where the kitchen staff were languorously assembling meals under the hot lamps. I surmised that if I ordered some food, by the time it reached our table, it would be well past my bed time and the time spent under the heat of the lamps would have completely dried it out.

We left the Flyer and went in search of the recently opened Guru Indian restaurant, which was converted on the site of the Old Fox pub in Bishopston, Gloucester Road at a cost of nearly £1 million. We had a look at the menu and the prices were more expensive and the decor not so appealing as our favourite Indian, the Taj Brasserie in Winterbourne, so we decided not to go in on this occasion.

We ended up at the Three Brooks again for supper.

Pizza

It has been several weeks since I last made a pizza, so tonight's the night. Toppings are tomato sauce, fried onions, kalamata olives, sweet piquante peppers, chorizo, fresh basil leaves and a blend of mozarella and seriously strong cheddar with a final swirl of extra virgin olive oil. Here it is before going into the oven.

Transfer to my Lincat Pizza oven at 400 deg C.

And just two minutes later ......... voila........ or rather...... ecco....... as they would say in Italy

Mezze at Thornbury

We returned to the Mezze at Thornbury , having enjoyed a meal and drinks there a few weeks ago. They have some not commonly available beers on draft; Pilsner Urquell, Leffe Blonde and Amstell.

I am very fond of Leffe Blonde 6.6% ABV. You used to be able to get it on draft in Belgos, Welsh Back, and Halo in Gloucester Road, but no more. I did find it in Y Bryncynan at Morfa Nefyn, North Wales,  but it's a long way to go.

I fancied a burger, but the menu said that this was one of a range of meals that was only served until 6:00 pm. I asked the waitress about this and she said she would ask the chef. She returned to tell me that the chef, he say yes. I was impressed. I have grown accustomed to 'the rules are the rules'. 

Sue opted for 3 mezze (like tapas) dishes. Here is a picture of our food.   

We had a very pleasant evening. Excellent. We will definitely be back

Sunday Breakfast

Sue spent most of Sunday morning ironing, so I said I would buy her breakfast. We found ourselves back at the Three Brooks again. This time Sam opted for the standard breakfast.  

Saturday 10th March

Breakfast at the Three Brooks Pub

On Saturday morning we thought we would try the breakfast at the Three Brooks pub. The food is char grilled which should make for a good meal. As far as I can recall, there were 3 options, vege breakfast and standard breakfast at £3.60 and a mega breakfast at £5.60.  We tried all 3 variations with Sue going for the vege and Sam the mega.

Here is a photo of Sam's mega breakfast. 

It defeated him and I offered my assistance.

Clevedon

It was a warm sunny day, so in the afternoon Sue and I set off for Clevedon. Evidently, many other people had the same idea as it was packed, but nevertheless I managed to find a parking space not too far from the pier. Neither of us had ever been on Clevedon Pier so I paid the small entry fee (I took advantage of the slightly reduced rate for over 60's, much to Sue's amusement) and we strolled out along the pier.

We noticed that there are brass plaques on the wooden planks making up the pier deck and also on the wooden benches. The brass plaques are engraved with the name of the sponsor.




At the far end of the pier is the Pagoda Tearoom (picture left). On this occasion we didn't try the tea room but instead headed into the town in search of a cafe.

We found the main shopping street, Hill Road, which thankfully had a noticeable absence of the usual chain stores found in most town shopping centres. We stopped for a cappuccino and latte in the Caffe Bar in Murrays of Clevedon. The cappuccino was authentically Italian in that it was served in a smaller cup instead of the large sizes we have grown accustomed to in Costa and Starbucks etc. Very nice though. We didn't eat as we were still full from our breakfasts at the Three Brooks earlier on.

Murrays of Clevedon is also a high class Italian delicatessen, bakery and wine shop.

On leaving Murrays, we found Sam Bryants clothing shop. It's good to find a non chain clothing store. They had a very good end of season sale with some huge discounts. I found a £100 Italian shirt for just £15, but on trying it on I found it was too tight. I am a stone (7kg) heavier now than this time last year, due in part to not being able to run. I have had plantar fasciitis for over 3 months now.

We drove home via Portishead.

Return to the Anchor Inn

We returned to the Anchor Inn at Oldbury on Severn. This time there was a group of seven of us. Our previous visit was on a Sunday, when the pub was not busy. On this occasion, a Thursday evening, there were no tables free in the bar let alone one with seven seats.

Many years ago, in the bar at the Anchor Inn in Oldbury on Severn, the owner and licensee, Mike Dowdeswell, was talking to a freight company owning customer who was wondering how he could improve efficiency of his business by gaining return loads for his heavy goods vehicles that were routinely delivering local goods to Yorkshire. Mike offered the solution by suggesting that if he picked up some good Yorkshire Ale on the return trip, he would sell it in the Anchor. That's how it came about that the Anchor Inn always used to sell cask Theakston's Old Peculier.

I asked the barman if they had any Old Peculier. Yes, he told me, but only in bottles. What a pity, but I believe the Robin Hoods Retreat in Gloucester Road sells the cask Old Peculier. I must check it out soon.    

We took our drinks through to the dining room, in which only two other tables were in use.

I opted for the beef steak, butcombe and mushroom pie, with roast potatoes and fresh vegetables. I thought it a strange combination to put roast potatoes with a steak pie, but roast potatoes can be delightful, golden and crispy on the outside with a fluffy and soft interior. These had a tough leathery outside and the vegetables consisted mainly of julienne strips of carrot and green beans. The pie itself had been covered in gravy, so the pastry was not crisp and the beef itself was not very good quality.

Everyone else seemed happy with their meals, but for a steak and ale pie fan, I could not recommend this.

I have had some exceptional steak and ale pies at:

The Lamb Inn, Lower Weare,
Red Cow Inn, Pontsticill,
Pebbles, Ladram Bay.    

Keep on Running - Not

The plantar fasciitis which has prevented me from running since 12th December still persists. It is unlikely now that I will be able to train sufficiently to achieve a decent time in the Bristol 10k. If and when the PF goes away, I will set my sights on the Bradley Stoke 10k as an alternative. Meanwhile, some long cycle rides should help keep me fit.

Off to the Three Brooks, Bradley Stoke for supper this evening.

Tuesday night is Grill Night and Quiz Night. A grill meal and a drink for £5.99 - £9.49 (price depending on meal choice). I managed to get a pint of Green King Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale, 6% ABV as part of the deal. My second pint finished off the barrel. It's a case of 'When it's gone, it's gone'. 

White Lion - Frenchay

We decided to try a new pub on Sunday evening, the White Lion on Frenchay Common. We had tracked it down the previous day and found it tucked away behind the Church on Frenchay Common, so we had no trouble finding it in the dark. We wanted to have a meal, so before entering we checked on their board to see if they would in fact be serving food. We saw that food was served until 8:00 pm on a Sunday.

The car park was deserted and on entering the pub we found that to be deserted as well. There were just a few people, presumably locals, scattered around. I ordered a pint of Doombar for Sue and a pint of Stella for myself and meanwhile Sue started browsing the menu. The lady behind the bar then told us that they had stopped serving food. I checked the time and it was now only 7:40 pm.

We sat in the dining area which was very dimly lit and continued reading the menu. The meals seemed reasonably interesting and not at all expensive, so we decided to return another day.

We finished our drinks and drove back to Bradley Stoke to our good old local, the Baileys Court Inn, where we had another drink and a meal. Then we went home.

Later in the evening Sam came home in his new white Peugeot 306 bought from Gemma's parents.

Follow up: I checked the White Lion web site, which states that food is served until 5:00 pm on a Sunday, so they are excused.    

A Busy Saturday

On Saturday afternoon, Sue wanted to go to have a look at the new Lakeshore development at Hartcliffe, built in the old Imperial Tobacco Head Office building. We both worked there back in the 80's and so it held a special interest for us.

The web site sales blurb says:  

Lakeshore, Crox Bottom, Bristol, is a unique development of eco homes sitting over its own lake, offering studio, one and two bedroom apartments. The Grade II Listed building, former home of Imperial Tobacco, has 10 acres of green space, and numerous great eco features.

You can check it out here:

http://www.urbansplash.co.uk/residential/lakeshore

When we arrived we found it all locked up and deserted, so we could have had a  wasted journey.

However, undeterred, we decided to press on and head for Chew Valley Lake via Dundry. The drive up Dundry Hill played havoc with my hearing as my ears were still full of fluid following a recent cold (Probably too much information there).

We ended up at the Blue Bowl at West Harptree. 

 

The car park was packed, as was the pub and restaurant area. Surprising for a Saturday lunchtime we thought. Everyone was eating and the meals looked enormous and  very nice. There was also a large party of children, presumably celebrating a birthday.

We ordered a diet tonic for Sue and a full fat coke for me and sat in a remote, quiet part of the pub. This area was inhabited by just a few older people, who we guessed were regulars. There was a large fish tank in the room full with a variety of species of aquatic life. We looked at the menu.

One of the children from the party came to look at the fish, accompanied presumably by his father who proved to be ineffective in controlling his offspring. The kid shrieked with excitement at the top of his voice and banged on the side of the fish tank. This sent the fish scurrying in all directions which made him scream even louder. He continued in this way despite his father's protestations, until he was thankfully returned to the rest of the party. If only the drive up Dundry could have dulled my hearing even more.

We ordered a jacket potato with cheese and beans for Sue and a broccoli and stilton soup with crusty baguette for me. Both meals were superb. Made a mental note to return.

Afterwards we headed back to Bradley Stoke stopping off at the Mall on the way for Sue to visit Monsoon. Later that evening we were off out to the Taj Brasserie in Winterbourne to celebrate Howard's birthday with a curry and a few pints of Kingfisher.

Howard's birthday was on Thursday 1st March and as a surprise, Sara came home from Uni for the weekend and Suzanne had booked a table for 8 of us at the Taj Brasserie for 8:30 pm. Sue and I and Sam and Gemma arrived in the car park at 8:20 as it was a surprise for Howard that we were going. Or maybe not.

Over the last few months, Sue and I have made friends with Rupee, one of the waiters. He says we are now his sister and brother.

We all had a good time.  


Following up regarding the Lakeshore development, I discovered this on the interweb:

'More than 400 people who put a deposit on a new flat at the former Imperial Tobacco factory face waiting another year to move in.

Buyers who deposited tens of thousands of pounds with developer Urban Splash for flats at the Lake Shore project in Hartcliffe fear they may lose their money after the firm hit financial difficulties.'

This could explain why the Lakeshore site was closed on Saturday afternoon.