A difference of reaction

Linda, our home help, is an artistic minded soul. She may not be particularly well educated but she is very creative.

So it is yesterday she told me of her latest creative feature in her home.

A few weeks ago she nearly blew up her home by putting a chisel through the gas mains. Now it has all been repaired. The pipes had to all be replaced as they were old lead ones, rather than the present day copper ones. Anyhow she was given a length of the old pipe. She’s painted it silver, attached it on some copper, & framed it. She hopes it will remind her to take a bit more care in view of that one life she’s used up. It will certainly be a talking point when visitors come.

Personally I would have sighed with relief to see the old stuff go & know my home was safe once more. It would never have occurred to me to make it into an art feature. Having seen some of her other work, via the wonder of a modern day mobile phone, I can well believe that bit of lead pipe has become something to look at & appreciate.

A few days away

We’re hoping to get away for a few days this week. We’ve come to the conclusion we’re both getting overly tired. Our meal out last week did much to boost our morale but a longer break from routine is needed.

We’ve decided on Wakefield, not an obvious choice. I admit I associate Wakefield with grime from the days of the great collieries there. However, the attraction is the Barbara Hepworth Gallery. Some long-standing readers may remember our enthusiasm for her work when we visit the Tate Liverpool a few years ago.

We’re hoping also to go to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. That, too, looks fascinating.

We did entertain the idea of going to Wakefield last year, but the weather was so abominable, so wet, we abandoned the idea. Now we’re watching the weather forecasts nervously. It can snow as much as it likes today, provided the roads are clear by the time we want to go. Ideally it will be dry, but we’re consoling ourselves with the thought that the gallery itself is an indoor attraction so weather doesn’t matter too much. I gather the cathedral, too, is worth an investigate.

We’ve invested in another Satnav system so it will be given a try out in unfamiliar territory. Hopefully we won’t go via Buxton this time! We’re hoping to take it to France with us when we go in April.

A bit of a change

It all seems very strange. I’ve not had food to prepare the last couple of mornings. Even Wednesday’s meal was little more than putting everything into a pan & cooking it for 10 minutes (Black & Kidney Bean Chilli). Today the Fox is cooking – Tuna Macaroni - again nothing to do.

Yesterday was one of those different days, quite out of our normal routine. Come lunchtime we went to a meeting about adult social care provision in Lancashire. Ostensibly it was a public consultation though how you can call anything a “consultation” when you’ve already made a decision is beyond me.

It was a long boring meeting, going on for 3 hours. A lot of people let off a lot of hot air about their particular grievances, often dating from events over 10 years ago. However, the Fox was pleased to meet again a man who used to own & run a corner shop just near where we live. It seems his wife is now in need of care so he sold the shop to look after her. They’re now living in Lancaster.

After the meeting we adjourned to a nearby pub in Lancaster, one we’ve never visited before. It was very friendly but not ideal for access.

By this time rush hour was fast approaching. The idea of crossing Lancaster at such a time was a nightmare. We decided instead to go over to Thurnham Mill for a meal instead. We were nervous when we first got there. It didn’t look very open, but sure enough it was.

The food was wonderful. We both had the Vegetable & Barley Soup. I suspect the vegetable was a mixture was parsnip & potato. It had a curious, quite intriguing sweetness to it.

Then the Fox settled on Haddock & Chips. He went for “regular” size when he was warned the pieces of fish were all “Moby Dick” size. Sure enough the fish extended beyond the plate. I meanwhile had Poached Salmon in a Prawn Sauce. It was served up with some black pudding potatoes. I expected the potatoes to be mashed but no, they came sliced & stacked. It was delicious & the black pudding didn’t overwhelm the more delicate taste of the fish. The broccoli, too, was cooked just right.

We dithered over whether to have a dessert. In the end the Fox had some vanilla ice-cream, while I had a Chocolate & Orange Bread & Butter Pudding, served with vanilla ice-cream. We both found the ice-cream very rich but not very vanilla-ey. The bread & butter pudding was gloriously moist, quite gooey. We left feeling a bit overfilled, but wow, what a meal!

We’ve eaten a few times at Thurnham Mill. It changed hands in 2011 & is clearly going from strength to strength. Usually it’s been fairly quiet when we’ve been – the last time was a couple of years ago, we still remember the Beef Wellington made using filo rather than puff pastry. This time most of the tables were reserved.  I can understand its popularity. The food is good. The service is efficient but very friendly. The restaurant overlooks the Lancaster Canal & the open countryside. A very pleasant place to visit.

We returned home. By then the traffic had disappeared from Lancaster. We had a cup of tea, then off to bed, even though it was barely 8pm. I didn’t get up until 7.30am. I was absolutely shattered. The wonderful meal more than compensated for the rather boring meeting.

Now we return for more prosaic normality.