The birthday-cum-retirement-cum-wedding-anniversary party.

We went along to the dinner party at our local pub on Monday. The company was good. There was 13 of us in all. Only one face was unknown to us. It was a lively group aged from the 90s to the 30s.

We found the food disappointing. I had the Steak & Ale Pie. The beef inside was tender enough but the pastry could have been made with concrete for the difference it would have made. My potatoes consisted of one spoonful of mash. The curly kale & cabbage mix, though, was good.

The Fox, along with 3 others, had the Steak & Kidney Pudding. They dug into what they expected to be soft, almost spongy, suet crust to find another cement edifice. The Fox was relieved to have asked for a large jug of gravy. At least that helped soften it. His green beans had barely seen the boiling water. They were neither hot nor tender.

On the good side Babs & I shared a fabulous bottle of Spanish garnacha red wine. It was beautiful, soft & fruity. It may have been the cheapest red on the list but I for one would have happily paid more for it.

Despite our moans the company was good, even if the food was disappointing. At the moment, the pub is between landlords. The new one should be starting soon. However, in between times the pub, & the kitchen in particular, is getting a bit lackadaisical. The standards are slipping without that strong leadership person keeping them up. It was noticeable when the pub first re-opened the food was awful. The new landlord, Paul, soon whipped it into shape & the food had been good. Paul left a couple of months ago, & the temporary staff is just not as dedicated to keeping up the standards.

Yesterday we were both tired after the previous evenings jollities. We’d both ended up feeling bloated after Monday’s meal. By the time we’d done the shopping, I was almost too tired to cook but after the day before’s experience the idea of eating out again had no appeal. I was determined to cook the flan I’d half-prepared, with melt-in-the-mouth pastry case.  Once I’d eaten, had a post meal mug of tea, I fell into bed for an 11, nearly 12 hour, snooze.