PIE & PEAS IN SKIPTON

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 27, 2008 8:59 AM

Usually when we visit Skipton it's en-route for the Yorkshire Dales but on Friday we decided just to make a day out of Skipton. Although we knew the route off by heart my husband set the Tom Tom. We got as far as the bottom of our road and then she sent us left instead of right. "Well, you've set it so just go the way she says," I told my husband. We were taken all through the countryside and over Parbold Hill and much to my husband's satisfaction, arrived at our destination a full ten minutes later than if we'd followed his route.
A friend had recommended The Royal Shepherd for lunch. We've never ventured off Skipton's main street so it was all new territory, trying to locate the pub. It's on Canal Street, overlooking the canal and its barges, and you pass some trendy little boutiques on the way. The wind was bitterly cold so it was a real pleasure to step inside this no-frills Yorkshire pub and to smell the home-made food. I've been on salads for so long that the pie, mushy peas and gravy (£3.50)was like heaven. It was brought in a bowl with a knife and spoon. The elderly waitress was so caring that it wouldn't have surprised me if she'd asked if I needed a bib. Instead, she asked if I wanted mint sauce (must be a local custom).
My husband's steak pie was enormous and the plate was overflowing with mashed potato, roast potatoes, veg and there was even a Yorkshire pudd on top.

Afterwards we visited Skipton Church and had a coffee in the refectory - resisting all the beautiful home-made cakes. If you're after a cheaper pie, peas and gravy, you'll find it here at £2.50.
We'd left our daughter at home, studying so I bought a pie in the butchers and she had it for tea - with, guess what - mushy peas and gravy (and a spoon).

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AFTERNOON TEA @ CLARIDGES

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 21, 2008 7:09 PM

ok - it wasn't actually me who went for afternoon tea at Claridges, it was the London son. But I'm sure you'll be as interested to hear what it was like, as I was. He was given this treat as a Christmas present and went all dressed up in suit and tie.

His post visit report stated that it was "really good". Apparently he polished off all the neat little sandwiches so fast that another tray was immediately delivered.
The menu read as follows:

A selection of sandwiches:

Organic cucumber and rocket with cream cheese on onion bread
*
Freshly baked raisin and apple scones with Devonshire clotted cream and Marco Polo jelly
*
A selection of French pastries
*

not bad for £31!!

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THE CHILL FACTOR

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 21, 2008 6:47 PM

It was such a miserable, wet day today that we decided to go somewhere where the weather wouldn't matter. The Trafford Centre it was then. But then I remembered that The Chill Factor had opened right next to the Trafford Centre - and I just fancied sipping hot chocolate on an Alpine slope. The Chill Factor is the biggest indoor ski slope in the country - you can hire all the gear and then either ski or snowboard - or just pay to throw snowballs. If you do what we did it's free to get in. It's worth a visit for the novelty value but unless you've got a family member to watch on the slope it gets a bit repetitive - once you've seen someone ski from top to bottom, that's about it. There's a Nandos and a Chiquito as well as an ice cream shop with every variety imaginable.

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SUNDAY LUNCH @ LADY GREEN'S TEASELS

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 21, 2008 7:29 AM

I must be honest, I didn't realise that Lady Green's Teasels Coffee Shop did Sunday lunches. Whenever I meet up with friends for a quick lunch, it's always Lady Green Garden Centre that we go to, but that's always during the week. I'm usually too busy preparing the Sunday meal at home to bother about where does or doesn't serve a roast. But yesterday we were down to just three for lunch (it's often seven or more) so we decided to drive up to Lady Green.
There was a choice of three roasts and between us we sampled three of them. There was plenty of "proper" meat (by that I mean not the ready sliced stuff that seems as though it's the boil-in-bag- variety); lovely fresh veg as well as mashed and roast potatoes and all piping hot. They fell down on the extra bits though - no yorkshire pudd with the beef; no stuffing or apple sauce or crackling with the pork and no offer of mint sauce with the lamb. The roasts are all under £8 and if you've got room for a sweet there are some delicious-looking home-made cakes.
It's a good place to go on the last minute because they don't take bookings, and there's always plenty to do and see after the meal - like stocking up on cut-price Christmas decorations when your husband's not looking.

Don't forget to let me known where you like to eat - there's a prize! See the entry below for details.

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WHERE DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR A MEAL?

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 18, 2008 8:08 PM

When we go out locally for a meal it's usually to the Forge in the middle of Southport (cheap steaks Tuesday; cheap fish dishes Thursday) or to the Eagle and Child out at Lathom. Although we're very happy with these two places, we'd like a change. Where do you go and why? Just click the comment button below (you don't need to fill in your email address or URL - just your name or alias and your suggestion). However there's a nice box of Swiss choccies for one of you and I'll need an email address to contact you, so if you don't leave one you can't win - I can't say fairer than that.

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LYDIATE HALL FARM, SOUTHPORT ROAD

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 18, 2008 7:36 PM

A reader of this blog suggested I visit Lydiate Hall Farm tearooms (opposite the church on Southport Road). We went for a drive today and enjoyed a homemade scone and coffee. We were too late for lunch but the steak hot pot pie described on a blackboard sounded like just what the doctor ordered on a grey and wet miserable day. There are stunning views over the nearby fields, which must be beautiful in the summer. The place is quite rough and ready and the chair covers could do with replacing but it's cosy and worth a visit. While you're there you can visit the gift shop - full of home-made items and the farm shop, crammed with vegetables that look as though they've just been gathered from the fields as well as homemade preserves. The main attraction as far as I was concerned was the abundance of peacocks, pea hens and cockerels - there were hundreds of them, all really tame and making quite a racket. But a tip - if you visit in the rain take some wellies. One of my shoes sank into the mud as I was trying to get to the gift shop.
While you're in Lydiate it's worth taking a look at The Abbey

This is St. Catherine's Church, known locally as Lydiate Abbey. The church probably dates from around the 13th or 14th century but was abandoned when Catholicism was outlawed. Left to the elements, the ruins remaining today give some indication of the splendour of the building.

And of course you mustn't forget the Scotch Piper, the oldest pub in Lancashire. Although I've always felt that so much more could be done with it.

Don't forget to let me know your recommendations - just click comment below - you don't need to give your email address or URL, just your name and your comment. Some recommendations will appear in the paper as well as on this blog

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THE MIKADO, SALFORD

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 18, 2008 1:26 PM

Oh dear, we left at the interval. The last time I saw a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta it was by the D'oyly Carte at the Savoy Theatre and I suppose you can't get much better than that. But you can get a lot worse. G&S must have been turning in their graves as The Opera della Luna company performed the Mikado in the Quays Theatre at The Lowry, Salford.
To start with, the acoustics in The Quays are very poor and any singing was always going to be sucked into the stage flooring, add to that a very poor and thin orchestra and a stage setting that seemed to based on old black boxes and you'll get a taste of this insulting production. Throw in the odd "sh**" word and a mobile phone conversation and you'll get the drift. Before the show started someone came from behind the curtain to announce that Yum Yum had not only fractured her arm in three places but had lost her voice. To get round this problem, Yum Yum would do the dancing but her vocal part would be sung and spoken by someone in the wings. This left Yum Yum miming the words to a voice off stage - if it wasn't so terrible it would have been hillarious. So my letter asking for a refund is in the post. I'll let you know the outcome.
Just btw (as they say on other blogs and forums) The Opera della Luna has a group of supporters officially known as "The Lunatics" - I know why.

Did you go to this production - do you agree or disagree? Or have you been to another theatre production recently? I'd love to know - and so would other readers, to let me know, just click the comment button below (you don't need to fill in the email section or the URL section, just give your name and the comment).

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ORANGUTANS IN BORNEO

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 16, 2008 7:58 PM

Our younger son works for Innocent drinks in London and has been featured on the back of their 1 litre cartons

His checked trousers have been the source of much amusement in the office and on the Innocent website
He's now put the trousers on ebay to raise money for the orangutan sanctuary in Borneo - and he'll present the cheque to the charity when he visits later this year. You might like to bid.....

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THE PHEASANT, BURWARDSLEY

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 14, 2008 6:52 PM

The London son gave his dad a good pub guide for Christmas and today we made good use of it and the Tom Tom when we went to The Pheasant pub on the outskirts of Chester. In fact it's on a hill top (the Peckforton hills) and overlooks some beautiful Cheshire countryside. It's 300 years old and the best bit - it has at least three roaring log fires. We enjoyed a tasty pub lunch - shrimps with walnut bread and Cheshire ham and mustard on fresh white bloomer bread. A candle factory was over the road and I'd love to have called but it was pouring down and it would have meant quite a treck from the car park. If you fancy a trip out it's south east of Tattenhall.

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BOUNDARY MILL - AGAIN

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 10, 2008 7:43 PM

I've already broken the sort-of-resolution I made yesterday about buying nothing new for the rest of the year. It was my husband's fault - the weather and a stiff back prevented him from playing golf and he suggested a trip to Boundary Mill, the outlet place near Colne. Everything was reduced - by a lot, and it would have been foolhardy not to have bought the long skirt, short trousers and matching top in preparation for the cruise; then there was the Viyella polo shirt that was a snip, oh and the brown jumper, which I did actually need. And the six china mugs were a necessity, although I'm not sure where I'm going to put them. You'll still catch the sale if you're quick.

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AN IDEAL HUSBAND, MANCHESTER

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 10, 2008 8:23 AM

There's still time to catch the excellent production of Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. It was the perfect antidote to a dark and rainy Manchester night - very funny and with plenty of recognisable Wilde quips. My husband said he couldn't understand why I'd bought tickets to see an ideal husband when I could have watched him for nothing - oh, hahaha.
We had a look round the sales - I found Valentino face products reduced from £125 to £15 and a Hobbs jacket at £39 from £150 but amazingly came away empty-handed. I read in the paper about two women who, at the start of 2007, had decided to buy nothing new for 12 months (exluding food obviously). After the excesses of Christmas this seemed like a good idea to me - I'm not sure how long it will last but I was quite proud of myself yesterday - until I bought three t shirts in M&S (they don't count though because they were really cheap).

We ate in Wagamama's - we're probably a bit outside the normal age range for a noodle bar but the food is tasty and the service is efficient so we just ignored all the 20-somethings and tucked into steaming bowls of ebi katsu and kaisen gohan.

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CHESHIRE OAKS USING TOM TOM

Posted by Debbie Atkinson on January 4, 2008 8:01 PM

My husband finally fathomed out his Christmas present, a Tom Tom, yesterday. Initially it was giving all instructions in French which led to a return visit to Halfords. Although we knew the route to the Cheshire Oaks like the back of our hands we decided to give it a whirl. At first we could hardly hear the woman's voice and I was having to hold the screen up to my ear as we travelled - surely that couldn't be right. Eventually I discovered how to alter the volume and all was well until we reached Bootle and the woman was insisting that we took a different route from the one we knew and loved. What with her constant parroting and my husband shouting at her, by the time we reached the outlet village my head was throbbing. On the way home, when we were approximately 300 yards from home I unplugged the machine. "Why did you do that?" asked my husband. I explained that we could do that part of the journey with our eyes shut. But apparently it was very rude just to unplug her before she'd seen us safely to our destination. I think this present is going to be trouble.

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