February 2008 Archives
THE ROOM MANCHESTER
Posted by Debbie Atkinson on February 22, 2008 6:39 PM
Today we had our lunch at The Room, King Street, Manchester . Very quirky food and the restaurant seemed to be a cross between a gentleman's club and a canteen. If I may make a suggestion - don't order the soup! An inch of white paste came in a huge white bowl - I was wishing the children had been there - they'd have found it extremely amusing. Just make sure you ask the waiter exactly what's in the dish you're ordering. Moules Mariniere turned out to be a bed of noodles with a fillet of bream on top surrounded by mussels in a Thai curry sauce - odd.
In July I'll be able to give you the low-down on Kuala Lumpur - the London son has just booked flights with the intention of going to visit the orang utans. I've got a bit of time before I need to start worrying about that.
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THE TATE LIVERPOOL
Posted by Debbie Atkinson on February 20, 2008 8:08 AM
On the recommendation of the artist son we went along to the Tate Liverpool to see the exhibition of the work of the French artist Niki de Saint Phalle. Anything that involves an admission fee is a no-no as far as my husband’s concerned (I only hope St Peter doesn’t require one) so I had to get my purse out. I was glad I did. I usually feel out of my depth when looking at art - never really knowing if I like something or not - but because I’m a child of the Sixties these pieces really struck a chord. Bright, almost psychedellic paintings and pieces where things are stuck on boards (is there a name for that?). When I create something (even if it’s only arranging furniture in a room) I’m very aware of the overall look and balance. This artist gets it spot on for me and if I’d been thrown into the gallery with no idea who the artist was I’d have known 100% that it was a woman because everything, even if it was just broken crockery stuck onto a piece of wood, was perfectly balanced and arranged. Very pleasing.
We also had a look at the exhibition of Stanley Spencer’s work. This is part of the 2008 DLA Piper sponsored art show and I had to explain this to my husband when he asked me if we were looking at paintings by DLA Piper.
The Albert Dock area was crowded with Italians, in Liverpool for the Inter Milan match. For once a bit of style on the quays as these tanned Adonises paraded in their designer clothes and sunglasses and chatted to their girlfriends on their expensive mobile phones. I wonder if Liverpool supporters will spend time in the cultural quarter of Milan and sip coffees before the return match.
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EAGLE AND CHILD NR LATHOM
Posted by Debbie Atkinson on February 14, 2008 3:31 PM
a great place for lunch at this time of year - roaring fires in the grates and candles on the tables. A real old-fashioned bar with working dogs lying around. My husband loves the "smokies" - a mixture of smoked fish in a creamy sauce served as a starter with warm French bread. I like the soup and french bread and we had a third starter between us today - golden, battered goujons of cod with lemon and tartare sauce. All delicious and not too filling. I spotted breast of local pigeon wrapped in pancetta and Croston Pheasant on the menu too - we may have to return very soon.
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BENTS GARDEN CENTRE, WARRINGTON
Posted by Debbie Atkinson on February 13, 2008 8:34 PM
Another day - another pensioner outing. Again the Tom Tom was set and again the driver completely ignored the instructions - I now realise that he sees it as a battle of wills - his over hers. This can only be because he knows he can't win an argument with me. I've decided to leave them to it and listen to my ipod.
We managed to find Bents Garden Centre, although it probably took twice as long as it should have done, allowing for taking every opposite direction on the map. But it turned out to be worth it. Lots and lots to see - and buy. I found a Yankee candle called "Baby Powder" and loved it so much that I put it on the table while we had our evening meal. "How come we're eating to the smell of baby powder?" our daughter asked.
Next time we visit the centre I'll make sure we haven't already eaten because the scones were the size of footballs and looked absolutely delicious.
Yesterday we went to the mega M&S at Warrington and I have a tip for you. Make sure you note the number of the parking bay where you leave the car. I won't elaborate.
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THE YORKSHIRE DALES
Posted by Debbie Atkinson on February 3, 2008 9:45 AM
Our day trip to Skipton made us hanker after a longer break in the Yorkshire Dales - perhaps not the best week to go considering the weather forecast - but we went anyway and visited all our usual haunts, staying at The Aldwark Manor where there are always great deals. It's just north of York and is right in the middle of a golf course. We paid £74 for a double room including full English breakfast.
The Aldwark Manor
The White Swan
Fish, chips and mushy peas at the White Swan in Ampleforth and calves liver and mash at The Nags Head in Pickhill all helped to warm us up after days fighting against icy gales and freezing hail. But even in that sort of weather and at this time of year I’d go there in preference to a scrubby sun drenched bit of the world - am I mad?
I’m slightly regretting giving the Tom Tom to my husband as a Christmas present. It accompanies us on every journey and I was forced to spend 20 minutes sitting in a freezing car in the hotel car park while my husband shouted YORK into the machine. When the woman inside it eventually got that bit right she asked for the name of the road. Well we didn’t have the answer so my husband shouted “NO NAME” which sent her scurrying off in search of a street called No Name in York. She was finally called a name I can’t repeat and we set off under our own steam. The upshot of all that is that I now have acute bronchitis.
The Innocent son’s trousers sold for a magnificent £132 on eBay and all the money is on its way to save the orangutans in Borneo.
The pair on the right are the ones he sold - we felt sorry for him, having to part with his old tartan trousers so we sent him a replacement pair - pictured left.
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This page contains an archive of all entries posted to Deb's Days Out in the February 2008. They are listed from oldest to newest.
January 2008 is the previous archive.March 2008 is the next archive.
Many more can be found on the home page or by looking through the archives.
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