Monday's Adventure
By Belinda
It will seem that we have spent our time here eating. Well, it is true that a lot of our getting together with friends has been over food!
Last week, soon after arriving, we bumped into Paul's childhood neighbour, Paul Atkinson and his wife, Jean, with whom we have maintained contact over the years. They suggested that--yes of course--we get together for a meal. And we agreed to meet at the Red Lion where I had enjoyed a lovely meal with Susan on our last day here in March.
Andrew Atkinson, Paul's brother, joined us too, and we spent several hours enjoying good food and good company.
Paul and Andrew's father, died on April 28th (his son Paul's 70th birthday) at the age of 97, so we had common ground there. Mr. Atkinson senior was someone my Paul loved as a child. He used to call Paul, "Bobby" inexplicably (maybe to differentiate him from his son Paul) and Paul would accompany him to the market, pushing a wheelbarrow with gospel tracts and materials for sale (the Atkinson family belonged to a denomination called Gospel Hall.)
Here are Andrew and Jean.
And Paul A. and Paul B.
My choice was Chestnut, Mushroom and Leek Pie! The pastry was delicious--light and flaky; the filling though did not live up to my anticipation. I love mushrooms and all kinds of veggies--and I was looking forward to tasting the chestnuts. It was better in my imagination though. :)
The choice of dessert (or pudding as dessert is called over here,) was tantalizing.
My own Paul declined dessert having splurged already on lunch.
The Red Lion is definitely a place to put on your list of places to visit for lunch if in this area. Parts of the building date back to the 1700's and the pub has the ambiance of centuries of history. The staff are friendly and helpful and we had a memorable lunch and conversation.
Comments
Thanks for the advice on the GI diet. I can well imagine that would work well. I adopted the Dukan diet when I got back from England at the end of January, where I had read the book. We eat one of Dr. Dukan's oat bran galettes for breakfast every day--high fibre and protein, and it is very similar to the GI diet in other ways too. I have lost my "excess baggage" and continue to follow the basic principles of the diet, which has rid me of the cravings that I've lived with all my life! :)