Happy Birthday Jo

Friday was Jo's birthday, so in the evening we took a brief holiday from the great January detox and went out for dinner at Drakes. We popped into the lovely bar at hotel du vin first for an aperitif. It was so nice to get dressed up (my idea of dressing up might not be everyone's!) and go to places where you are pampered. We really enjoyed the evening, the food at Drakes was lovely but not as good as I'd remembered. By nine o'clock though I was yawning and needed my bed, its all this detoxing you see it makes you soft. I think Jo thought we'd be dancing the night away in some groovy club....

The great January detox...but after being a Ginger Piggy

The excesses of Christmas and New Year (or indeed longer than this) often leave us feeling a bit sluggish. So in January we like to detox a bit, no alcohol, fresh and raw food, herbal teas and plenty of water in a bid to save our livers or at least give them a holiday. Perhaps shed a few pounds and look forward to the new year ahead with vigor.

But before all this we popped down to The Ginger Pig, a pub in Hove run by the same people who gave us The Gingerman in Norfolk Square and Drakes http://www.gingermanrestaurants.com/. You can't book a table to eat at the Ginger Pig so you have to turn up before the six thirty sitting and join the stampede. The food is good and the service friendly but not in your face. Brighton & Hove have been very slow to catch on to the gastro pub scene. When we moved here from London in 2004 we were aficionado's of Gastro Pubs and were horror-struck to discover they didn't really exist in Brighton. This is changing and with the smoking ban now in place pubs are diversifying their food menus. We live near to the Sussex Yeomen which serves fabulous food (their chefs are also at work in the nearby Eddy).

Chill Factor e

This Christmas we spent in Manchester with Jo's family. As we arrived a few days before the big day we booked ourselves into the new indoor ski slope near old trafford. We had a great time £22 gives you an hour and a half. We even managed not to fall off the poma lift! Of course its never like being on the mountains but it was good to practise a few turns and get the feel of it all again. Can't wait for Val Thorens in Feb.