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.

The madness of Londinium

Yesterday we drove into London to do some Christmas shopping. Driving in London is only for the insane. Shopping in Oxford Street in December is pure foolishness. Traffic is slow, parking is expensive, public transport is costly, slow and crowded. For a girl born and bred in our capital city a few years out to grass in Brighton have made me.... well a bit soft really.

In the evening we stayed next door to Amy Winehouse's husband Blake (he is currently being detained at her majesty's pleasure for perverting the course of justice in Pentonville prison) at Jason & Sammy's. We headed down to Kings Cross on a mini pub crawl, bars which were once no go zones have been given gastro makeovers. It's nice to see areas improve...if only we had bought a little property there 10 years ago, you'd be laughing.

Santa Dash

Saturday, it rained and rained the wind howled and it was freezing. Great and we have to do a 5k run along Brighton Seafront all in aid of the wonderful Rocking Horse appeal.

Watching people including myself having to hop around trying to get their suits on was amusing, but waiting at the start when the rain started to soak into the suit and make them heavier and heavier was not fun. It was a shame the weather was so awful, perhaps they should do an Easter Bunny dash....at least the weather might be a bit kinder.

Anyone for Avacado Houmous Crostini?

So Thursday sees us head off in the rain to The Montpelier and Clifton Hill Associations Christmas party. At Montpelier Hall we were greeted by a chap in white coat and fez. Our coats were whisked away and we helped ourselves to a glass of wine. We entered the drawing room which was a buzz with ...well Clifton Hill types, all very posh, we stood out a mile and were easily the youngest by about 30 years. We were served up smoked salmon, Russian stuffed eggs etc by gentlemen who were very nice but couldn't speak any English, they did manage to get across that the fez's played havoc with their hair.

Come on the Albion

Tuesday evening saw us head off to the Withdean stadium to see our local football team Brighton & Hove Albion play Walsall. Jo had some VIP tickets which entitled us to some nosh in a porta-cabin and couple of glasses of wine and to see the match. Withdean is basic to say the least, I look forward to the team having a decent stadium soon. Come on you Lewis residents let them have Falmer!

Well it was a chilly night but we enjoyed the game, its good to take your mind off everything sometimes. A 1-1 draw was a little disapointing as the Brighton side dominated the match but I have to admit Walsall's goal was a cracker.

Halloween

Surfs Up

Last Friday and we headed off to one of our favorite places North Devon for the week. We booked an apartment overlooking Putsborough beach, how's this for a view

Nice, the apartment block also has its own pool, good for stretching those old muscles.

Jo is preparing for an interview and I needed to write my final assignment for the finance module of my OU course, so it wasn't all fun and games.

But we did manage to catch some lovely waves and walk into Wooly for a swift pint at the Red Barn on a number of occasions.

Oh what a lovely house

Sunshine on Leith

If the sun was shining in Leith it certainly wasn't in Brighton yesterday! It poured all day not the best time to be painting your front door.

Last night we headed down to the Brighton Dome to see Charlie and Craig Reid better known as The Proclaimers.

They played some new stuff which was nice they are fine musicians but it was the 80's favorites that got everyone on their feet singing along and punching the air.

Building Bridges

We seem almost free of our builder.....after 5 months perhaps a bit of light at the end of the tunnel! After threatening Nigel with solicitors, nasty emails and wailing and screaming down the phone, he sent us Dave the alcoholic handyman....not the best in the world but perhaps we will finally get our home back.

I started my Swedish massage course last night, seem like a decent bunch of people and I'm really looking forward to learning something practical. The uniform is not nearly as bad as I thought it might be!

It's been a long while

11 months since my last blog, I really must try harder!

A lot has happened, most significantly my Mum died in July.

We have been having building work done on our house since late April, a 6 to 8 week job which is still not finished! Expect to hear many moans about this work or lack of it. Perhaps a few choice words about our builder Nigel.

After 20+ years working in the IT industry, I have finally seen sense to give up to pursue something resembling a portfolio career or at least it will be once I get rid of these builders and finish up the work on the house.

I am still studying via the OU and have enrolled on a massage and anatomy course. I still try and learn to play guitar but don't practice nearly enough.

My old laptop finally gave up on me, so I have a snazzy new red one, complete with wi-fi catcher and webcam. So expect to see images and maybe even some videos. Its a lovely day in Brighton today and I decided to take the new laptop out to check out this wi-fi milarky. I sat on the beach with a salad I'd prepared and my study books as I have an assignment to get in Friday. Did a bit of work then decided to try the laptop out, it was sunny and after a few frustrating minutes of trying to find some shade with my bag, I realised that the idea of sitting on the beach with a laptop in the sun was a silly one I was never going to see the screen. I expect my attempts made a few people laugh though, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. So I still don't know if this wi-fi thing on the move works or not. I notice lots of the local pubs have wi-fi these days but Jo has got us on another healthy regime at the moment so I don't know when I'll be giving that a go.
On the subject of pubs, thank god for the smoking ban. You can actually go out for an evening without stinking of fags when you get home. The only thing is the outsides are all smokers and in this summer sunshine you feel like retreating inside to avoid the fumes.

Anyway as I was saying ,I was sitting on Brighton beach today the sea was absolutely beautiful just laping up to the shore. I sat there realising how lovely it is to live here, water often makes me emotional and I cried a little at the beauty of the sea and how much it was making me think about people I love and just how much I miss not having my mum around anymore.

It's a family affair

Saturday Morning saw us take off for Bournemouth for a family 'get together', the A27 traffic was it's usual slow pace and a couple of accidents hampered progress further. Around 12.45 we arrived at my brother's new house, where he his family and my Mum and sister were drinking cups of tea, two of their boys were dispatched downstairs to say hello, before disappearing off to their rooms and PC's again (did I mention they are teenagers). Later my eldest nephew returned from his weekend job at Tesco's complete with Tesco shirt and trousers. We spent the afternoon chatting and mum was trying out a hearing device made by one of the nephews which consisted of a couple of microphones and a circuit board with a pair of headphones attached. It was an unsubtle attempt to encourage her to get a hearing aid which she insists she doesn't need!

Fiddle & Fins

Last night we decided to treat ourselves to a little nosh up and a few drinks. I wanted to try Riddle & Finns a new-ish Champagne & Oyster Bar in the twittens of The Lanes in Brighton. We settled in on the high marble bars and perused the menu, after much deliberation I settled for the fresh crab salad and Jo chose the fish stew all washed down with a bottle of white Rioja.

When the food arrived mine consisted of a whole crab and a few leaves. I have always wanted to try fresh crab but am always put off that I’ll make a fool of myself smashing away at the crustacean’s shell. I needn’t have worried the little crab crackers worked a treat at opening up what lies beneath a crabs shell. However why I bothered I don’t know apart from the claws and legs the main body of the crab is quite frankly foul.

Thanks to the very honest waitress who’s comments of “You have to really want to eat the stuff they serve up here” and “All of the crab is edible it’s a case of what you want to eat” as well as “whoever first tried to eat a crab must have been very hungry” were spot on in my opinion.

Jo’s fish stew was in her own words “a few grey old bits o' fish in a bit o' sauce”

The rioja was nice though, but for a bill of over 50 quid I won’t be rushing back.

Bank Holiday Waves

On Friday afternoon I dashed out the office at 3.15pm, ducking under the glass partition where my boss was having a meeting and escaping into the delightful surroundings of East Croydon. I dashed to the station to catch a non-stop train to Brighton.

Arriving home, Jo had bags, surf boards and various other Paraphernalia that we always seem to require on trips away, piled up in the hall. A quick change of clothes the car loaded and we were on the road. Surprisingly for a bank holiday weekend the roads were clear and we arrived at our destination, Woolacombe, North Devon at around 9.30pm.

We checked into the Narracott Hotel a 2 star affair in the centre of town and very close to the beach. We were very hungry and the only place serving food was the 'Rumblin Tum' burger van. One deep fried hot dog later we were heading into The Red Barn for a pint. We supped our Hoegarden's and chatted about the clientele and soon felt sleepy enough to head back to our room. We snuggled up for a good nights rest.

The morning bought sunshine and lovely waves, we headed down to the beach for an early morning run before breakfast which we arrived at looking rather sweaty! We were hoping for a 'help yourself' style breakfast so we could fill up for the day but instead had to make do with fairly meager portions. We lazed about after breakfast before looking around the shops of Woolacombe and having a spot of lunch. After a dip in the paint fumed hotel swimming pool, we headed down for some surf in the afternoon, the waves were coming in fast and it was hard work getting out beyond the breakers. All in all a very satisfying day was rounded up with the 'all inclusive boil in the bag' dinner at the hotel and a bottle of wine in front of the telly. Apparently our room neigbours snored like troopers keeping Jo awake at night but that red wine helped me sleep through the lot.

Next morning, I felt lazy, very lazy I didn't go for a run with Jo and after breakfast suggested we went to Braunton for a shopping trip. Braunton is a lovely town, the largest in England apparently, we pottered round the shops and also looked at properties in Estate Agent windows. Back in Woolacombe we surfed again the waves a little more gentle this time. After dinner we went to the amusement arcade with a bucket full of small change that has accumulated in the bottom of Jo's handbag we had lots of fun and after plying one of those 'grab a soft toy' machines with about a tenner we whooped with delight when we won a cheap Dennis the Menace.

Monday was our last day so after a beach run and a surf at Saunton sands we headed back to Brighton.