I drove home from work this evening and I actually thought I'd missed a season. I thought it must be January not September because it was very foggy, cold and just plain horrible. I don't like to go on about the weather because it's an English obsession. It's just there and there's nothing I can do to change it. But it was horrible. It feels a zillion miles away from the 28 degrees I was enjoying in Mallorca. Fog is such disgusting weather, serves no purpose other than to make everyone drive like nellies as if they're stuck to the road with chewing gum.
As I was plodding home, all I could think about was whether the salmon I'd bought last week would still be edible. I'd already decided that I didn't want to bother going to the supermarket on the way home. First day back and all, I am feeling slightly under the weather and I just want to be at home in the warm. I always know when I'm either stressed or unwell because I can't listen to the radio without channel hopping. It doesn't help that Chris Evans is on holiday (come back soon!) and much as I can usually listen to Richard Madelin, he wasn't himself this morning. His nervousness made me nervous for him which in turn made the show much less enjoyable than it should have been. I'm sure he'll settle down and get in the groove though in a day or so. My radio 2 listening has changed dramatically since good old Terry retired. Mr Evans is brilliant and so much better than he was on drivetime. Sadly, that has meant his replacement is so much worse. I really can't listen to Mayo on any day of the week. I find his show boring and it just doesn't flow properly. I'd much prefer Chris Tarrant. I love listening in the mornings and now have to channel hop in the evenings.
So back to tonight, I admit I was looking forward to two things. One, my salmon supper and two, watching either the final boot camp XFactor selection or a repeat of Downton Abbey, which was Sunday night's must-see period drama. My salmon supper cooked with the last few spoonfuls of one of the new M&S a terribly clever shallot, thyme and parsley sauces and topped off with some creme fraiche, was delicious accompanied by roasted butternut squash, swede, sweet potato and parsnip. It's so nice to be home at a reasonable time so I'm not cooking supper at 8:30pm. I had time to browse through the ever-so-ridiculous soaps on offer tonight. Nothing much changes in 3-4 months since I last bothered to watch one and what I saw briefly didn't persuade me to come back either. I settled down to a spot of Simon Cowell and his 108 hopefuls which is easy entertainment, saving the re-run of Downton Abbey for another night.
Last Friday I went to see Romeo in Magic Numbers, last night I saw a very different Romeo in Prokofiev's ballet performed by the Birmingham Royal Ballet. The lavish set was stunning, the ballet had me totally hooked and I was mesmerised for the whole of the performance. This ballet is unlike any other ballet that I've seen.
And I'm on my 4th night in front of a stage in 2 weeks! Tonight I was at the Jon Bon Jovi tribute band at the Bacon theatre, Cheltenham. Lisa booked the tickets and I must admit, I really don't know much Bon Jovi but I really shouldn't have worried. We were a small crowd with the biggest voices in town! Tony Pearce, the lead singer, makes a cracking double for the big star and his band is the only tribute band to have actually shared the stage and sung with Jovi himself and they're recognised by the man himself for being his best tribute band. I know why. Bon Jovi, aka Tony, and his band were brilliant. They were told recently by BBC Radio 1 DJ (currently absent and on holiday!) and TV personality, Chris Evans, that "They were the best tribute band he had ever seen and have also been asked to appear live on Chris's show. They're living the rock n roll dream!
Our lovely villa had the most amazing room which you could get to using a spiral staircase from the top lounge. It was like stepping back in time with shelves packed with old music cassettes, and old cassette player which worked, books, games and a chess set - more on that to follow! It wasn't a room we used much because we spent most of the time out on the terrace because even in the late evening, the temperature was still in the early/mid twenties. I called it the James Bond room because it looked as if could have been taken straight out of one of the 007 movies. Sadly, I didn't find Daniel Craig loitering there either.. and I did go back to check more than once.. ! What I did find though were the lizards.. which I grew to respect and although I wasn't keen on them being there when I was asleep at night, it was their home first and they do eat all the nasty bugs - hurrah to that!
With ivy-clad walls and a chocolate box village location, this pub already has a lot going for it. Give it a superb menu and great staff and it becomes the place for me and Liz to go for dinner tonight. It's a place I've wanted to go to for a while so my expectations were pretty high. The website looked great and the menu had sounded wonderful so I booked a table, picked Liz up from work and away we went. Liz started with bread & balsamic, pieces of which had been cut from the most enormous freshly baked loaf the size of an enormous breeze block. I ordered the prosciutto with peaches, rocket and parmesan whilst Liz had the bruschetta with roasted garlic and chopped tomatoes. Next came the duck breast on couscous and I had the lamb with wilted spinach and aubergine parmigiana - absolutely yummy! Both meals were delicious and I would have taken photos but Liz already calls me the food stalker! Next time hey.. I'll be back with my camera :)
I may be bias but I think that Mallorca has some of the most gorgeous coastline and scenery in the world. I knew I'd enjoy visiting this beautiful island and it has certainly lived up to my expectations. The choice of villa was of course a triumph. Sitting high up on the hillside amongst the olive groves, it was wonderful. Plenty of space both inside and out with stunning views across the valley over Soller, Fornalutx and behind us, the Tramuntana mountains. This area of Mallorca is peaceful, very traditional and the scenery is amazing. With temperatures in the mid 20s to early 30s, it was the perfect time to visit to chill... more pics coming soon :) x
You know when you get that feeling that everyone else thinks you're completely NUTS... but you really don't care! We took Mom's Innocent Smoothie Hat Creatures on their first photoshoot at Ruskin Mill. Of course, there's always one that doesn't want to conform.. Ellie! It was definitely a bonkers moment but it made us smile and was so much fun.
Ginger cheesecake; Butternut squash, sweet potato, coconut and ginger soup; and my Ginger Claire! The girl behind the counter says "Try something that you don't like 13 times and you'll like it!" That's 13 pieces of cheesecake for me then - ha ha! Whenever I go to Ruskin Mill for lunch I always feel kinda wholesome. It's veggie, tasty and eating alfresco always makes food taste better.
