Well, know know me, never going to let a small thing like a global pandemic totally put paid to any birthday celebrations.. And luckily, my day managed to fall on the right side of the next lockdown, so grateful for all small mercies at this point!
Also pleased to have the Green Man pub not too far away – who have rebuilt their huge garden space with a bunch of outdoor cabins, replete with heaters recently. My how much cash they will make over the coming months as we all hunt the 'outdoors' while not freezing to death in the pursuit of some social encounters.. Cheers to the AV girls for venturing out to help me celebrate – dinner with coats on is SO the autumnal look.
Spookiest moment of the night definitely when I guessed what was in the ring-shaped surprise birthday wrap – bizarrely, something I'd never heard of until that very morning when a different friend entirely randomly happened to have mentioned the existence of said items. Anyway – enabled me to guess that my unexpected gift was indeed a plastic ring with clips, to attach my litter-picking bin bag too! Who said turning 52 isn't utterly glamorous??
Also managed to get away with Mr H for the night, to what was meant to have been his 55th birthday meal out, but ended up being mine due to the first lockdown in March. We found ourselves at the Fat Duck. Not entirely successful (you honestly would have thought they would have had a hugely imaginative and creative cocktail list, wouldn't you? But no – despite the ludicrous 54 page long drinks list, there were only 5 cocktails, 3 of which had fortified wine in them (blurgh) and the other two were booby trapped with bloody Amaretto and Black Cherry liqueur – WTF??). Almost derailed the evening entirely, which wasn't helped by – in all honesty – the FD feeling massively out of date in terms of innovation levels. The Generator c 1997 was way higher up the bright ideas ladder than the restaurant, sadly.
Note to self – if a place is having its 25th birthday, its either still amazing, or trading on former glories – and I know which camp the FD fell into. Still, it was a night away, if a bloody pricy one! But with a few fun bits thrown in to just about keep us happy. See below for crab ice cream, floating puffs of god knows what, the famous Heston snail porridge and Mr H listening to seagull squawking while poised by his beach-inspired 'sand' and 'foam' course …
And Mr H even made me a birthday cake, filled with Cadbury buttons, Twirls and various bits of the sweetshop… We still have one segment to go – brace, brace!
Given that lockdown looms again for us all now, I'm feeling quite lucky to i) still be well and ii) have had a little bit of nice stuff. Here's to us all staying safe & sane in the weeks and months to come.
Hands off my honeycomb..
S x