We’ve had a relaxed and convivial day here in Surrey – and feeling very fortunate too. Our main mission today was to celebrate the 14th birthday of Dawn’s nephew, Sam. Before hand I saw a message from my brother that his family’s Christmas has been kiboshed by the fact Bev – his wife- has tested positive for Covid this morning. Bev works in a school and has done throughout the pandemic, but right now staff are ‘dropping like flies’ as Dave described it.
So far we’ve been lucky – and we’re determined to keep it that way. However, seven of us did go out for a meal in Guildford to celebrate Sam’s birthday. Considering it’s Xmas eve which is normally a frantic day for last-minute shopping and catch-ups the town was remarkably subdued – as was the restaurant. We’ve eaten at Olivio before. It’s a lovely Italian restaurant based in a classic old building full of character where the staff are lovely and the food (which comes in huge portions) is delicious. Normally, this time of year Olivio would be booked out. As it was there were just two 1st floor tables taken for lunch, ours and another family group of 6. An awful situation for the restaurant but good for us as the kitchen staff had few people to focus upon.
The pair of us had eschewed breakfast in order to do justice to the portion sizes. Here’s what Dee and I shared…
We’re both fans of Calamari so this shared starter was right up our street. The Mayonnaise dip was mixed with garlic and the calamari is laced with herbs. The whole dish tastes divine as the Calamari is cooked perfectly.My main course was Buridda, the chef’s version of a classic Genoese fish casserole dish containing mussels, swordfish, tiger prawns, monkfish, potatoes, cooked in a delicate white wine, garlic, chilli and tomato sauce. The picture doesn’t really do the dish justice as the portion size and amount of fish it contains was excellent. Dee plumped for another fish dish. GUAZZETTO DI SALMONE contains salmon, prawns, potatoes, olives, capers, garlic, anchovies, tomato and aromatic herbs served with garlic crostini bread. – delicious and filling!
We’re now back in Tilford, chilling at Chateau Platt whilst preparing food and presents for tomorrow’s festivities. I hope you all have an equally relaxed and fun day, wherever you’re celebrating and whomever you’re celebrating with!
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My Surrey sojourn’s been an enjoyable couple of days. On Saturday the pair of us enjoyed a trip into Guildford for a spot of shopping, both window and real. The sheer number of independent retailers is far greater in the South than some northern cities, especially when it comes to clothing. That said, the bargains I picked up (some shirts) were from a national outlet. In the evening we adjorned to a pub in Frensham, near to where we’re based in Tilford. The Holly Bush is a roomy place with a large covered seating area outside, plus a big beer garden. The food menu isn’t extensive, but what they do supply is very good. On a recommendation we shared the fish platter. Huge King prawns, excellent squid rings and a delicious Mackerel pate came with bowls of Olives and sun-dried tomatoes plus crisp pitta bread and a sweet chilli dip. Feeling ambitious we also ordered one of our favourites (soft shell crab) which was on the small plate menu and served with mango. So, here’s today’s bonus picture – the Fish platter (which was more than enough for two people)…
Today we went to somewhere Dawn’s never been to before and that I’ve not visited for years, Box Hill in the Surrey Hills AONB. Needless to say (being a bank holiday) it was very busy with families making a day of it and enjoying the views and walks, or just getting together in groups to have picnics or barbecues. The atmosphere was lovely. As we’d taken Tilly, my brother-in-Law’s Cairn Terrier with us, we made lots of friends! Now, back at home we’re having a relaxed evening as tomorrow it will be time for me to return North again – which should be fun as it’s Bank Holiday Monday. No doubt a rolling blog will appear…
In the meantime, here the real picture of the day which is taken from the last batch of old slides I’ve been scanning. I took this shot at the flea market in Anjuna, Goa, India in December 1993. It’s a shot of one of the Tribal Women from Karnataka state who sell the most amazing embroidered, bejewelled and mirrored clothing. Their personal jewellery can be quite something too. In this case it was the woman’s colourful sari which really added to the scene.
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I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Excuse the lack of blogs these past few days but life’s been rather hectic and also unpredictable. We’re currently staying in a chalet outside Tilford in Surrey for a few days break and chance for Dawn and her parents to catch-up with Dee’s brother and his family. Covid had prevented us doing this for quite some time, so as you can imagine, there was a lot of catching up to do. The fact this co-incided with a minor sporting event and (amongst other things) has complicated the picture even more.
The four of us, plus Jet, our ageing moggie drove down here on Friday. Yep, the cat’s with us. When we go away for more than a couple of days we normally leave the old boy with Dawn’s folks. The fact they were coming with us left it a no-brainer – Jet could come too! Having a cantankerous cat with you on a long road trip could be problematic – especially a cat that’s never left Yorkshire in his (nearly) 20 years of life. But in reality he was a star – talk about ‘cool for cats’! He’s always been an inquisitive soul so he spent the much of the trip looking out over the top of his cat-basket, watching the world go by. He’s too old to start leaping around nowadays so we knew we could trust him. That said, Dee did buy a little harness and lead for him – which is the first time he’s ever worn such a contraption. There was no fussing and fighting, just a resigned look on his face as if he was saying ‘do I have to’? The harness was more so that if we had to hoik him out of the way of less relaxed animals (well, dogs really) when we stopped for a break on the motorway, we could do it with ease and didn’t have to worry about him doing a runner. We needn’t have worried. Other pet owners at Watford Gap were quite amused and also very good when they saw a cat on a lead and Jet took it all in his stride – not bad for an old boy!
Jet deciding that he didn’t need the services of his litter tray, despite a four hour drive…
When we arrived at the chalet he took a little time to settle. Not that he seemed stressed, more for the fact that it was all new and he was having a good sniff around. Now he’s settled in and if anything his appetite’s improved, not suffered. He still can’t work out why there’s no stairs to climb tho!
The chalet’s where we’re staying are busy but it’s a relaxed atmosphere. Right now I’m sat outside on the verandah, keeping one eye on the very stormy skies as the weather forecast’s predicted thunderstorms. The heaviness and stillness of the air along with the massive grey clouds makes makes me think one could arrive any moment. Today’s been a pretty relaxed day after the excitement and disappointment of watching last nights Euro2020 football final. the five of us watched it on Darren’s (Dawn’ brother) cinema sized TV screen at home, so we avoided some of the more excessive and effusive mpments you’d get from watching it in a pub. Sadly, the early lead evaporated and the match ended in the worst possible way – a penalty shoot-out in which England lost. Despite that, I feel the young England team have a good future ahead of them and the way so many people rallied around the black players who suffered such vile racist abuse on social media gave me hope – even if the fact they’re still receiving such abuse in 2021 makes me cringe – as did the behaviour of some of the England fans both in the stadium and in central London. Surely, as a country we can be better than this?
Away from football, one lovely thing to see again was cricket. Tilford boasts a village green that’s bounded on one side by the Barley Mow pub and by the Sir Edwin Lutyens designed (grade 2 listed) Tilford Institute on another. It’s so very English. Just be careful where you park or sit as incoming cricket balls have been know to pepper the pub, its drinkers – or their cars!
It’s delightful to be able to sit outside the pub and watch scenes like this again. This was Tilford Vs Hook on Saturday.
We’re here for a few more days yet and hoping that the weather will pick up. Whilst I’ve been writing this the thunderstorm arrived with a vengence, causing me to retreat indoors as laptops and torrential rain really don’t mix. I do enjoy a good thunderstorm so I wasn’t unhappy to see this one arrive.
I’ve had worse temporary offices…Dawn came the rain – accompanied by a fair few claps of thunder, but no lightning…
I’m also happy it’s turned up today and not on Tuesday as I have a media visit to an HS2 railway construction site tomorrow. I can’t give out details now, but expect a rolling blog from the days events, starting at silly o’ clock in the morning as I have to make my way from Surrey into London first. Travelling on South-Western Railway during what should be the early rush-hour should be instructive. Hopefully, this section of railway won’t be suffering from the flash-floods that have hit the lines out of Euston this evening. Our Victorian infrastructure certainly wasn’t designed to cope with the heavy rains that are a feature of global-warming. Thankfully, HS2 – our new railway spine – is.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
We’ve been up since 07:00 having breakfast and finishing packing up the chalet to begin the drive back to Yorkshire later today. This could be interesting as Dawn and her parents may have left a lot of presents behind, but they’ve gained a load too and now there’s me and my camera bag to fit into the vehicle! This could get cosy!
Fortunately, the weather’s looking OK. We’ve a mild but cloudy day to look forward to with no rain forecast anywhere on the 4 hour drive back to West Yorkshire – although as we’ll be stopping off on the way for coffee and lunch we’ll be on the road for longer than that. Let’s see how this goes…
10:00.
It all fits! Mind you, you should see what’s in with the rest of us in the passenger saloon…
So, it’s goodbye to the chalet that’s been our home for the past week.
Next stop, coffee with Darren & the kids in Farnham…
11:45.
Fuelled – up on coffee, pain au raison and having bid adieu to the Surrey branch of Dawn’s family it’s time to hit the road, thankful that we’ve dodged the elderly idiot in a Bentley who nealy caused a crash in the Waitrose car park! Well, it would be, wouldn’t it?
12:35.
We’ve just come off the M4 at Junction 13 to head cross-country on the A34. Apart from the ever-busy M4 the roads have been surprisingly quiet allowing us to make good time.
13:15.
Well, the A34’s lived down to expectations! Despite the general lack of HGV traffic on the roads this route is a main freight artery to/from the busy port of Southampton. Add in the fact Oxford’s saturated with cars and the A34’s the town’s by-pass we’ve now got snarled up in heavy traffic.
14:50.
We made it through the traffic before flitting along an equally congested M40 for one junction then headed up a less busy A43 to reach the M1 where traffic was heavy Southbound but reasonable (for the M1) heading North.
We’re now having a pit-stop at Watford Gap services. The busiest of the eateries here is the one I never use anyway – McDonald’s, where folk tap in their orders to touchscreens before queuing for their burgers. Whilst Dawn and her folks relaxed in the adjacent Costa coffee I went for a wander and took this shot looking North up the M1.
The M1 at Watford Gap. Surprisingly quiet.
19:06.
Home! The rest of the journey wasn’t bad at all. Traffic thinned out the further North we got and the only surprise was when we passed above the car parks of the Meadowhall Shopping Centre outside of Sheffield. They were absolutely rammed!
Leaving the M1 at Junction 35a we headed over to Huddersfield to drop off ‘the folks’ and their bags, then (considerably lighter) we drove cross-country back to home. Despite it being Saturday night, life in West Yorkshire seems quite subdued. Most of the restaurants and pubs we passed were mostly empty. Presumably people are hording what money they’ve got left from the Christmas excesses for New Year. I can’t say either of us are going to be painting the town red tonight either. The moggie needs some TLC and there’s plenty to sort out before year (and decade) end…
Today’s our final day in Surrey before heading back to Yorkshire tomorrow and it feels like the country’s starting to emerge from its festive hibernation. Trains have resumed running, the stock markets have re-opened and the shops have resumed their sales after having a less than merry Christmas. That said, you could tell that social media was still suffering from a slow news day. My timeline was full of folks outraged by a QC admitting he’d killed a fox with a baseball bat to protect his chickens whilst others were having an attack of the vapours because the “Gavin and Stacey” Xmas special on TV had used the original lyrics of the Pogues song which included the word “faggot”. Ho ho ho…
After a slow start due to the gloomy, overcast weather the four of us ventured into Farnham to collect some groceries and also check out some of the sales. The town’s not blessed with the panoply of outlets that nearby Guildford can boast of but it still has more than many. I managed to pick up a very nice long-sleeved polo shirt from ‘Fatface’ for £20, which was 50% cheaper than a few days ago. To be honest, I’d rather have piles than go shopping, but when needs must at least getting a bargain takes the sting out of things!
Despite the sales Farnham seemed fairly subdued. There certainly wasn’t the frenetic activity I’d seen just before Christmas when it seemed folks were stockpiling for the Zombie Apocalypse more than anything else (Firearms excepted, obviously). The busiest place we encountered was the nearby by-pass which had all the haste of a funeral cortege.
We’re now back at my brother-in-law’s after a quick visit to the local pub. The parents are dozing in the TV room, the kids are holed-up in their bedrooms playing on various electronic devices and I’m sat in front of the fire with the dog whilst typing this. Meanwhile, Dawn and Darren are busy in the kitchen preparing chicken chasseur. I’m on stand-by for washing-up and veg-peeling duties if needed but they seem to have everything under control.
It’s Christmas Eve and the Platt family and I have congregated in Surrey, where Darren, my brother-in-law lives with his family. As it’s Darren’s son Sam’s 12th birthday we’re all off to a Spanish restaurant in Guildford to celebrate.
Considering the time of year the weather’s surprisingly mild – if wet! The amount of flooded roads and sodden fields has dropped since we arrived a couple of days ago, but there’s more rain forecast, which could make the traditional Boxing Day stroll a bit of a challenge. You need wellies, not walking boots around here right now.
Even without the rain it’s a challenge to get around as Tilford is partially cut-off do to one of the two bridges over the river Wey that provides access to the village is closed for rebuilding. A temporary pedestrian bridge has been built to allow folk to get to vital services like the local pub, but for vehicles the detour adds miles to the journey. The bridge is expected to remain closed until late 2020, which is causing a lot of grief. I’ll add some pictures later when I get time.
Our Surrey sojourn ends today so the weather’s decided to change. We were greeted by clear skies and sunshine this morning although we were actually woken up by a bat! Somehow one of the little critters had got into the barn, waking Dawn up by crashing into a window blind as it flew up and down the room. I had to get up, open the door and wait for it to find its way out before deciding it wasn’t worth going back to bed and fired up the laptop to edit all the rail pictures I took in Guildford yesterday. The town’s a busy junction on the main line to Portsmouth. There’s two lines to London (one via Epsom) plus regular services to Reading, Redhill, Ascot and Haselmere as well as a daily Arriva Cross-Country service to/from Newcastle upon Tyne. Here’s a sample of what will appear on my Zenfolio website this evening.
450548 threads its way through the complex trackwork at the entrance to Guildford station yesterday
We’ll be driving back later this morning so I’ll write a rolling blog of the journey. Looking at the weather forecast it seems we’ll be leaving the sunshine behind in the South and heading into heavy rain back home, which means it might be an ‘interesting’ trip.
Before we left we had to pop in and say goodbye to someone. Regular readers of this blog will know that my sister-in-law Jo Platt lost her long battle with cancer last December. Jo’s buried in the churchyard in Tilford.
12.06
The good weather didn’t last. By the time we’d reached the M4 we were back in low cloud and rain. Soon we were engulfed in spray as we negotiated the roadworks for the few miles we were on the motorway.
The situation wasn’t much better on the Northbound A34. There’s a lot of water on the road. What there’s also a lot of is dead badgers. We saw over half a dozen on our way up the A34 and A43.
14.01.
We’re currently taking a break at Watford Gap services. The place is packed with cars and lorries on the Northbound side, plus this visitor which took me completely by surprise. Luckily, Dawn saw it arrive.
15.48.
We’ve just pulled off the M1 at jn 35a. It’s good to be off the motorway. It’s been very busy and the road conditions have put a strain on Dawn due to the heavy showers, spray and motorway muppets needed her full attention.
Looking at the lumpen skies we’re in for more heavy rain yet.
Well unless you’re back in Yorkshire and other parts of the North where it’s been snowing. Here in Surrey we’ve not seen any of the white stuff – just plenty of rain. Due to the weather we’ve had another relaxing day which kicked off with brunch in Farnham where the family were met by a friend and her sun for a leisurely brunch.
Afterwards we returned to Tilford where the local pub (the Barley Mow) was having an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force. The Farnham Brass band played in the beer garden whilst inside a variety of musicians, singers and dancers entertained in the warm and dry! I had to feel sorry for the brass band as the conditions were less than ideal. With Easter being late this year you would have hoped for better weather, but then – that’s bank holidays for you! Here’s a few pictures from the pub.
The fact the beer garden’s empty and the band are wrapped up warm gives the (weather) game away…
Good job ‘Singing in the Rain’ was part of the bands repertoire!
The weather may not have defeated the brass band but it certainly encouraged us to retreat into the warmth of the pub where we stayed to hear ‘The bunker girls‘ (who’d come all the way from the Isle of Wight) belt out a few old tunes.
‘The bunker girls’ belt out a few tunes…
We’re enjoying another foodie evening tonight as we’re off to a Thai restaurant in Guildford…
Greetings from soggy Surrey! Yesterday was a bit of a washout as the rain meant my camera stayed in its bag all day. Instead I had a relaxed day with my wife’s family doing nothing much at all – although I did manage to re-edit a few archive pictures, just to keep my hand in. I still have several hundred old pictures that used to be on my former Photopic site that I’ve not had chance to add to my new Zenfolio website. That said, I’m lucky, 99% of my pictures were backed-up on hard-drives so when Fotopic suddenly pulled the plug I didn’t lose out – unlike many people who hadn’t kept their pictures safe elsewhere. I still curse the people who destroyed the vast Photopic website. It was a rich social and historical archive with a worldwide base that’s been lost because they had no idea of its historical value. Here’s one of the pictures I was editing. Class 42 number 42-2718 (Luxembourg number 5519) at Eisenach, Germany in the early hours of a February morning in 2007.
Today we’ve been up early, preparing the evening meal before we join a group of friends for an amble around Tilford which (inevitably) will end up in a pub somewhere. I’ve been helping Dawn prepare this leg of lamb which will be slow roasted whilst we’re out..
I hope you and yours have an enjoyable Easter. I should be back later with a few more pictures…
SUNDAY UPDATE.
Despite the gloomy weather yesterday’s walk had a good turnout, especially amongst the younger members of the Tilford troop who had a wonderful day rushing headlong through all the massive puddles we encountered en-route. The fun they had in such innocent pleasures took me back to my own childhood. The rain stayed away right until we stopped for a break at a local pub (The Duke of Cambridge) then the drizzle arrived briefly, but cleared before we moved on to the final leg which took us back into the village. Here’s a few pictures from the walk.
Strolling along the banks of a very full River Wey
The depth of some of the puddles meant a snorkel would’ve been more useful than wellies…
A game for all the family…
Enjoying a post walk drink at the Barley Mow, Tilford.
Whilst we’d been out walking, the lamb had been cooking slowly for several hours. When we got home and checked the oven, this is what we found…
Cooked to perfection…
Dawn had prepared a two different desserts to finish off the evening. The Lemon Meringue pie proved especially popular and didn’t last long!
We’re spending the weekend with my partners brother and his family down in Tilford in Surrey. It’s one of those very pretty English villages loved by crime writers and airline adverts. There’s cricket on the green outside the local pub. How many hostelries are there when you can you sit outside facing the crease, supping a pint whilst keeping a wary eye out for the occasional errant cricket ball that careens off the pub like a cannonball? Another side of the green is bordered by a meandering stream where the kids go to splash & swim whilst their parents sit with picnics & prosecco. The old single track, stone arched bridge across it is guarded by a huge world war 2 concrete pillbox which would make a great location for ‘Dads Army’ – or a local branch HQ for UKIP. On the far side of the green is a lovely village hall which was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens (his ambitions didn’t stop with village halls as he later went on to design that jewel in the Empire’s crown & capital of the Raj: New Delhi). It’s all, terribly, terribly English!
Quintessentially English, cricket on the village green outside the local pub
Paul Bigland 