March Came and Went.

 So March started in the same way as February,  with the 1st seeing the pair of us on a train to London.

 This time we were having a day out together. I wanted to combine a few things; visiting a particular pub (but more on that later), showing Himself the Herd of Hope at Spitalfields, and taking him for lunch at Eataly as he is a big fan of Italian food.

So similarly, we caught the tube to Picadilly Circus but this time we both visited The Lego Store to see what was new.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day so we decided to walk to Spitalfields but this time via the river for as long as possible until we had to cut inland. 

By the time we got to Eataly we were more than ready for lunch. 

The concept is an Italian restaurant on the top floor and an Italian supermarket and food court on the ground floor, with the food court consisting of different counters selling freshly made pizza, pasta, and desserts. We plumped for the food court and the fresh pasta. Himself went for the bolognaise and I tried the day’s special, mushroom filled pasta with a cheese sauce.

I like the concept, I didn’t like the price so much, even with it being central London it seemed steep for what it was and sadly for that steep price my pasta was very bland. I think it would have benefited from a rich tomato sauce rather than cheese and this from the queen of cheese! So we left disappointed and I wouldn’t hurry back.

 

At least the elephants were as charming as the last time, and we enjoyed wandering round in the sunshine to spot them all. We also browsed the market where I bought a little felted tiger and a quirky postcard, and Himself somehow managed to resist the siren call of a garish 80’s style shirt.

 

We decided it was time for a drink so caught the tube to Oxford Circus and walked to Fitzrovia in search of The Ship pub, there is a story here…

 

So, a couple of years ago Himself was up in London with a friend and they found this pub full of nautical memorabilia and Himself knew this was just my kind of place me being a fan of all things pirate. He has tried to take me there since but has never been able to find it again! (much beer may have been taken on the first visit.)

Cut to me watching the latest series of Uncanny on BBC1 and Danny Robins doing various exterior shots outside a pub called ‘The Ship’ with a fab pirate ship sign, then stepping into a lovely wooden interior to meet with his expert guests to discuss the happenings in that episode. 

Could this be the mysterious pirate pub?? We googled it and it was in Fitzrovia! which is the right part of London, so we decided to check it out.

 

Reader it was not the pirate pub.

Nor was it the gorgeous wood lined interior of the TV show; they clearly filmed that somewhere else!

 

It was absolutely tiny, one of those street corner pubs that is no bigger than your Nan’s front room. Disappointed we managed to snag a table as someone left. There was sign for an upstairs space, so I checked that out when I nipped to the toilet, but it was equally as small up there, as was the toilet, which was looked like it hadn’t been refurbished, or had more than a cursory clean, since the 1970’s. 

I will say no more than that. We downed our drinks and left feeling somewhat disheartened.

We debated finding somewhere else to have a drink but, in the end, decided to catch the train home and get something to eat and drink there. All in all, a pretty disappointing day.

Very randomly everywhere we went in London we kept seeing groups of scouts, to the point that we actually started to note their different polo shirts and badges to see where they were from, it was literally the whole of the UK. We wondered if there was a jamboree on, but on checking google it turned out to be a Monopoly board treasure hunt. A very cool idea. Basically, they had to dash around as many of the locations you find on the Monopoly board in one day as they could, which seems a pretty fun but tiring way to see London!

 

Anyway, for us not the most successful of days out and the hunt for the mysterious pirate pub will continue. If it exists and is not a figment of Himself’s beer imagination….

 

The following Saturday 8th I was up early and on the train to Oxford before catching the bus to Soo’s house. We drove to pick up Melissa before heading to Burford for the day. 

We started with a browse round the huge garden centre, which is lovely but stupidly expensive. £2000 for a garish ceramic bowl with lobsters on it anyone??

We had a great time doing a mixture of if money were no object what would I buy and How Much??? before heading into Burford itself to find somewhere for lunch.

After lunch we mooched the shops before stopping for tea and cake and finally headed back to the car replete. I bought a box of local eggs of all random sizes and colours from one of those little honesty stands at the end of someone’s drive. They made a very delicious breakfast the next day before we were out for a family Sunday roast at a pub halfway between Mum’s house and ours.

One of my cousins from Germany was due to be visiting my Mum with his wife and daughter which was why the lunch was booked, but unfortunately, they had to cancel. Instead of cancelling the table Mum invited my nephew and his partner. We had a delicious roast dinner and then my brother drove us back to Mum’s where we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging about full of food.

 

I had also booked the following Tuesday and Wednesday off work to show the German contingent (as my mother calls them) around Oxford. So instead, Mum and I had a day out on Tuesday. We ended up going to 2 different garden centres and the huge Lidl at Wallingford  - we know how to live! 

The Wednesday was spent pottering at home. 

 

The following weekend was about getting some fresh air and seeing some nature. 

I have always loved being in nature but when Himself was recuperating from his surgery and I didn’t get out there for several weeks I really missed it, I also really noticed the detrimental effect it had on me. It wasn’t the best of weather, but we had a couple of long walks, and it was lovely to see the signs of Spring in the air.

 

Thursday the 20th we went to see the comedian Richard Herring in Reading. He is doing a live tour for his book ‘Can I have my Ball Back?’ which is about his experience with testicular cancer. 

Himself has long been a fan of Richard Herring and we have seen him live many times over the years, but this tour was very pertinent given his own all too recent experience. He had leant me the book to read shortly after his surgery and it lead to a good conversation after I had finished which was so helpful to me as I was able to better understand why he was saying and doing some of the things he was. 

The weekend was all about walking and enjoying the burgeoning Spring. We saw our first lamb of the year and a sun halo.

I’m trying to get my stamina back up prior to our holiday in May which has some heavy-duty walks planned into it. 

I need to get back to walking over 10 miles with ease and not feeling completely knackered after just 5!

 

Friday the 28th we were out in Oxford with friends. We spent the evening in Jericho, starting in The Bookbinders to eat and finishing in The Harcourt Arms. It was a long overdue catch up but I couldn't stay too late as I was working the next day. That involved taking a bunch of students with a offer to join our matsers programme on a bus trip around Oxford followed by a boat trip on the Thames with fish and chips provided by a local chippy. It was a fun trip though chilly, I also took the opportunity to nip round some of the shops in the city centre before and after as I don't go into Oxford that often these day.   

I wore my new All About Audrey green shirt

(not me in the picture, mine is currently in the laundry basket waiting to be washed!)

 I have dithered for a while over the shirt or dress in this design and dithered some more over the price. Then theyy had a sale with 40% off the shirts so I ended up buying it in green and orange! I've worn the green one a lot but not the orange one yet which is interesting. Maybe thatone feels a bit more summery? 

Anyway that was March and now it's May and I haven't even written April. The question is Will I ever catch up??