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Walking past our water fountain at the front of the house (difficult to avoid, but I tried) I could not put off cleaning this little feature any more. The work laptop and mobile phone firmly put away for the weekend, I rolled up my jeans and sleeves and got stuck in. Have you ever tried to empty a water fountain. 90 minutes later, wet and covered in varying degrees of green stuff, it was full and bubbling away again with bright sparkling water. My only hope is that I haven’t used too much water treatment, given our two cats Sooty and Tia can regularly be seen taking a drink from it.

The evening found us relaxing at our hotel in Bath after a very busy weekend, which started on Friday evening with us travelling down to Quedgley to stay at a local hotel near Walter and Mavis. Saturday was spent driving round the Cotswolds, visiting Burford (see earlier reviews), Bourton-on-the-water and ending with Dinner in Nailsworth. Check out the photograph gallery where we will put up all the pictures from the weekend.

Leaving the Egypt Mill, I could not resist getting Mavis to capture the two of us with a very big wooden bunny.

It’s nearly 8 months since we tied the knot and as many of our family and friends who read this know, we were saving up to buy ourselves a 12 seat dining room table for our home Garth View. All the contributions we were delighted to receive on the occasion of our Civil Partnership were put towards this once in a lifetime investment.

Visiting the ‘in-laws’ in Gloucestershire, we took the opportunity to go back to Burford where we ordered the table from Michael Ford and Paul C. Brown of Gateway Antiques, on Cheltenham Road, Burford Roundabout, Burford, OXON, OX18 4JA. We had visited them last year as we looked for a table that suited our taste, was built to last and of great quality. Over the 8 months since we checked out many other suppliers around the country but none never quite matched the one we had seen at Gateway Antiques. We’d met Paul C. Brown last time we visited and this time, we met Michael Ford, who spent a good deal of time patiently answering our questions after showing us around this fantastic showroom. We can’t wait to get the table delivered in the next eight weeks and will of course write up a full review then. Keep watching.

In the beginning God covered the earth with broccoli,
cauliflower and spinach, with green, yellow and red vegetables
of all kinds so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God’s bountiful gifts, Satan created Dairy Ice Cream
and Magnums. And Satan said, ‘You want hot fudge with that? And
Man said, ‘Yes!’ And Woman said, ‘I’ll have one too with
chocolate chips’. And lo they gained 10 pounds.

And God created the healthy yoghurt that woman might keep the
figure that man found so fair.

And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat and sugar
from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 12 to
size 14.

So God said, ‘Try my fresh green salad’. And Satan presented
Blue Cheese dressing and garlic croutons on the side. And Man
and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said ‘I have sent you healthy vegetables and olive oil
in which to cook them’.

And Satan brought forth deep fried coconut king prawns,
butter-dipped lobster chunks and chicken fried steak, so big it
needed its own platter, and Man’s cholesterol went through the roof.

Then God brought forth the potato; naturally low in fat and
brimming with potassium and good nutrition.

Then Satan peeled off the healthy skin and sliced the starchy
centre into chips and deep-fried them in animal fats adding
copious quantities of salt. And Man put on more pounds. God then
brought forth running shoes so that his Children might lose
those extra pounds.

And Satan came forth with a cable TV with remote control so Man
would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman
laughed and cried before the flickering light and started
wearing stretch jogging suits.

Then God gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories
and still satisfy his appetite.

And Satan created McDonalds and the 99p double cheeseburger.
Then Satan said ‘You want fries with that?’ and Man replied,
‘Yes, and super size ‘em’. And Satan said, ‘It is good.’ And Man
and Woman went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed ……… and created quadruple by-pass surgery.

And then ………… Satan chuckled and created the National
Health Service.*

**THE FINAL WORD ON NUTRITION*

After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here’s
the final word on nutrition and health.:

1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks
than us.
2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart
attacks than us.
4.. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer
fewer heart attacks than us.
5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and
suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
6. The French eat foie-gras, full fat cheese and drink red wine
and suffer fewer heart attacks than us

CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is
apparently what kills you.

Another week over, it was time to relax into the weekend. While Paul started with a little gardening, I headed off into York City Centre, looking to buy a couple of new suits for the upcoming summer. Having tried Jaeger, Boss, Robert Smart and a few others I gave up and returned home because nothing took my fancy. I will just have to head into Leeds on Sunday and check out Harvey Nicks I think.

Anyway the afternoon saw me rolling my sleeves up and shovelling a ton of muck (read soil improver) from the drive way where it had been dropped from the lorry, around to the back of the house where Paul was preparing a new part of the garden.

Feeling quite righteous after all that labour I think I deserve to open one of the decent bottles of wine delivered by Laithwaites earlier in the week.

Saturday started late having enjoyed a welcome lie in. We then headed off into the City, opting for the Park and Ride.

Wandering through the city we took a look in the Gild Hall (yes it’s spelt right) and found a local artist, Debbie March, was displaying some interesting pieces of glass work. Obviously in the mood for a bit of culture, not only did I take a photograph of the wonderful stained glass window, we placed an order for one of her more contemporary pieces.

Feeling a little peckish by this point, especially given we had just parted with a chunk of cash, we headed off for spot of lunch. We came across the Orgasmic Cafe Bar (see separate review) where we enjoyed a very pleasant hour and a half.

Wandering back through town, we took in the sights and sounds that York has to offer its tourists before heading back home.

Sunday was an altogether more physically strenuous day. I decided to help Paul in the garden and found myself weeding. Feeling ever more adventurous I even decided to try my hand at baking some scones and despite the lack of confidence from Marg in Australia who happened to phone just as I was having a little measuring crisis, they turned out very well indeed (always read the recipe twice over!).

With blisters and pains in places I didn’t know I had, we rounded off the evening with my cooking a very nice roast dinner and sipping a couple of beers as the sun set out the back of Garth View.

Monday continued to demand my physical prowess and I again helped Paul weed in the garden. This time,we tackled the fruit and vegetable garden and fought bravely with the little blighters that were threatening our soft fruit trees.

Of course all this work made for two hungry bunnies so I slipped away to get some gas for the BBQ and returned to cook our first ever BBQ at Garth View. With a decent bottle of white and a freshly cooked meal, we took a break from the arduous work that is gardening to enjoy a rest. By this time the sun was belting down and we enjoyed an hour or two soaking up the rays while watching the wildlife go about its business over the fields that lie behind our home.

Before wrapping up for the day though, I just needed to put one final coat of paint on a small garden bench. Canary Yellow, was not Paul’s first choice, but my stubborn nature resulted in it being chosen in the end. As you can see, it will certainly brighten up the corner of the house near the front door, where you can now sit and have breakfast on a Canary Yellow bench. Mind The Paint!