The Pryordurkins

The cavernous theatre that is the Apollo Victoria was the setting for our Saturday night’s entertainment.  Spending the weekend in London we had booked up to see Wicked, the musical and took our seats just after 7.15pm having finished dinner just over the road at Il Post, a great little Italian restaurant for those in the know!

Just before the show started, there was the usual announcement that no photography or video would be allowed.  The show then started and as is usual, a few people who you just want to ask ‘what part of don’t take photographs don’t you understand?’ started snapping away.  The response was swift.  A couple in front of us who had started to take a video using their mobile phone were set upon by the ushers who insisted they delete the images they had taken.  I was delighted to see this rule being enforced so well.  A couple of flashes elsewhere in the auditorium seemed to get the same swift response.

Anyway, the show itself was not quite what we expected and while the majority of the audience were enjoying it, I found it did not quite hit the spot for me or Paul.  The storyline was clever and there were some very funny moments, but with quite a few of the musical numbers, it was actually difficult to hear the vocals, so my interest waned.  What was impressive for me, was the lighting, the set design and the way it changed between scenes.  All very clever and artistic indeed.

Anyway, the show ended a little after 10.15pm and while it was fun and entertaining, we were not blown away by it.

Pryordurkin rating 3 stars.

On Saturday, we went along to Chelsea Flower Show in London with our friends Steve and Russell.  We arrived at around 10am having walked from the Crowne Plaza hotel on Buckingham Gate where we were all staying for the weekend.  Entering through the gates, the memories of my last visit came flooding back.  With the sun shining and it being the last day of this particular RHS flower show the crowds were out in force.

One of the best things about the Chelsea Flower Show is that no babes in arms or children under five are allowed.  As a result you were hard pushed to find anyone under thirty years of age.  We spent the next couple of hours walking round the site, getting acquainted with the layout, taking in the show gardens and smelling the flowers in the main pavillions.

At 12 noon, because we had previously booked a table in the Rock Bank Restaurant, we took our seats for a three course lunch and bottle of champagne.  We were overlooking the main avenue and were quite close to the BBC broadcasting stand so had a great position for people watching throughout our meal.

Having finished up, the afternoon lay ahead with many more show gardens to visit.

It had started to cool down around 3pm when we took a break in the picnic area for a glass of Pimms or two!

We left the show just before the final day sale of exhibits started at 4pm.

Having planned a weekend in London with our friends Steve and Russell, we dined at Skylon Restaurant in the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank in London on Friday night.  With views across the River Thames our table right next to the window was the perfect setting for what turned out to be the perfect evening.  To add to the experience, the people watchers amongst us could also look down onto the bar area below where a busy crowd were enjoying a sunny Friday evening drink.

We got into the spirit of things so to speak by having cocktails while we chose from the elegant menu.  Having chosen the three course menu for £43.50 we were pleased to  start off with a complimentary amuse bouche which was great at waking the old taste buds.

What followed were our three courses all inter dispersed with additional complimentary amuse bouche’ I’d opted for the asparagus and blue cheese tartlet for starter and it was Divine.  For my main, I had the baby chicken with fois gras and accompanied by what could only be described as perfect mashed potato, I was very happy indeed.  The Cloudy Bay Chardonnay we chose to accompany the meal set the flavours off a treat. Paul’s Sea Bass was he tells me excellent indeed.  He certainly seemed to be enjoying it as much as Steve and Russell were enjoying their mains as well. Deserts were equally good; Steve opting to sample a number of desert wines instead.

The restaurant is split into three areas, one for extended dining, a bar area in the middle and a grill at the far end.  The atmosphere was warm and friendly and the service provided, second to none.

We all agreed that it was a very good restaurant and would surely return.  The total bill coming to just over £360, might seem excessive, but as an occasional treat it was definitely worth it and given it included all our drinks as well, excellent value indeed.

Pryordurkin rating 4.5 stars.

Paul rang me tonight while I was in my hotel to say there had been an explosion of soil in the conservatory during the day.   Almost before he had finished the sentence he changed this to bird poo which was apparently everywhere; on the glass windows, up the wall and on the carpet.

Then Paul heard a cheep.  There was a swallow sat on the curtain rail in the dining room looking down at him.  He noticed at this point the bird poo had extended to the dining room floor, across the freshly laundered shirts that were airing and into the lounge, where he saw our two cats fast asleep on the back of the chair near the window (their favourite spot).

Much shrieking later, the bird was gone having flown out of the patio doors which Paul opened ahead of prodding the swallow (encouragement style) with the end of a mop.

As I hung up the Skype call where Paul had shown me the carnage, I returned to watching the TV in my hotel room, safe in the knowledge that Paul was now cleaning the house!  Paul then rang to say there was poo in the kitchen as well, across the coffee machine, the water cooler and up the window.

The cats must have brought the bird in early on in the day and since then it has been flying around the ground floor, crapping everywhere.  He is not happy and neither am I.

I won’t be surprised to find when I get home, that we no longer have two cats!

The Pryordurkin effect paid me a visit today while I was washing up some dishes after lunch.   I remember I had put my phone on the kitchen window so it was nearby, as I was expecting several calls.  After I had lifted the dishes out, I went to pick up the tea towel which for some reason I had laid on top of the phone.

Plop.

I watched in slow motion, my telephone sinking to the bottom of the sink, which was full of dirty greasy water, fairy washing up liquid and just a dash of bleach.  I should add the water was also scalding hot, so retrieving said phone was not the greatest fun either.

Having finally scooped the phone out I could see the screen slowly fading away.  I immediately took the battery out and left it to dry.

Despite several hours drying later, I am sad to say my trusted friend has suffered serious brain (chip) damage.  The only thing to do, is put her to sleep.

I then sheepishly rang Orange and explained the evil nature of the Pryordurkin effect.  Thankfully, they have now arranged to courier a replacement phone to my place of work tomorrow.

Continuing the current trend where we visit stately homes on a Sunday, we travelled half an hour away from our home to Sledmere House near Driffield in East Yorkshire.  Home to Sir Tatton Sykes, this is still a family home, that happens to be open to the public for six months of the year.  Sam was the first to mention this place and then others confirmed its popularity, especially the tea room which seems to have a very good reputation.

We arrived at little after noon and were surprised by just how many cars had parked up full of people visiting this place, even though it was holding its fourth annual garden show.  We ventured into the parks having paid our £5 entrance fee each and the first place we headed to was the walled garden.  Looking at the rose plants in particular, it will certainly be worth re-visiting when they start to flower.  After the walled garden, we wandered around the stalls and tents that made up the garden show.  To be fair, it wasn’t quite what we expected.  More a plant car boot sale, than a garden show, but it seemed popular.  The grounds were very nice though, as is usual for stately homes of this size. 

We then took a look around the house itself and the library on the first floor was by far the most impressive room.  The family also seemed to have a likeness for organs; I spotted three and before we left, one was being played by an elderly chap.  Church music more than anything else, which was a bit strange in a house, but hey!

As we headed back to the car, we took a little look in the tea room, but the queue of people waiting to get in, put us off, so we didn’t actually try anything on offer (We don’t do waiting or queueing very well).

Well worth a trip (remember they are closed on Saturdays except Bank Holiday weekends) and unlike Sutton Park Stately Home, this place seems to welcome families who want to picnic.  We spotted quite a few enjoying the grounds.

Pryordurkin rating. 3 stars.

Paul started out this morning by visiting a new hair stylist in York where he had a new cut and some colour put in.  (I’ll put the picture up soon!)  By the time he got home I had finished breakfast and was out of bed and showered by 11am.  We both went back into the city for a spot of lunch at 1331, which continues to be consistently good. After a little shopping at Molton Brown and Barnitts, we got home around 4.30 and have now started to prepare for this evenings Eurovision Song Contest coming from Moscow.

We’re expecting the usual camp fest of music and with Graham Norton stepping into Sir Terry Wogan’s shoes as main presenter for the BBC, it will be interesting to see how entertaining he makes it.  (I’m suspecting it won’t be as funny).

Anyway, have a great evening yourselves and here is betting the voting results are just as predictables as ever.

It’s been a reasonably busy week for the two us and, for me, while working at home today, I took a few hours out to attend a Wellbeing Assessment at Nuffield Hospital in York.  I’d booked the two of us into this human form of an MOT some time ago and the appointments had finally come round.

It was an all together interesting experience and while I still await some results having given blood which gets sent off for testing, there were no particular surprises to come out from the day.  Eat less, reduce the alcohol intake and take more exercise.

The hospital itself was very nice, professional and friendly.  The assesment was relaxed and informative.  The staff clearly adept and knowledgeable.  Quite good fun really.

I’m not entirely sure what the very cute physiologist did for my blood pressure though.  He only said it was normal.

Anyway, the weekend lies ahead and despite the forecast rain, we plan to visit Sledmere House near Driffield in East Yorkshire on Sunday where they are holding their fourth annual garden show.

The picnic basket might just get its first outing.  Come back soon to see how it went.

We went along to our first comedy night at York Theatre Royal last night.  We’d seen the adverts for this series of one off nights throughout the year, some time ago but the last time we tried to book seats they had all sold out.  It seems that this series of one offs throughout the year has quite a following, so of course, we were interested in checking it out for ourselves.

As we arrived around 7pm to have a pre-show drink in the bar, we immediately noticed a more younger crowd than usual.

The show kicked off with Tom Price as the compère and as the night wore on, he warmed up the audience nicely.  The first few minutes were a bit laboured, but the more audience interaction he got, the more opportunity he had to display his quick wit and banter.  The first two acts up were Pierre Hollins and Mr Dan Evans who certainly entertained the crowd before for the headliner, Terry Alderton came on stage.  Terry is an Essex chap born in 1971 and has been doing the circuit for a number of years judging by the comments and reviews I found on Google.  From the minute he walked on stage, we were hooked.  He was certainly different. We thought he was really entertaining, very good fun, quick witted, articulate and topical.  The way in which he opened his act by weaving in observations he had clearly made of the audience during the previous two acts was clever indeed.  I was especially impressed with his ’split personality’ piece where throughout his set, he would turn his back to audience and have a conversation with himself.  Listening carefully, it was intelligent, fast and very funny.

Once again, a great night at York Theatre Royal.  We’ll certainly be booking up for next comedy night on the 15th June.

Pryordurkin rating. 4 stars.

After following their website closely, waiting for new stock to arrive, I today finally placed an order for the John Lewis Picnic Hamper we had set our minds on.

Picturing long lazy summer evenings lying on ‘outdoor blankey’ while listening to classical music in the grounds of a stately home was the primary driving force behind this decision.

So to is our ambition to have a picnic on the side of a busy road, with foldaway deck chairs, a pot of tea and a slice of battenburg cake.  (Sam – we’ll be sending you the pictures!)

John Lewis have promised 1 day delivery so it could well be used for the first time, this coming weekend!

Pimms anyone?