The Pryordurkins

Posts Tagged ‘bristol’

We went along to see Born in the Garden starring Stephanie Cole and Simon Shepherd at the Cambridge Arts Theatre yesterday evening.  A play about Maud and her son Mo who live in a decaying mock Tudor house in Bristol.  She chats to people on the telly, he converses with the cat and both share a penchant for bizarre cocktails, tinned food and keeping the past alive. The theatre itself had quite a few empty seats in the Circle and the audience were predominantly older than the two of us and were of the ‘nose in the air’ variety.  Although the acting was good, especially by Stephanie Cole, we unfortunately found the play boring.  Peter Nichols wrote this in 1979 and it was described as hilarious on the advert outside the theatre.   We didn’t find it that funny despite trying with a couple of added G&T’s and brandies along the way.  There would be the occasional chuckle from Dusty but for me I just couldn’t get into it at all.  Sorry Stephanie; your agent needs to get you better scripts.

Rating. 2 Stars.

We’d had a long day touring Bath with Christine, Graham, Jessica and Marissa and were ready for a good evening meal that didn’t require too much walking back into town from the hotel we were staying at.  The Bombay Nights Nepalese and Indian Restaurant was on Lower Bristol Road, opposite our hotel, so seemed the perfect choice.  Our only slight concern was whether Jessica and Marissa who had never eaten this type of food before would be up for trying something new.

We arrived at around 8pm and were quickly seated by the smart and cheerful staff.  We went for a variety of traditional Indian dishes between us and for the kids, ordered up a mild korma which proved to be very popular indeed.  Without any problem, the kids wolfed it back with the plain boiled rice the accompanied it.  Drinks wise, Dusty , Graham and Christine went for Cobra, while I opted for a french house red, which was very drinkable indeed.  The only noticeable issue we had at the restaurant was the fire alarm kept going off at the start of the meal.  We were assured this was because of some over excited cooking that caused the smoke detectors to activate, but this was quickly resolved and never effected a very pleasant evening which was had by all.

The food was very well cooked with good attention to detail.  Good ingredients had clearly been used and the sauces were not too overpowering as to hide the meat or vegetable dishes served.  The window of this restaurant proudly displays a number of awards it has won and we agreed at the end of the night, that they were justified.

A great Indian restaurant with happy, friendly and professional staff.

Score: 3 Stars. Visited May 2008

Before heading home from Walter and Mavis’ we had booked Sunday Lunch at The Old Forge Inn, on Briston Road in Whitminster. Entering the bar we remembered we had been here once before for an evening meal. The walls are covered with boxes displaying those little spoons you can collect as a tourist. The bar was quite busy and we were quickly served our drinks. Sitting in the bay window we looked forward to a pleasant meal ahead. Our orders were taken after having read the plastic menus for both lunchtime and evening meals.
The Old Forge is a small pub and very cosy. It serves Uley Ales as a free house and the owner seems to be a cheerful chap accompanied by his ‘a little too helpful’ son. The table was nicely laid out with a clean crisp table cloth but let down with paper napkins. (I hate paper napkins)

The food was served quite quickly and we tucked in. The meals were fine and plentiful served with fresh vegetables. By far the best though, was Walters Ham, Egg and Chips. The Ham looked beautiful, hand carved and freshly cooked. Having to drive back, Dusty and I stuck to fruit juice and mineral water, while Walter and Mavis enjoyed a little tipple. It was their Wedding Anniversary after all and we toasted the event.

Let us know what you think..

Score: 2 Stars. Visited November 2007.

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