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With two previous Berwick Kaler pantomime visits behind us we were determined to get tickets to this years pantomime at York Theatre Royal.  For more years than he perhaps cares to remember, Berwick Kaler has written and produced the show that has gone on to earn itself an enviable reputation across the country.  Highly recommended by The Gaurdian and said to be one of the top ten things to do at Christmas by The Times, the pantomime at York Theatre Royal is fast becoming a  tradition christmas highlight for us as well.

We booked our tickets for the Christmas Eve performance back in March this year. You have to book early to get good tickets – the last night always sells out within hours of going on sale.  We arrived a stroke before 7pm to have a pre show drink in the bar.  The place was packed and once again, it was very noticeable just how few children were actually there. Instead the vast majority of the audience were in their 30′s to 80′s and as we discovered from one chap highlighted by Berwick during the show, he had been returning every year for the last 28 years.

The usual mayhem and fun started and the next 2 1/2 hours quickly passed.  As this was our third visit, we are also now finding we understand a lot more of the in-jokes that litter the script.  With the same key actors every year, it is always funny to see them return to this pantomime, especially when you have seen them playing much more serious roles.  The last time we saw Suzy Cooper was in Harold Pinters The Homecoming; a thoroughly miserable play.

In the end, although it was not the best Berwick Kaler panto to date, we still had a great night and were especially pleased to see Berwick Kalers nephew Vincent Gray developing so nicely.  Great abs!

We look forward to returning in January when we will be taking Christine, Graham, Jessica and Marissa along with us for our second visit this year.

Extract from their press release

Humpty sat on a wall then had a fall.   Not much of a plot even by Kaler’s standards – or is it?

Let the team that brought you the acclaimed Dick Turpin stretch your imagination to Herculean proportions with a brand new hilarious version of this classic nursery rhyme.

Will the orphaned Humpty find a mother?   Can he protect the tiny Kingdom of Pantoloon from the evil Eggula? What happens when our Panto Heroes are forced to venture into the real world?

Booking for the panto event The Sunday Times consistently rates one of the top five attractions to see anywhere in the UK during the winter season.

Formerly the Khyber Fish Restaurant, and now renamed Hudsons Restaurant and Grill, we paid another visit to our favourite Fish and Chip Restaurant in Whitby.

With Paul, Tracy, Christine, Graham and the kids we had a very nice meal indeed.  The restaurant is still owned by the same family, the only thing that has changed is the name.  Apparently the name Khyber Restaurant left people thinking it was an Indian Restaurant.

Anyway, there is nothing quite like fresh coastal air to whip up an appetite for freshly cooked and nicely served Fish and Chips.  Unlike its counterpart, Magpie Cafe, in Whitby , the Khyber Fish Restaurant treats its customers with deference allowing for an un-rushed pleasant meal with plenty of space around you, while looking out across the spectacular harbour into the North Sea that provides an ever changing and interesting view.

We have now visited the Khyber Restaurant a several times now, the last time in August 2009, and have always enjoyed the freshly cooked fish and chips, which in our opinion and the opinion of many of our friends are far better than those served up in the Magpie Cafe.  Our recommendation is that you park up at the Old Abbey Car Park and walk down the 199 steps into the town, stroll through the Art shops, tea shops and curiosity shops passing over the bridge to then wander further down the harbour until you can go no further.  You will find the Khyber Restaurant up on your left.  After those steps and the bracing sea air I promise that you will be ready for a sit down and a good hearty North Yorkshire meal.

To top it off do try one of the deserts that will tempt you in the display to the left as you walk in.

Score: 3 Stars.

Tel: 01947 603500

We were joined by Christine, Graham, Jessica and Marissa for the weekend and as well as visiting the panto, we found ourselves going off to Bridlington late Saturday morning.  To say it was cold is an understatemnt. As we travelled across East Yorkshire passing through Wetwang, the temperatures dropped to minus three and the trees that lined the road were thick with white ice and putting on the most fantastic show of winter scenery.

We parked up at the harbour and walked up to the recently refurbished Spa ordering up hot chocolate drinks and sitting in the cafe that has views across the North Sea.  A little wandering about Bridlington followed before the obligtory fish and chip meal, after which we could take the cold no more and started the journey home.  Saturday was panto time and you can read our review here.

Sunday morning called for my preparing a traditional Sunday Lunch.  Before that though we all went for a walk into Dunnington and the kids had a great time playing in park.  Even Jessica and Marissa enjoyed themselves!

All in all we had a very nice weekend playing host to Christine, Graham, Jessica and Marissa.

We’re both thankfully back to normal now following our experience of the Norovirus over the last week.  Paul returned to work this morning having dropped his car off for the annual service and MOT and I take up another assignment later this week having finished my last one early December.

So with a reasonable holiday (especially for me and barring the bug!) we are both now firing on all cylinders again and looking forward to 2009.  So much so, we started to browse the holiday websites last night and are considering a long haul holiday around April/May time.  We’ll have to check the loose change bottle down the back of the sofa to see if it stretches as far as our likeness for five star treatment goes but will probably firm things up over the next week.

My new assignment is likely to have me spending time in London a few nights a week again, at least for the early part of the year, so expect the usual London restaurant reviews to start up once more!    In the mean time while catching up with emails etc I am going through the house top to bottom, with disinfectant, bleaching every surface and washing all our clothes and bedding with added Dettol to ensure no return of the so called winter vomiting bug.  Having checked the latest advice (read some here), we’re assurred we’ve now past the point of being infectious to others and look forward to welcoming Christine, Graham and the kids this weekend, where we are taking them to the local panto.

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

After having spent a couple of hours with Christine, Graham, Jessica and Marissa exploring the old Roman Baths, we stopped at the Pump Room Restaurant for afternoon tea.  The place was busy with tourists taking advantage of this splendid setting to rest their weary feet.  We ordered up afternoon tea of scones, jam, clotted cream and tea all of which was freshly served up by friendly attentive staff in crisp old fashioned waiting uniforms.  A very enjoyable hour quickly passed as we tucked into the extra (free) tea and scones they provided because we had a small wait at the beginning, while listening to the live orchestral music playing in the background. 

Score: 4 Stars. Visited May 2008

Telephone Number +44 (0) 1225 444477
Opening
Open 7 days a week: Winter (Oct 1st – March 31st) 09.30 – 16.30 Summer (April 1st – September 30th) 09.30 – 17.30 Times may vary