Moving on

We Spent a couple of weeks in Spain, early in December before returning home on the 19^th.  Because of this we’d used postal votes in the election for what good they eventually did.

I may well reflect on the election result and what that may mean later.

This year, we stayed at home to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with family and friends. It is the first time in many a year that we have been home at that time of year. But, it was very enjoyable.

We spent Christmas Day ay Betony and Josh’s.  I think that I believed Betony’s invite to be along the lines of ‘come along and I’ll do Christmas dinner’ but I was mistaken. I spent a fair bit of Christmas Eve doing food preparation for the day (making soup, cooking ham, peeling vegetables, preparing stuffing etc.) and then Sharon went along on the day to ‘help’ do the cooking.  The meal was great, the company was great and it was a pleasure to be cooked for on the day.

Following that, we went up to Carol’s on Boxing Day to join her and Mick for what turned out to be a meal. Others had been invited too, but apart from Joanne and family, they had been and gone by the time we got there.  So, we all played cards with Florence, while Carol and Joanne finished off in the kitchen.  Another really enjoyable day.

On the 28^th, we went up to Emma’s for tea. We took Chester with us too as Betony was a bit poorly and tired (she’s pregnant too).  It was great to see the girls again. We’d been up at the beginning of December for Amy’s birthday but that was a school night, so we didn’t see much of them. Today’s meal was great too, two kinds of pork from the local butcher’s https://www.jbrindonaddy.co.uk/ – Thank you Emma, another lovely day.

For several years prior to us wintering in Spain, Sharon and I had alternated New Year’s Eves entertaining or being entertained by Tony and Gill.  Having decided to spend late December in the U.K. this year we were able to recommence this arrangement. We invited David and Gail to join us and a jolly time was had by all.  We had –

Parsnip and Ginger Soup;

Cod wrapped in Serrano Ham, baked and served with mustard sauce;

Carrillada with creamed potatoes and broccoli,

Chocolate Pudding and…

Cheese.

We arrived in Spain late on the 3^rd January 2020 and I’ll pick up the story now, over on the holiday weblog.

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Almost two months

It’s now early February and I’m nearing the end of my sixty fifth birthday celebrations. After the UK celebrations, I decided I would spend two months in Spain. That time is almost up.

It’s been a fabulous stay, with friends popping in from time to time and a break (a big break) from the UK winter weather.

Following the celebrations at home, we set off on 12^th December to stay in the Premier Inn at Heald Green, close to Manchester Airport. We arrived here in Torreblanca on the 13^th https://dsugdenholidays.wordpress.com/2016/12/21/winter-201617/ and spent the Christmas and New Year period on our own, mainly just Sharon and me. Early on, she took me for a great day out in Malaga, on a food tour https://saturdaywalks.wordpress.com/2016/12/24/malaga-food-tour/ . See also: http://devourmalagafoodtours.com/

We also went for lots of walks. For example: up and down the hill lots of times; to and from Fuengirola, Los Boliches or Torreblanca (quite often!). We also caught the train to Torremolinos and walked back to Benalmadena a couple of times.

I’ve written elsewhere about our walks up and around the hills behind the apartment for exploration. See:

• https://dsugdenholidays.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/sage-rosemary-and-thyme/
• https://saturdaywalks.wordpress.com/round-trip-passing-cortijo-alegria/
• https://saturdaywalks.wordpress.com/restaurante-montemare-to-mijas/

Michelle came up from Gibraltar one day before Christmas and we took her up to Mijas before deciding it was too cold up there and coming back down to Los Boliches and eating in Mason Salvador. She came up to see us again early in the New Year and we took her for a day out in Malaga. As in all the subsequent visits (with JT, DT and Tony, as well as with Martin and Lin), we visited the marina, the castle (Castillo de Gibralfaro) and the city itself, sampling some of the places Sharon and I had enjoyed on the food tour.

Sharon had to return to the UK for a couple of weeks on 12^th January and while she was away, friends came over and stayed with me.

John (JT) came out to visit first and we went more or less straight down to Gibraltar to see Michelle (his daughter) and we spent the day there with friends and shopping. Michelle cooked a delightful Pork Fillet Wellington for dinner – splendid.  John’s brother David (DT) came out on the Sunday to stay in 916 and Tony (TT) flew in on the Tuesday; so, there was quite a crossover of friends whilst Sharon was back in the UK. We ‘did’ Malaga again and walked up to Mijas (twice, once with JT and Dt and again then, with TT – we also walked back – which nearly broke me J )

Most evenings we ate out, but one rainy evening, the weather was so bad that we decided to come straight back and ‘eat in’. This was probably the best meal of their stay; we had all sorts of food, DT cooked steak, I cooked Tortilla and we emptied our fridges of other cold foods and salads (and beer).

Sharon arrived back the same day that Lin and Martin arrived to stay with us for a week. During that week, we had trips to Mijas, to Malaga and to Gibraltar where Michelle, again did us proud. She drove us onto The Rock and gave us a magnificent tour, showing us viewing points and time to see the marching re-enactment of the ceremony of the keys. http://www.visitgibraltar.gi/event/re-enactment-association-saturday-march/187. We had a late lunch in La Linea before setting off back before it was too dark.

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So that’s it. All visitors arrived home safely and we depart on Sunday.  Back again soon.

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Hellifield – Dinner

Readers of earlier posts [-1-] and [-2-], may remember that my birthday weekend had so far been a series of surprises – each one topping the other.  My previous post had seen me reeling from the arrival of invited (but unexpected by me) guests Tony and Gill. I’d left the post promising to detail the food that was served up by Sharon after a long, hard afternoon in the kitchen.

After celebrating with a glass of fizz, we sat down to:

Gnocci

Served with roast cherry tomatoes, blue cheese and rocket topped with a sweet pepper sauce.

Sharon had made the gnocci and the sweet pepper sauce during the afternoon, so I knew we were having roast peppers at some stage because the delicious smell peculated throughout the room I was in. This was followed by:

Seared Tuna Steak

Served with lemon and coriander couscous, samphire and garlic butter.

Fresh Tuna cooked in garlic butter is one of our favourite meals, so this was a delight. All the flavours were balanced nicely and the steak was not too big for its role in the meal.

Pan-fried Leek & Ginger stuffed Chicken Suprême

Served in a white wine sauce, with sweet potato, feta cheese and a crispy sesame seed savoy cabbage.

Sadly up to and including this point we had taken no photographs of the food. We were too busy enjoying the experience, the company and the wine, which Tony had very kindly brought along with him. We next had a choice of ‘cheese first’ or ‘pudding first’. Tony and I had cheese, the ladies had pudding – which was again, magnificent:

Garden Berry and white chocolate Cheesecake and cream

This was based on the mixed berries we had picked at home and made into jam.

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

And that, apart from a few petit four type nibbles she’d bought in, was Sharon done for the night. The meal, the company and the day had been a great success and something I will remember as a birthday treat for a long, long time.

In the next post I will wrap up Hellifield and move on to my final day of surprises – Sunday 8th December. b.t.w. I lied about the pics. …..

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Hellifield re-visited

Readers may remember that I left the food content of my previous post for another time. This is that time. Whether I get to the Sunday events will depend on how lyrical I wax about the food 😉

Readers should also be aware that at home – I cook.

When I don’t feel like cooking or am too busy it’s usually a case of “Sharon, are we having pizza tonight?” because I know she likes cooking pizza and I know that she doesn’t find it too much of a chore. I usually step up to the plate and concoct a salad from whatever we have in the fridge. Meal sorted!

But I also know that SHE CAN COOK. She can cook very tasty food, and this weekend she did just that.

Before settling into the delightful apartment we unpacked the many bags and cool boxes Sharon had surreptitiously packed into the car and from that moment I was ‘sort of’ banned from the kitchen. Which was a good thing really because I was knackered after carrying all those bags AND our luggage (I’d been told to ‘bring smart clothes for two evening meals, casual clothes, your walking clothes AND anything else you think you might want‘ !!) up the many flights of stairs. So I relaxed into my iPad Kindle App and a bottle of beer.

Friday’s evening meal was that American classic: Burger and chips. Sharon had made and seasoned her own burgers and cooked Cajun style potato wedges to go on a toasted slice of Handmade Bakery ‘sleepless white’ with rocket leaves and a soured cream quenelle. A quenelle FFS! She’s been watching too much Masterchef that girl 🙂

Saturday breakfast (my birthday) was a magnificent triumph over adversity. I was served up Eggs Benedict. They were delicious, despite the fact that the hollandaise sauce had had to be made with a fork! Hollandaise, made with a fork was something I’d never seen before. Although Sharon had sneaked my knives (a canvas wallet of various tools I always take on non-flight holidays and weekend breaks) in with her – she hadn’t noticed the whisk 😉 Nevertheless – breakfast was a delight and took both of us back to New Orleans where we’d first enjoyed this dish together.

Hellifield Peel Castle Staircase.

After our trip out to Settle, I was told to relax with the paper, the Kindle and/or whatever I liked until dinner was ready – but ‘keep out of the kitchen‘. So I had a long luxurious bath (in this aprtment’s HUGE tub) and lounged around the main room in my (provided) bathrobe. I thought it would be nice to eat dinner in my bathrobe too, as it appeared (because of all the banging and whirring and delightful smells from the kitchen) that we were not going out.

Good music, good relaxing atmosphere and absolutely nothing for me to do. Bliss.

Then I was asked if I was dressing for dinner.  Well I’d thought not, I was perfectly happy as I was. But I had apparently thought wrong: ‘If I’m going to all this trouble etc. etc.‘ – so off I sheepishly went to change. I’d half a mind to just go back and sit naked at the table but then (luckily) I thought better of that.

I returned, less than ten minutes later to find our friends Tony and Gill sat at the table waiting for dinner too.

I was bowled over – THAT was another surprise!! They’d been part of the weekend’s subterfuge which Sharon was orchestrating exceptionally well. So far I’d had a secret trip to Ilkley; was enjoying a secret weekend in a luxury apartment at Hellifield Castle; had food created for Friday dinner and Saturday breakfast by a secretly competent chef and a trip to Settle at lunchtime. NOW I had this other (not yet final) surprise of dinner guests – and a dinner yet to be served. What a cracking birthday I was having.

I will detail dinner next time 🙂

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Marrick Priory

This week’s walk took place in and around Reeth in North Yorkshire. Both Sharon and I enjoy the time we spend in Reeth and have visited the town on many occasions.

We were there for my ‘rearranged’ birthday weekend, originally planned for early December. We’d not been able to get to North Yorkshire at the time because of the bad weather. Snow had prevented us from leaving Wellhouse, and even if we could have got out, it was doubtful if we could have made it into Reeth itself as the weather was even worse up there. Furthermore, the keys for the cottage hadn’t arrived until the Monday after we were due to return because post at that time was somewhat erratic.

Anyway, as previously arranged Tony and Gill were with us and the walking was great.

We all walked together as far as the moor above Marrick and then as they set off north to walk along Fremington Edge we turned right and headed down towards Marrick and then Marrick Priory, down by the river.

It wasn’t the longest walk we’ve ever done but just as pleasant as any – as they always are in this beautiful part of the world. We did see a few newborn lambs but were probably just a week too early for the bulk of them. Many barns had fat pregnant sheep inside, waiting for the midwife! Daffodils too – not quite yet.

Runkeeper App Result = http://runkeeper.com/user/dsugden/activity/28476700

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