A flavour of my...

day.

All is spider quiet in

Rapunzel Towers.

Ted has taken our guests

out for the day

to Hastings and Rye.

'Don't rush back!' 

Sitting in the shade of the magnolia-pagoda tree,

after prepping tonight's dinner,

all is peaceful in my 'show'em a good time' world.

As WDinL has often said

'Linda never knowingly under-caters!'

as she staggers, clutching tum from the table.

'My tummy is getting in the way of my knitting!'

she cries as she flops onto the sofa.

Tonight's menu...

Home cured prawns

Baked Cod

Basil Panna Cotta

with boozy-baked Madeira Oranges.

Oh and the Elizabeth Shaw Mints,

which strange to say... survived.

Last night Ted and I went out for dinner...

alone and without one of us (Ted) worrying about

drinking and driving.  And us both worrying about Lettice.

Our friends suggested they dog-sit to

enable us to go out.

 Part of the deal was for us to be taxied

there and back.

In the back of the car I said

'It feels like our first date;

don't you go getting any funny ideas,

I'm a clean-living old tart I'll have you know!'

We went to the 

West House in Biddenden,

which Giles Coren-like, I will bore you with at some later date.

I've always fancied myself as a restaurant critic,

mainly because it combines two of my great pleasures...

eating and writing.

Contentedly I strolled out of the Michelin starred

restaurant proudly sporting not one but many

Michelin stars in my eyes...

Much rubber is going to have to be burnt to

balance my spare tyres.

Whipped dripping, the very idea!

What a fabulous meal we had.

Trouble is, I come over all cheffy and get ideas

above our usual diet of Ginster's pasties,

MaccyD's and KFC*

Just popping in to make myself some tea and a slice of

Victoria sponge.  Talk amongst yourselves 'til I return.

As I was saying...

trying not to spray the keyboard with

cake crumbs

I said to Lettice only the other day

'What cur of your acquaintance

has a kennel with a cellar?'

Of late she's taken to sitting out in the utility room,

which does have a bottle or two stored 

for occasions such as this weekend.

Her favourite tipple...

Chateauneuf du pup. 

One other thing before I go

a picture for Ian Hutson.

We're very gourmet in this neck of the woods,

even the spiders have

lobster for supper here!**

* Whopper... probably the biggest one to date!

** Followed hard on the heels... an even bigger one!