the white lion, walkern & mediterranean salad

More visiting today. This time we're going to the country to visit Jacqui and Tristan who used to rent our flat in Dyer's Lane before we moved into it, and whom we bumped into in New World Wellington about five years later. They very kindly put us up and and then let us steal all their NZ friends once they'd returned to Blighty, so they're clearly top people even if they are foreign.

We haven't seen them since our wedding, but diligent Facebooking on Ana's behalf drew us back into their orbit and I for one am very pleased, particularly as they have a beautiful dog retriever-cross called Tui.

Like the troopers they are, the pair of them take us to a picturesque country pub called The White Lion, with a massive(ish) kids playground at the end of the garden. The food and service is pretty good - I think we all have burgers apart from Jacqui who had retro-70s gammon, egg and chips, complete with pineapple ring, and Milo who had sausages. Half of which ended up being donated to Tui, or "Fella" as Milo insisted on calling her because he confused her with Sophie's lab.

It's a lovely day but I find when you're visiting people, you do spend most of the journey home piecing together the half-conversations you've had, because you miss half of everything that's said as one of you has to be swinging or sliding or running around rather than relaxing with friends you haven't seen for ages.

We're going to do it again so maybe I'll pick up the bits I missed next time?

By the time we get home three hours later (thanks M25), we're both knackered and starving. Hustling a very well-behaved monkey into bed, I've only got enough energy to knock together a quick Ana favourite for dinner: mediterranean salad, this time with caper berries. She's only mildly challenged.



Then it's to bed to read a chapter of The Leopard, before getting a semi-early night ready for tomorrow's DRIVING TEST - ARRRRRRRRGH!

Food of the Milos
We're a bit all over the shop this weekend but today is pretty good *if* snack and chip heavy: Boiled egg and fruit bread for breakfast, snacks in the car up to Letchworth, sausage and chips for lunch, snacks stuck on the M25 (mainly marmite rice cakes) and then a smorgasbord of cheese, avocado, raisins, cherry tomatoes and cherries for dinner.

sources
mediterranean halloumi salad - Delicious, June 2010, p24