Bus

Well that was different.

Yesterday was the wedding anniversary of Old Bill and Lady Penelope. The Sonning Crew decided to celebrate with a meal. A table was booked in Cote Brasserie in Chichester. We met up at six and strolled down to the bus stop. Yes, bus stop! Four minutes later the bus arrived and ten minutes after that we were in Chichester. Very convenient.

We started by going to Wetherspoons for a drink. What an experience that was. Foul mouthed yobs seemed to be the order of the day and the staff seemed dreadfully incompetent. On top of that several of the drinks we had ordered weren't available as they had run out. In the corner, tempers fared an a glass was thrown at a huge mirror as one yob stormed off. The Gorse Fox isn't sure he will ever bother returning to a 'Spoons.

We wandered along to Cote Brasserie and settled into our seats. The server made us welcome and took our orders with good humour - in fact we had a running chuckle with her throughout the evening. The food was excellent and we had a lovely evening.

The Silver Vixen had a ribeye steak, the Gorse Fox had seafood linguine, Tinkerbell had crepes, Two Hats had the ribeye, Old Bill and Lady Penelope also went for the linguine. All were prepared beautifully and were delicious. The Crew decided this was likely to become a frequent haunt.

Leaving the restaurant we strolled down to the bus station. We had a bit of a wait for our ride, but once we were on our way we were home in no time. It really was a lovely evening and the bus was a really convenient way of getting to and fro without anyone worrying about parking or having a glass of wine with the meal.

Aging

It's Old Bill's birthday today. He's the first of us to reach the exalted age of 65 and so deserves a degree of respect. He deserves it, but probably won't get it as we meet for a drink and then go out for a curry with the Sonning Crew this evening.

(Urban-Cub won't be joining us, she is staying in to finish the macaroni cheese that Gorse Fox cooked last night and rest before returning to work in the morning).

Well fed

Another lovely day. The Scandinavian high that is dominating our weather and holding the usual Atlantic weather systems at bay is providing some lovely sunshine. The Gorse Fox had football in the morning. The turn out was almost too good. We had to split into 7 vs 6 and that is a bit too crowded in the indoor cages where we play. We had fun though. It was a good natured game and ended with a 7-6 win for the "yellow" team. The Gorse Fox was on the "orange" team, however.

Back home and showered we met up with the Sonning Crew and wandered down to the Pink Pub for a beer (or two). As usual this turned into a very enjoyable chance to chat and catch up with all the news and plans.

Urban Cub didn't join us at the Pink Pub, she stayed home to unpack from her holiday and then to start on lunch. She had volunteered to prepare the Sunday roast - and who is the Gorse Fox to deny such a request.

Hampton Court

We were out the door before nine. Meeting up with neighbours, we headed up to the Hampton Court Flower Show. It was nice that, for a change, the Gorse Fox didn't have to do the driving.  It wasn't a bad journey and we were parked soon after eleven.

A coffee was the first priority, but after that, we split up with the intention of getting back together at lunchtime. There are plenty of places to eat at the show, but we had chosen the restaurant by the bridge across the Long Water.

We started at some of the small gardens. They were only about 4 metres square, but had a lot packed in to a small space.

The Silver Vixen managed to end up chatting with the designer of one of these. He seemed little more than a boy and the Gorse Fox wondered if his parents knew he was bunking off school.

The Conceptual gardens are always a bit of an eye-opener.

They are not necessarily the sort of gardens that inspire the Gorse Fox, but always interesting. This year was no different. Pyramids, Red String, Butterfly Dome (with a very long queue), a wave of black plastic, a "burial bound" with black plastic collapsing scaffolding.
The photo shows a garden that was built to raise awareness of cancer survival rates.

Lunch was taken at the Palace Room. There was much debate over the menu, but when we actually went to collect the chosen meals we were disappointed and ended up having to make alternative selections. The Silver Vixen's choice was wisest - a ham hock salad. Chris, Maureen and the Gorse Fox ended up with baguettes. Tasty enough, but not what we had chosen.

After lunch we split up again. The Silver Vixen and the Gorse Fox headed for the Floral marquee. This huge marquee houses hundreds of exhibits showing flowers and shrubs of every imaginable type.

We always wander round the whole display, but are drawn particularly to the Acers, the Fuchsias, and the Orchids.

The manufacturer of our garden furniture had an impressive display. On their stand, Bramblecrest, had the recliners, footstools, and a side table that matched our existing furniture. This was on offer and discounted by a third. This was a significant saving and having negotiated a free-delivery, we decided that it would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to complete the garden seating. This will take several weeks to arrive - but there is no hurry.

We all met up again for a cup of tea, to review our day and check whether there was anything we needed to go back and check, see, or purchase. Content, we headed back to the car and joined the traffic. The satnav was kind to us and selected some good routes and we made good time (considering it was rush hour). We stopped for a pint at The Gribble then got back in time to watch the Wales-Portugal game at the Euros.

A perfect day - it is only a shame that our other neighbours, Trudy and Ian, were unable to join us.

Mixed

Last night was very enjoyable. It was Tinkerbell's birthday and the Sonning Crew met up for drinks and then strolled along to the local Indian Restaurant where we spent several hours enjoying a very fine meal, some excellent conversation, and general banter.

Today saw a mixed start - sun, clouds, and showers; so it continued through much of the day.

The Gorse Fox retired to his study. The keys tapped and tests started, some modifications were made and soon the tests began to run through to completion. The Gorse Fox is feeling very pleased with himself. Blog posts are being extracted, transferred to the private blog, categorised, and cross-referenced in such a way that the Gorse Fox can make future modification when he has worked out how to extract tags from Blogger.

Next step will be to work on the old version of the private blog and extract just the non-Blogger entries and merge them into the new one.