Staycation 2021 – Day 7 (Stanwick Lakes, Deene Park)

Wednesday, 23rd September 2021 – Stanwick Lakes, Deene Park Wednesday we were in pretty much the same territory as on Tuesday. There are a number of castles, stately homes and such over towards Corby, along the Nene Valley. We were planning on visiting another one we’d never been to (and in fact until I started…

Staycation 2021 – Day 5 (Dojima Sake Brewery, Fordham Abbey)

Monday, 21st September 2021 – Dojima Sake Brewery Did you know that sake is now brewed in the UK? No? Nor did we until a couple of weeks ago, when I was hunting around for interesting places to visit on our staycation. It looked intriguing, and was over the same direction as Ely. We were…

Staycation 2021 – Day 1 (Tinwood Estate)

Thursday, 16th September 2021 In the face of Covid, and the resulting price hikes for any form of accommodation in the UK (because the owners/landlords know they have a mostly captive audience), we decided we would have a genuine staycation and would spend a week or so at home, going out for the day to…

Food 2021 – Banquist, Jitin Joshi

Saturday, 6th February 2021 – Banquist, Jitin Joshi Banquist have been consistently good through the entirety of the lockdowns/pandemic stay at home sessions, with a number of excellent meals curated by some very well known, well-regarded chefs. The latest one was the work of Jitin Joshi, former executive chef of Gymkhana, a Michelin starred Indian…

Food 2020 – The Ambassador General Store, Trishna

Saturday 14th November, 2020 – Ambassador General Store, Trishna Seafood Experience I got wind of the Ambassador General Store restaurant box delivery scheme through one of Jay Rayner’s restaurant review columns in The Observer and promptly noted the details for future use. Having eaten at Trishna back in February, and having loved the experience, the…

Food 2020 – Sauce Supper Club Dine at Home, Tom Shepherd

Tuesday 13th October, 2020 – Sauce Supper Club Dine at Home, Tom Shepherd In pursuit of interesting food, and always open to a chance to experience some different restaurants even if we can’t go out, I ordered a box from the Sauce Supper Club with whom we’ve had dealings now and then in the past….

Food 2020 – Banquist #010, Gareth Ward

Saturday, 7th November 2020 – Banquist #010, Gareth Ward This was one I’d been looking forward to, what with the chef in question having quite the reputation, as well as a Michelin star or two. We are speaking of Gareth Ward, the man at the pass at Ynishir.Grace Dent had reviewed it recently, and it…