The day after Tim's party - 20th February

I had friends staying with me this weekend, because Tim was having a party, and had invited several of my friends, too.

So, on the Sunday, there were quite a few of us hanging around, eating homemade bread which I had actually managed to put in the breadmaker in the early hours of the morning, on returning from the party. Or, in one case, staying in bed to listen to the Archers, and miss out on the homemade bread!

Anyway, we set off for lunch, and went picked up Tim as well, to there were several of us this time. Me, Tim, Becka, Dan, Jon and Colin, to be precise. Ian and Ley had to go home to Lewes.

We tried to go to the Old Nuns Head, in Nunhead, but it was too busy, and couldn't fit us in, even though we phoned ahead to try and get a table. That was a shame, as I would have liked to find out what Jon and Colin thought of it.

Anyway, after some dithering, we went to the Clock House pub near Peckham Rye - http://www.clockhousepub.com/. It was not my first visit there on a Sunday, so I knew it didn't do a Sunday roast for vegetarians, but it was cold, and people were getting agitated, and we couldn't agree where to go!

It's a reasonable, real ale, pub, but it doesn't do a vegetarian Sunday roast, as I remembered, so I had to have a vegetable pie, mash and veg. The pie was edible but a bit tasteless, as was the mash and veg. It was also a bit expensive at 10:50 a go. Apparently, the meat roasts were okay, and I was glad that my guests were content. But I really don't think I should bother going there on a Sunday lunchtime!

Children in pubs

There have been times in recent years that a visit to a pub on a Sunday lunchtime/afternoon has been like a visit to a nursery! Most of the time, it doesn't bother me at all, although it can get too much if the children are left to run around, screaming, intruding on other punters, and generally misbehaving. I am perhaps a bit old-fashioned, but I think even young children should be taught how to behave when in an adult space such as a pub!

Anyway, I thought about all of this when Tim, his lodger, Ana, and I went to the Park Inn in Norwood today for our lunch. I didn't know until just now that it had a website, but here it is - http://www.theparkse27.co.uk/. Unknown to us, most of the pub had been booked for a christening party, so it was pretty busy with small children and their parents.

I had the vegetarian Sunday roast, which was a vegetable burger, roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding, cabbage, chantenay carrots and green beans. It was good, although the carrots and beans could have done with another minute or two cooking.

However, it felt odd that there were quite so many small children, dressed up parents, and balloons in the pub. It turned out that I knew one of the sets of parents, so I had a cuddle with their beautiful baby daughter, which was nice.

Haven't posted for a while

I know that no-one reads my blog, apart from me, but that is fine. I am going to persevere, because it never really was for anyone else :)

Today, my friend Tim suggested we went to the Cambria (http://www.thecambrialondon.com/) again, who were running an afternoon cabaret/burlesque event at the same time as serving Sunday lunch, so, to be a bit different, we went there. We sat in the upstairs room, and I ordered the nut roast. When it came, it was shockingly bad. The actual nut roast appeared to have been left sitting on a hotplate, or to have been overcooked, and I simply couldn't cut it, or chew it, when I did manage to get some of it in my mouth. With it, there came a square of something flat and floppy, which I think was supposed to be a yorkshire pudding, but it had not risen at all! On the same plate, were some cold roast carrots and parsnips, indifferent roasties, and vinegary red cabbage. Oh, and some gravy. That was it. No fresh, green vegetables at all.

I didn't eat it, and we were not charged for it.

It was good to have table service, although it was erratic at best, with several people asking us for our orders one minute, and then no-one for ages, and them clearly forgetting our requests completely three times!

The show was unexpectedly great fun! Hosted by Mzzz Kimberley, the show is described on their website as being in a "polysexual and glamourous enviroment" (their typo) and, despite never having seen the word "polysexual" before, I think it is possibly an accurate word to use :)