Parks Police Put Out To Pasture

No wonder the Royal Parks Constabulary is going to be defunct from Friday!

Baltic

There was more good food tonight when we visited Baltic on Blackfriars Road to mark our five year anniversary. I'd fancied the place for a while but had been reluctant to visit in case it disappointed me by serving Eastern European food which wasn't quite as good as at the Gay Hussar.

The discreet entrance is behind a thick curtain which opens onto a small bar area. I was therefore surprised to find that the restaurant beyond is something of a barn, with a high ceiling and a cacophony of diners. But I was soon rather taken by the amber chandeliers and Skene was convinced by the gherkins and beetroot/horseradish chutney that we found on our table.

We started extravagantly with champagne-vodka cocktails. Skene's Tsar's Toast featured fresh ginger, apple juice and bitters whilst my Pasja Royale focussed on strawberries and passionfruit.

Skene then chose kaszanka (Polish black sausage) to start and I had some delicious smoked eel with a red wine jus and the traditional potatoes and spinach.

Skene's main course was slightly more controversial: suckling pig. He tried to tell me that the beast would never have been as cute as the suckling pig that we met at Sheepworld but I don't think he even convinced himself. He did enjoy it though - as I did my brill with celeriac and fennel. Mmm.

Learner Driver

Skene starts a series of driving lessons today with BSM, with a view to polishing up his existing skills for an undisclosed test date. The lessons start with a turn on the BSM simulator at their office in Camberwell. Given the location, I anticipate that Skene will have to take a screwdriver to the door of the make-believe car then hotwire it before setting off on his imaginary route.

Biryanis and Barn Dancing

My weekend started with a ceilidh then progressed to a curry.

The ceilidh was in aid of the Allen & Overy C3 Three Peaks Challenge - a challenge that Liz and Gav are taking to raise money for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. (If you want to help less advantaged young people to go on long walks in the wildest parts of Britain, click here to donate.)

The evening was held in the partners' lounge and featured a traditional Irish band. I surprised myself by dancing before I'd even had my free drink - that's the persuasive power of antipodeans for you. I was even more surprised when I found that I could remember most of the steps required to Strip the Willow.

But I quickly retired to the relative safety of Ragam to find only one table remaining. It seems that last month's favourable report in the Guardian has given the place a new lease of life. As well as new customers, there were new chairs, new pictures and new lighting. We'll have to start booking soon, now that our secret's out.

Red Herring

We ate our Lowestoft Smoked Red Herrings for lunch today and very tasty they were too. Skene dished his fish up as kedgeree whilst I served mine with squash mash.

The Far East

I was despatched to Lowestoft today, Britain's most easterly town.

To make my six-hour, 240-mile round trip worthwhile after a five-minute hearing at the Magistrates' Court, I decided to do a little sight-seeing.

The tide was in and the surf up on the Suffolk Coast so there was no chance of a stroll on the sands at Lowestoft. I made do with the Harbour Wall and found the lifeboat and R.N.L.I. station and the pilot boat. Nothing tempting in the marina though.

I moved on to higher ground to escape the howling wind and wandered along the Historic High Street where I found the Scores - steep well-worn alleyways leading from the town to the seafront.

Before leaving town, I decided to support the fishing fleet by making a purchase at the smokehouse. The shop was gloomy with a strong smell of charcoal. I made a hurried bid for two smoked red herrings and was instructed to boil them for six minutes then serve with mustard. They'll be a bit salty apparently. We'll see how they go down for brunch tomorrow...

In search of a little more gentility, I drove down the coast to Southwold, holiday destination of choice for those in the know. It was a real contrast to grimy old Lowestoft with sedate Victorian villas going for £750,000 and beach huts for sale at £20,000.

The promenade was being re-surfaced so I walked along the upper path and then dropped down onto the sand dunes for a short stroll along the water's edge. Inland I found Adnam's brewery, a lighthouse penned in by cottages and a church all covered in flints.

Lunch came from the deli and was eaten in the car on the front with the paper for company. I felt rather middle-aged - the only thing I was lacking was a thermos.

For more pictures click here.

An Eastern Feast

Lesley and James were the guests of honour at dinner tonight so we cooked up an Indian banquet:

• Bombayllinis.
  
• Skene's best onion bhajis with homemade raita.
• Plantain and cassava crisps with spicy mango chutney and hot lime pickle.
• Fish and prawns in a herb sauce with basmati rice and garlic naan.
  
• Lemon sorbet topped with fresh mint.
  
• Exotic fruit platter featuring ugli fruit and two types of so-called gooseberries - cape and Chinese.

Sushi Exclusive

After many visits to Gili Gulu, we were finally seated upstairs tonight. As we ascended the spiral staircase in the centre of the restaurant, we wondered what secrets the upper level would reveal. Unfortunately, there were no discernible differences but at least we attracted the envious and curious glances of those diners seated downstairs.

A Saturday Stroll

All the finest walks start with an industrial estate and this one was to be no different.

We set off from Erith, on the first litter-strewn section of the London Loop, and strolled along the Thames Path. We enjoyed a short diversion along the pier, admiring the scarred landscape of the opposite bank, before turning inland to wander through some factories.

Fortunately, the route soon took us back to the water where we found a kestrel - the symbol of the London Loop - hovering over its intended prey. There were also teasels in abundance, a range of concrete bunkers and an harras of piebald horses.

We were also rewarded with a view of the Dartford Crossing.

The Loop then led us alongside the River Darent, a tidal creek featuring a huge guillotine dam to prevent flooding. We soon made it to the end of the five-mile section that we had selected and stepped off the trail into the waste management site that is Slade Green.

And, as with all the finest walks, we ended the afternoon with a one mile march down a dual carriageway, to get back to the car.

Christian and the Cows

Katie, Sarah and I took Christian for a stroll to Surrey Quays Farm this afternoon, to introduce him to the animals. The new goat kids were far more curious about Christian than he was about them - but more interested in his blanket than in him. He seemed to bond well with one of the cows though.

Word of the Week

"Promptitude"

This word of the week comes to you courtesy of Lord Diplock's judgment in Kakis v. Republic of Cyprus [1978], my bedtime reading for this weekend.

It is also a word which has been used by the great Charles Simmons (whoever he might be) as follows:

“Promptitude is not only a duty, but is also a part of good manners; it is favorable to fortune, reputation, influence and usefulness”

Second Day of Spring

The Inuits may have many words for snow but it seems that there are various English words to describe what happens to snow when it falls.

In Scotland, snow lays.

In Lancashire, it sticks.

And here in the south, we hope against hope that it will settle.

More snow today but not sure if it's here to stay.

First Day of Spring

It's snowing!

And the sun's shining!

All at the same time!