April foolishness

 No, we still do not have our passports back from the Border Agency so we remain stuck in Merri Olde Inglund..

You would wonder after last month's heatwave and the impending drought through 80% of England just when this shot could have been taken.   Well, it was early April and the last, I think of the winter snowfalls on our way home from a day in Guisley.

 All was not so cold and wet though because we discovered two litre bottles of this stuff for sale in Costco in Leeds.  I know, I know, pre-mixed cocktails.... why would you.
  Well , All I can say is we have paid a lot of money for far worse Margarita's in classy bars around the world.  As spring gave us a few good days we hopped into the back yard to try it out. You are welcome to come and try a few with us anytime.

 It has been a bit of a doggy month, We had Graeme and Kate come visit us with Bentley the Great Dane again. A proper long afternoon tea of cheese, crackers and wine which eventually resulted in Graeme walking home and bringing back pizzas for an evening meal at around,  I dunno, too late to be thinking of cooking....  Great night and we even had more Margaritas, and they were very nice.  

We also went for a nice long dog walk with Lulu,  Megs  Angela and Rob.  Rob picked us up from home and we walked from Clifton through the crop fields to Bramham, the long way.  Met up at the Swan pub with Dylis and Max, owned by Clare and Paul and we all got a few wines and ales around a raging fire while some local muso's played classic pop and folk tunes and sung a bit in the background .

 But of course no month would be complete without some of our cheese man's recommended product. Every Thursday Wetherby has a street market, it is a market town you see, and the cheese man lays out about fifty different cheeses.   He knows everything about them, their origin, their history, their flavour profile..... I just ask him for the strongest brie, bitterest blue and biggest cheddar and have a tasting spree before buying.  I have learned that un-pasturised milks make the best cheese.... go figure.  These four were all supurb, the other one is a gouda-like something or other, equally head-filling.

 Whenever we drive anywhere north/west it has become mandatory to detour past Ripley Castle so Gail can get her fix of Ripley Ice Cream.  This is a shot I took while we walked around the castle estate to exercise away some of the calories.

 April is also the month when the Wetherby Lions celebrate the anniversary of becoming a chartered Lions group. Its a black tie affair with the Mayor and police chief in attendance. Gail is on the far right of this pic. It was a good night, reasonable food, great chat, few speeches and many toasts.  A classical guitarist playing in the background was a nice touch.

 Regrettably, while spring has told the flowers to bloom it has not bought many warm days so we have had to eat inside most of the time. To that end we are trying out little village pubs we have not been to , there are thousands of them up here.....

 This one is Chequers Inn at Bilton-in-Ainstey, about 7 minutes east of Wetherby.  The food was very good and the service willing. We had spinach and watercress soup followed by a swarm of tiger prawns in a garlic and herb sauce with salad and four types of home baked breads to sop up the juices.... Yes, rather nice and with a classy Sav Blanc from Chile, a rather pleasant day out, and just across the road were chooks ranging through farmyards and nice horses in fields....  really quite lovely.

So April finished with not many highlights really.... Next month we are having a few days in Oxford, then perhaps will head down to London for a couple of days in the big city....Catch up with Trish and Cora perhaps, Maybe Peter and Pauline.... who knows. Maybe we won't go,,,,head off somewhere else....look at something different. Such is life.