Up at 5am to start cooking. I make a salmon and dill quiche, a Greek picnic (Pygmy) pie, pear and almond cream tart, Bannock bread and cheese sticks.
We met Karen and Nigel at Darnley’s for lunch at 12:30. Definitely the worst time to go. The service was worse than usual, which is saying something.
Dropped them off at Lythe Hill Hotel so they could check in and chill for a bit. Then it was back to my kitchen to continue cooking.
Eventually, we left for Butser at 5:30pm.
The day had been grey, wet and miserable, but then the sun came out and blue sky appeared.
When we arrived at Butser, we found that last week a dog bit a child, so now all dogs are banned. Upset, we waited for Dawn and Nick in the car park in order to tell them the bad news.
After they arrived, and we had a group discussion, we decided to set up a picnic on a small hill overlooking Butser, over the car park. We watched lots of new arrivals with their dogs, who were destined for disappointment.
My food, though somewhat excessive, was very much praised. And Nick broke out the three litres of ale, which were also much praised. And, of course, we sat around and moaned about the stupid rules.
Basil was very cute and James and Matt insane twins who seemed to spend most of their time terrorising each other.
Then, Nick came up with a cunning plan. He and I would go up to the pub with the dogs, so the others could go and see the Wickerman burn. It was heralded an excellent plan, so we set off for the Red Lion for a few pints of Butser Ale. We sat in the beer garden and, actually, had a splendid view of the burning. Maybe, I suggested, we should go there next year as well.
Mirinda said she enjoyed the burning, as did the others. Nick and I agreed, it was an excellent night
After dropping the puppies back home, we popped into Karen and Nigel’s suite at the Lythe Hill. And what a rip-off it was. £190 and no tea and coffee facilities! Or breakfast!! Okay, the room was nice enough, but that was silly money. Seriously not one I’d recommend, though the two-star rosette restaurant looked very interesting.
By the end of the day, eventually at home, I was pretty drunk. And tired.
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