A nice casual start to the day. As usual, Dawn, Brady and yours truly got up early and spent a couple of hours chilling out. A little after sunrise, I popped out to pick up a couple of newspapers for Dawn before the three of us enjoyed another one of my favourite films, Yankee Doodle Dandy, on TCM. Jim surfaced just in time to see the credits rolling at the end, but chose to disappear back upstairs with his cup of coffee. From home to home, we all have our routines to keep up.
Once the four of us had showered and dressed, caught up with the news, drunk as much coffee and tea as we needed, and watched some documentaries on the television, we headed out to Watton-at-Stone for lunch. Last Christmas, Dawn and I tried the George and Dragon after a recommendation from a work colleague. We weren't disappointed then, and we weren't disappointed today either. And what could be better than enjoying a typical Sunday pub lunch?
The George and Dragon is another old quaint pub with low ceilings, oak beams, a couple of roaring log fires, and an ambiance that makes you want to settle down for the day and just relax with some good food and a cosy drink. We reviewed the menus, both the regular, which the kitchen changes every month, and the daily specials which were written on a chalk board. We all decided on some items from the chalk board: a roast dinner and a stew each. Dawn and I shared ours where Brady and Jim enjoyed their own. Brady said it was because she wanted to savour each and every morsel of her roast leg of lamb with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, Julienne carrots, baby corn, broccoli, creamed spinach, gravy and mint sauce. The stew was a delicious blend of chicken, carrots, potatoes and barley in a thick rich sauce.
With our tummies contented, we enjoyed a pleasant drive through the countryside down narrow roads with bends that gave us a wonderful view of Hertfordshire life. We passed farms with fields open and wide, and drove down stretches of road where trees stretched overhead creating a natural arch that led your way. However, least expected were countless huge mansions. Having spent the last two weeks living in an end of terrace house, the last thing Brady expected to see were homes with gated drives and marble column fascia.
At Welwyn Garden City, we went in search of some sale bargains. First port of call was John Lewis. Dawn described this as a kind of Rich's (one of her favourite stores in the US). Again Brady was excited with the number of departments the store had. Here we left Jim in the men's department so he could search for a pea coat, while Dawn and Brady headed for the handbags, and I made my way to the kitchenware. Surprisingly I was the only one who left with any bargains. Although Brady did make up for it at the Howard Centre.
A visit to this British style mini mall enabled Brady to to pick up her second purse of the holiday, and Dawn and me the opportunity to pick up some snacks for tonight's tea. Which brings me to a subject close to our hearts...food.
Back at the house, despite filling up on pub food at the George and Dragon, the four of us devoured a smorgasbord of snacks. We had oyster crackers, BBQ flavoured lattice crisps and salt and vinegar flavoured kettle chips, and some crackers (including Wheat Thins that Brady brought from America) with liver pate, Boursin cheese spread, and some mature cheddar. Needless to say, once we'd had a couple of platefuls, we were ALL more than contended. We were all looking forward to a break from food. Sadly, it's been so good that none of us can say no.
Again, we all chilled out in front of a cosy fire and laughed at some episodes of Two and Half Men and Everybody Loves Raymond before Jim disappeared upstairs to the "CRIB" for the rest of the night. The rest of us enjoyed a film on the True Movies Channel, Eight Days to Live, before we also called it a night. Even Tiny joined us. She spent the whole night cuddled up between my legs.
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