Memo to self ...

In future, when we decide that a little light lunch in a pub with a pint would be a good way to celebrate the New Year – do not go into the New Forest!

All the parking places around the popular walking areas were chockablock.

The Red Shoot, which is where we usually eat if in the Forest, had folks hanging from the rafters, out the doors and sitting outside even in the cold and mirk.

Other pubs where we occasionally eat were similarly crowded.

The New Forest was full :-S There was no room for us at the Inn :-S

So we drove to Lymington, parked up in the town centre car park rather than the harbour one and had lunch in the Angel up in town and not the Ship down by the water. It was extremely nice, except that my salmon and crayfish ravioli had pesto drizzled all over it. The menu didn’t say anything about pesto. I scraped it off as best I could and hoped for the best. Actually, the reaction to the pine nuts wasn’t too bad (it’s usually only mild). I think it was the effect of the antihistamine that had me feeling really, really spacy for the next 45 minutes or so!!

So. What to do on Friday. We had arranged to meet The Builder’s mother and take her out for the day. The plan had been to take her down to Whiteley and to meet up with Matthew, Rebecca and Evie and then to go for a pub lunch. Alas, Matthew had come down with a very unpleasant cold, which we emphatically did not wish to pass on to Gwen. Or to us, come to that. The weather wasn’t ideal for sauntering around gardens or parks. Cold and misty. Avebury, perhaps? Could do, only you can’t comfortably get a wheelchair around most of the stones, although there are indoor things to do. Aha. Marwell zoo, near Winchester.

I think Gwen enjoys going to zoos. Certainly she seemed to have a good time at Marwell. Mind you – it was spectacularly crowded. We had thought, given that it was Friday and January and not very nice weather, that it would be fairly empty. But no. It was crawling with people and their children. The brand new café was heaving (I’m not convinced it’s really big enough; it seems quite small for a new café). Fortunately, if you have somebody in a wheelchair with you, adults tend to give way with grace and speed. Children don’t tend to notice the wheelchair, but the grown ups do!

There are lots of baby animals at the zoo. Many different kinds of young antelope. There’s a new camel. And a baby pygmy hippo. Alas – I couldn’t get photos of them; they were both curled up in their little stalls keeping warm and cosy. I could see them, but couldn’t get in line for a picture where you could have seen them. There were also lots and lots of lemurs, and a snow leopard and an ocelot. All my favourite animals :-) The sun came out during the afternoon, although Gwen was snug and warm wrapped up in a new, wool-lined duffel coat and fleecy blanket over her knees. And I was wearing my winter waxed jacket and my tassel hat. The Builder was nice and toasty warm, pushing the wheelchair up and down the hills in the zoo! We came home via the hill over the top of Portsmouth, so we could admire the very spectacular view.

And then it was Saturday and time to come home. We woke up to find that the sun was shining in a clear, blue sky and it was minus four degrees outside. The Vixen was frozen solid. The Builder poured warm water over her windows. The water froze. The gear stick didn’t want to move. The windows wouldn’t open. It was all very dramatic. And cold! Had it not been going home day, I think we would have stayed inside for another few hours and seen if things thawed out at all.

We came home across country. On the way to Marlborough we were surrounded by about 20 hot air balloons, drifting slowly about quite low in the sky. It was very beautiful – if slightly alarming in a British Science Fiction sort of a way.

We had lunch in The Nettle (a truly outstanding lamb shank for me) and then pottered on home, where Marlo was delighted to see us. He tried very hard to convince me that nobody had fed him for the entire time that we had been away. Alas for him – the empty pouches were in the bin and his bowl was filled to overflowing with biscuits. We didn’t believe him! Since then he has followed us around like a three year old. Everywhere we have gone, he has gone too. I don’t think he was starved but I do think he had missed us.
So. I’ve defrosted the freezer (the back of it looked like permafrost. Took the hair dryer to shift it. I think perhaps this is a job I should do slightly more often than once every two and a half years!) and we’ve been to Chatsworth to buy supplies to restock it. I’ve slashed back half the garden bed around the pond. I didn’t make soup. I did do a rack of lamb for dinner with potatoes, peas and beans from the garden via the freezer.

And now we are back at work. It snowed vigorously at 06:30 this morning – the first real “rain” we’ve had since mid-December. The Met Office says it’s been unusually cold and unusually dry for December/January this year. I know I’ve got the central heating up higher than I usually do and I’ve dug out my very extra thick winter woollies. I must say, I did enjoy the more leisurely start to the mornings over the past two weeks. On the other hand, it absolutely scuppered my morning routine. I nearly forgot to make The Builder’s flask of tea this morning!