March

There was a touch of warmth in the air this evening. Could spring be almost upon us? I took the rhubarb sprouting in my garden as a positive sign.

Tonight we were going to be seated in the 'dining room' part of 'The Riverhead Brewery'; ie 'The Riverhead Dining Room'. As we entered the bar the noise of happy drinkers washed over us. Pubs may be closing every week at an alarming rate but this place is certainly bucking the trend.

We took our places at the upstairs table but the seating arrangement was going to be a cause for some distress. It was rectangular and set with 3 places down one side and 2 down the other. Danni was at the end, seated across from nobody, and she wasn’t happy with the arrangement. She wasn’t in the best of moods anyway this evening due to a lack of monetary funds, and the unhelpful waitress who didn’t obligingly re-arrange the furniture wasn’t helping to calm troubled waters. If it hadn’t been for this little problem, I’m sure the evening would have been perfect. The décor is warm and comfortable with wooden flooring and soft lighting; and the food is absolutely delicious - I opted for the ‘stuffed pheasant breast + roast loin of venison’. It took a while as I’m a slow eater but I cleared my plate and savoured every mouthful.

As conversation resumed, the burning question on my lips this evening was ‘Who was your favourite – Starsky or Hutch?’. For me it’s always been Starsky. I can remember walking to school when I was about 8 yrs old and pretending I was his girlfriend. Phew, all this talk was making the room very hot and much wafting of menus was needed to cool us down. This almost spelled disaster as the air currents caused our candle to be blown out and we were temporarily without ‘ambience’.

I was very excited about tonight’s theme which I had called ‘Oh Glorious Ingerland’ and posed the question, what does England mean to you? It had been a thought provoking theme and set everyone to thinking about this place we call home. Catherine and Phoebe had both taken a trip to York to immerse themselves in the history of it’s streets; Caroline had questioned whether she wanted to remain in a place that tied itself up into so many bureaucratic knots; Dannii surveyed her family and friends to see where they felt Yorkshire fitted into the scheme of things; and I dealt with my ambivalence by recognising what I love about my country as well as where it disappoints. Some wonderful work was produced and we debated until we were the only ones left in the restaurant.

And so another meeting draws to a close. Goodnight, sleep tight. X

Amanda