I love autumn. It's my most favourite season of the whole year. I love the nip in the air, the nights drawing in and any excuse to cosy up at home with a good book or some telly goggling. September is still the beginning of autumn right? Or am I much mistaken, the really crazy high pressure that came swooping over the country gave us a serious Indian summer to remember. I had already got my boots and opaques ready for the new season when suddenly I was having to shave my legs so I could wear skirts and shorts again, it was so hot! Not that we're complaining, we all enjoyed a last glorious blaze of sunshine. So the evening of our meal began with us heading out in Catherine's car with the windows open, wearing something summery and listening to some cool Portuguese tunes, it felt a bit like being on holiday. We were optimistic for some enjoyment; despite being a member down again (Dannie's work commitments meant she wouldn't be joining us).
Off we went to the Golden Cock in Thurstonland, a nice friendly pub with a reputation for good food. After soaking up the beautiful country views in the last rays as the sun went down, we went into the pub which was bustling. We were given a choice of where to sit and went for the quieter dining area which has an attractive bar with stained glass decoration. As we ordered and settled down with our drinks the conversation was pleasant and relaxed but to be honest we were all a bit tired. For some of us work had been stressful this month and we all had stuff going on either at work or at home, so the mood wasn't quite so boisterous as usual, we were all just enjoying chatting and forgetting our woes. Whilst we waited for our main courses, the young waiter came and told us that one of the meals would take a little longer, we said that was ok but could they bring us some olives or something to nibble on. We got a basket of bread and vinegar and some amazing olives, all free of charge – fantastic. This kept us going until the meals arrived. Catherine and Amanda had chicken dishes and Caroline went for a lovely pie, all of which was delicious. I ordered sticky ribs, wedges, corn on the cob, coleslaw and salad, wow it was enough for four at least. But i was starving so I dove in and it was great. Of course there was a little room for pudding and I had a mango and passion fruit parfait which was lovely and Caroline and Catherine both went for a blackberry bakewell tart which looked really good. Amanda ordered her usual latte but was disappointed when it arrived. It didn't look like a latte and she told the waitress so. The second attempt looked better, but it still wasn't up to scratch! I think the coffee machine let them down a bit. However there were absolutely no other negative things about our evening at the Golden Cock. The service was fantastic, the atmosphere was buzzing and the food top notch and reasonably priced too. We would recommend it.
So to the theme, I had asked the ladies to relax this month. I had in mind a nice easy theme which everyone would have no trouble getting on with. I thought we could all do with a spot of R and R. We all talked about what helps us to relax: for me it's yoga and meditation and the odd cheeky glass of wine, for Caroline it's clearing her mind with a good run, Catherine enjoyed the delights of a TV program called The Real Housewives of New York and chilling on the sofa and Amanda found peace on an early morning walk through Honley. Though we all had one thing in common...it's not easy to make time to relax. Life seems to take over and we found that relaxing or making time for you is not high on the list of priorities, in fact we often found ourselves doing other things when we were meant to be relaxing! And when you do get time to do something just for you, there’s the tendency to feel a bit guilty. We decided that it is really important to chill out now and then and we must not feel bad about it!
Our conversations for the evening drifted from the joys of wearing giant underwear to suck you in to people with funny laughs (not saying any names!) and my cat Boris' new girlfriend. Enough to say that we had a lovely evening and one of the best ways to relax is to hang out with your mates eating lovely food and having a good laugh. I went home feeling refreshed, particularly full up and relaxed until I realised that I had forgotten my keys and was locked out at 11pm. Anyway, it turns out that stargazing on a balmy night while you wait for someone to turn up with a key is quite relaxing too!
Phoebe xx
Phoebe xx
