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This week has been busy but fun, one of those weeks where there has always been a parking space, the short cut worked to avoid traffic, people were friendly, everything was pleasant so any amount of work stress and being in two places at the same time actually works.
On Wednesday I met up with lovely Tabitha of Bourbon and Pearls, now renamed Badinage, she was as lovely and witty as her blog might suggest and there were a couple of long time followers of her brilliant blog, Naomi from Coulda Woulda Shoulda and Jane from Si je, (love these naughty bags and scarves, they look so beautifully elegant and in French, anything sounds refined!)
We met at the Beaumont which is a fab new hotel in Mayfair, on a back road opposite Selfridges, it was like stumbling into an episode of Poirot and the interiors had utter conviction so you know that this is no passing fancy. It is from the duo behind the Wolsey and they obviously don't do things by halves.
I had such a great time that I didn't think to get out my phone, but with luck Tabitha did the honours and will do a post that does the place justice.
The weekend was equally busy, the exercise mojo is back (finally) so I am quite stiff, but happy to be physically as well as mentally tired on this Sunday night.
Our 'dining green house' needs a roof so we visited a reclamation yard.
The local paper mentioned an antiques fair in a beautiful village called Brill.....
and since it is also the location of a Gastro pub we have been meaning to try, we went for a day trip.
The Pointer and its butcher's shop next door have already won some local awards for food so we thought that we would have a look....
I read Town and Country for the first time and LOVED it, I had thought this was a Vanity Fair style slight makeover magazine, but it is actually completely different in content from the US counterpart, albeit with the same approach. It was shamelessly luxurious, with lots about travel, gardening and interiors and little fashion, this is where my heart really lies....
We ordered lime soda and angostura bitters for which we were charged the princely sum of £2 (for both!) And we sampled the luxury popcorn, this was cheese and pickle flavour...I got lost in Town and Country....
Then I got lost in the menu, which at £20 for two courses and £25 for three puts in line with some of the chains that you find all over the UK and yet the menu was far from the boil in the bag offerings....
The dining room is light and bright, they haven't spent a fortune on the decor, but it is cheerful and doesn't have that 'pub' smell that you sometimes get in older places...
The chef did texture really well, the ham in my croquettes was crumbly and quite dry so worked perfectly with the Hollandaise source...
The place is known for its meat and the beef was exceptional, really tender and perfectly cooked...
We shared the chocolate nemesis which again had a perfect texture, not a slab of thick chocolate, but light and fluffy and melted in our mouths...
It was a perfect Sunday lunch and for anyone in the South Bucks/ Oxfordshire area well worth the trip. I was still dressing for Summer, evidently it is now over and I was a little chilly.
