This afternoon I decided to get out into the garden and do some more leaf raking as the weather was dry and still. I also planned to have a bonfire as we still have a lot of Mike's old school books hanging around and taking up space!
I told Keith what I was doing, fully expecting him to say that he would do it, but he seemed quite happy for me to play with fire! I had to scrape out a load of sludge in the bottom of the Chiminea first which was probably left over from the last barbecue we had in the summer!
I put some dry paper down and then some scrunched up stuff on top along with several firelighters and put a flame to it all. It burned really well! I carefully added Mike's books to the pile and managed to burn quite a lot! Some of them went out into the recycling box and Mike came out to see what I was doing and helped a bit, although he did like to take risks with the fire by setting light to papers that were only just inside the Chiminea! He's a bad lad!
It was a very pleasant afternoon spent in the garden and I did manage to burn some leaves as well. The birds didn't seem to mind me having a bonfire and still flitted about taking food from the feeders. I even managed to sit out for a while and soak up the late afternoon sun!
Keith went off to a football match in the afternoon, and Mike went off to see a friend so I was able to watch some recorded programmes on television in the peace and quiet. Before Keith came home I jumped in the bath as I wanted to get washed before we went to collect Sophie from work. Keith came home and said although the weather was nice it was a cold day, and even colder watching football!
Tonight Keith and I were out at Richard and Michelle's house who live just behind us. It was lovely not having to drive! Sophie was in on her own but was quite happy to watch a film curled up on the sofa with the cat. Sue and Paul knocked for us and we walked up to the house together.
It was the first time I'd been in their house and it was really lovely - a cocoon of warmth and lovely candles. Richard made us ladies a Gin and Tonic and very good it was, too! We sat in their comfortable living room before we went back out to their gorgeous conservatory/kitchen to enjoy nibbles and start on the first of the wines.
We kicked off with Champagne and I decided I liked the first that was served as it was quite yeasty and would be lovely on Christmas morning. Half of us preferred the first Champagne and I found the second one quite dry. This turned out to be the more expensive of the two, a £27 bottle from Waitrose
whereas the first was an £11 bottle from Aldi. Was it worth the extra £16? I didn't think so.
Mine and Keith's Rieslings were up next and everyone said they liked the first very much. It had a real "petrol" oily nose which can be typical of a Riesling. It was medium dry and very drinkable. Sue quizzed me at length as to which grape variety it was but as it was a wine we don't often drink, she was kept guessing!
The second didn't have as much of a petrolly nose and was drier and tasted a little smoother. I preferred the second and I think we were split again as to which was which! The first turned out to be a German Riesling at £4.50 while the second was the Cono Sur Chilean Riesling at £9. Both wines would be perfect in the garden on a hot summer's day.
While we were sipping the wines we nibbled on delicious cheeses, ham and breads served with chutneys and olives. Sue and Paul had brought the reds tonight and I really liked the first one that was served. It smelt of Germolene, which sounds strange, but it had a very fruity and smooth taste. Sue was convinced it wasn't the one they normally drink but she was wrong as it was! It was a Yellow Tail Shiraz, priced at just £6. The second wine was the more expensive but I definitely preferred the first and none of us thought that the extra £6 was worth paying.
We had a really lovely evening with lots of chat and laughter and didn't go home until past 1am!
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