A double whammy!

Keith and I took Sophie to the station this morning for her 9.20am train to Euston. Once we'd dropped her off we trekked over to Harlestone to have breakfast at the garden centre. She had texted us to say that her train had been delayed due to "disruptive passengers"! I hoped that they'd be removed before she got on!

Breakfast was lovely and very good value, with two traditional meals for £12. With coffee and tea, and some more toast, we filled up for the rest of the day! After we'd eaten, we had a look around and I said to Keith that the place was more like a department store than a garden centre. There was even a Waitrose outlet!

We decided to head back towards Northampton as, on the way, we'd noticed that a huge building which used to be the Travis Perkins head office, had been torn down and a Lidl built in its place! Quite when this happened I have no idea, but my parents used to run a company that cleaned the offices there back in the 1980s, and the building held a lot of memories for me. I used to go every week to make sure everything was running smoothly, so I was astonished to see it no longer existed!

The Lidl was brand new and we wandered around looking at the wines and some very interesting foods from Europe. Keith bought Sophie and me a bottle of New Zealand Pinot Gris to try, and I bought some "Dutch-style" cheese biscuits. It felt like we were in a supermarket abroad!

Before heading home we took my Dad's car through the carwash and then it was back to catch up with jobs and try and stay cool! It's been another very warm day and Sophie texted me to say she was hot when she came out of the prison in Brixton. 

We'd decided to have a meal out this evening and we chose The Royal Oak as I hadn't been there since last April. Sophie said she'd be back in Northampton at about 5pm, so we went to collect her in heavy rush-hour traffic and returned home so she could get a shower. She said her whole day had been hot and uncomfortable at times!

At the pub, we ordered our drinks and then went to sit outside as it was such a gorgeous evening. There were new picnic benches outside the pub and inside, it looked brighter and fresher, with blinds at the windows rather than the heavy crimson curtains that were there before.

It was heavenly to sit outside with a glass of wine, chat to people we'd known for years and relax. At 7.30pm we went inside and sat by the fire, the table Keith and I sat at 34 years ago when we first visited the pub.

We sat and looked at the menu and Sophie and I went for exactly the same starter and main course - asparagus with crispy egg and Hollandaise sauce followed by supreme of chicken with dauphinoise potatoes and vegetables in a mushroom sauce. Keith chose the whitebait followed by a meat feast pizza (fish and chips weren't on the menu).

The food was delicious so we will definitely return again... and soon, I hope! Sophie and I found room for puds - chocolate torte for my daughter and a rhubarb custard tart for me. Yum!