Tesco arrived with our food order mid-morning, and we were able to get it all away into the fridge, as Keith had cleared a lot of items out and cleaned the shelves. I still have no idea how many people are coming back to the house tomorrow! Sophie wiped down the surfaces and the cupboard doors in the kitchen, and I said we'd mop the floor properly tomorrow after preparing the food.
Sophie and I had leftover Jerk Chicken pasta for lunch, and we carried on tidying the house, but we were finished a lot earlier than I had anticipated. I was able to write my blog in the afternoon while Sophie caught up with a couple of episodes of Homeland.
We were lucky that today has been a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and blue skies. What a treat it is to see the sun in December! Majestic delivered the wine and glasses mid-afternoon, and by 6pm, we were all showered and changed, ready to collect Mike from town to go out for dinner at The White Hart in Great Houghton.
The pub was cosy and welcoming when we arrived, and festive with lots of decorations. We were a bit early, but we were able to take our seats in a quiet corner and enjoy our drinks. The men had beer while Sophie and I chose a bottle of Chardonnay. One of the bar staff asked if we wanted our starters to be prepared, but as we'd only just sat down, we asked if we could wait a little while.
We noticed that our table was the only one set up for a Christmas meal with crackers, and the pub certainly wasn't as busy as I'd imagined it would be! As the time was getting on, we asked for the starters, but it took a while to get the bar staff's attention, and in the end, Mike went to the bar to get a drink and ask!
I had decided to skip a starter as I wanted the chocolate fondant for pudding. Sophie and Mike had chosen the arancini balls, while Keith opted for the tandoori skewers. All three of them said the starters were delicious, so I had high hopes for the main course.
We had a long interval between the starters and the main course, and by now I was very hungry! The pub still wasn't busy, and a table of elderly men in front of us had only just received their meals. The table next to us was also waiting, so we were disappointed with the slow service.
Three of us had ordered the turkey main course, while Mike chose the steak and ale pie with chips. When the dishes arrived, my heart sank... I could tell that the meals had been heated up from frozen, and the food was tasteless... We had a couple of slices of turkey, two small boiled potatoes, two roast potatoes, peas, broccoli, carrots and barely cooked parsnips. Along with this, we had a small wedge of stuffing and one cocktail sausage wrapped in bacon. The gravy that coated everything was completely devoid of taste. The meal was horrible. When I think of the delicious fare we enjoyed at our pub in the village the other night, I wish we'd gone there instead!
Mike said his meal was fine, but the three of us were heartily disappointed and annoyed that the pub was charging £27.50 for two courses, and £35 for three. Now we knew why nobody else was dining on the festive menu!
At least I had a chocolate fondant to look forward to! Mike had ordered the Bailey's cheesecake, while Sophie joined me in the fondant. Mine oozed, Sophie's didn't. It pretty much summed up the evening!
We paid the bill and ambled back out to the dark car park. Keith and Mike had used the front entrance to avoid the multitude of steps in the place! We dropped Mike off and went home to relax for half an hour before it was time for bed. I hoped I'd get a good night's sleep ahead of tomorrow!
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