Escaping London for a delicious celebration

I recently had a 'momentous' birthday, and to celebrate I was taken on a mystery trip. Just over an hour away from London on the train, we finally alighted in Arundel.

After a fair deal of searching, my wife had found a lovely place called Arundel House - with OVERWHELMING positive reviews on TripAdvisor, for dinner and accommodation. We love this sort of "Restaurant with Rooms" concept ever since we discovered another great place called Little Barwick House many years ago.

The place was perfect. Personal. Friendly. Relaxed. The room was ideal, and the best thing was the 10 steps down to the restaurant.

The food was very well executed, local, but understandably not too extravagant or unusual. My wife's lamb choice looked delicious, and I loved every morsel of my pheasant stuffed with black pudding (and the Great British Breakfast was stunning too).

Best of all, we drank a 1996 (a year with personal significance) Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots, Mongeard-Mugneret. Delicious! Nicely aged and developed, light on the red fruit but lots of spice and fresh leafy characters. 

Arundel itself was a beautiful place to walk around and packed with independent shops - something to do with the wealthy locals and tourists I guess, but the combination of historical architecture and obviously busy shops was a welcome sight. Next time I think I'll go when the castle is open (from April onwards).

If you are looking for a quick trip out of London, I highly recommend this place.

Weird allergist instructions

Is this weird? My allergist appointment instructions say: 

"If you think you may be allergic to a certain food, please bring a raw piece of this with you"

I think I may be allergic to (undercooked) beef, so I shall oblige. The question is whether to get something decent, pop to the butcher to get a nice cut of fillet steak - or whether a tray of Sainsbury's Value beef will do? Will it look like I don't take my health seriously enough?

And how much do you think he needs? Do they weigh portions?

I'm also concerned this is a Candid Camera version of Ready Steady Cook. I can picture the waiting room with people sat around, uncomfortably holding their tupperware portions of beef, milk, tomatoes, peanuts and bread ... and then being split into teams to prepare a meal for two for the consultant and nurse.

Or am I worrying about this too much? 

Clever #ashes related wine promotion from @nakedwines

I do tend to talk about Naked Wines a lot, but they also happen to be doing the most innovative and daring things - so, sorry but that's how it is. Hopefully 2011 will see more people innovating like this.

On the other hand, their materials are often better in emails and other places than on their own site (strangely), so I thought I'd post a promotion that Naked Wines just sent to members by email, but you can see the Wilting Matilda offer here:

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"Dear X

Just like the Aussies, 1 in 4 of you will win!

To celebrate England's convincing Ashes win, every 4th customer will win £120 of Australian wine FREE!

Here's how it works:

  • The Aussies won 1 out of 4 tests
  • So 1 out of every 4 orders placed today will get a FULL REFUND
  • All you have to do is buy the "Wilting Matilda" Case, jam packed with delicious Aussie wines.

If you win, we’ll contact you by e-mail and refund the full cost of your order.

Even if you don’t win, the case is already reduced from £120 to £99.99 so you’ll get a great deal.

To qualify for the chance to win, you must place your order before midnight. We’ll contact the winners on Monday by e-mail and they will get a full refund for their order.

And yes, I know there were 5 tests really, but 1 was a draw and 4 gives better odds for you winning a free case!

Cheers,

Rowan"

Fun, Interesting, Topical, Daring

... but it does make you wonder what they would have offered if Australia had won more test matches, or even the series?