I'm sure you probably know about this really popular web site network that's catching-on everywhere you go where you can Re-cycle stuff . Not only do you feel 'holier-than-thou' for being so good to the environment by preventing things from going to landfill unnecessarily AND helping out a fellow human bean - but you also save youself the hassle (and smell) of (another) trip to the local dump...

We use it occassionally (it's quite amusing seeing the different types of people you meet - everyone from middle-class snobs trying to 'do their bit' to gypsies who obviously don't give a toss about the 'etiquette' of the site's ethos - and just see the opportunity of making a fast buck on eBay (or the local car boot sale)).

Anyway - got rid of (finally) this old fridge that's been in our summerhouse (I use that term loosely you understand) collecting dust for years. It wasn't much good, but occassionally had beers in it for BBQs etc in the Summer. So this lady and her hubby turn up to collect it. There's me feeling guilty about the state of it (I don't think it'd ever been cleaned) and her hubby says 'oh, don't worry, it's only for a tortoise to hibernate in!'

Now, there's a strange use for a spare fridge (!)

J's worried it might suffocate in there - but I think you have to check them every so often don't you?

Not being a tortoise-keeper I wouldn't know -any thoughts anyone?

Last weekend we escaped again to Wales to the place where we were this time last year.

We visited the wonderful Harbourmaster at Aberearon again (I won't bore you with that again - but the food was just a good) and found New Quay where there's a beautiful quaint harbour - with a marvellous sandy beach!

Here we discovered a new game to keep the two lads occupied: "Here's a pound. Off you go to the Pound Shop (loads in these little rural Welsh towns as you will know) and find something unique/funny/practical as a present for each of us." What a laugh.


Prize for the most eccentric went to C who bought one of those in-flight blow-up air pillows (yes, exactly the same as the ones you see in the airports for about £10+). He said it was so comfortable he put it on and wore it for the rest of the day (mad these Welsh);) And the most creative went to C's friend who found a fluoresent-coloured car-washing glove that resembled a bath mat. Couldn't resist buying one for J (who's obsessive about keeping the cars clean for some unknown reason).

Copster Green is a quiet, rural Lancashire village. Not the place I’d expect to find a collection of Ferraris and Porsches parked up outside an unlikely roadside Chinese restaurant.

Yu and You’s is a funky modern restaurant with highly rated freshly prepared food and excellent staff. We stopped off late at night after a dinner at the Michelin-starred Eastcote Manor (conveniently, just up the road) so couldn’t sample the food (maybe next time). By then, the evening and the restaurant had evolved (or deteriorated, depending on your perspective) into a cocktail bar with a loud and busy dance floor. The DJ was very good – if not a little out of his depth here (e.g. the only Phil Collins he could find was 'you can't hurry love' (!!!) Drinking and driving seems to be an accepted and necessary method of socialising ‘round these parts – and I was glad we had a taxi booked - one of the younger celebs we saw departing in his sports car with three young ladies on his arms(s) definitely was over the limit. Other famous people at the bar included some motorcyclist (never heard of him)…

Dinner earlier at Nortcote Manor, by the way, had been very very good. Not as good as some other Michelin-starred places I’ve been (listen to me) but still very good. It's proud of the chef, Nigel's history of retaining his star for about 10 years. Michelin aren’t usually so generous. What makes the place special is the small, homely atmosphere. It’s a gothic Victorian buiding, so lends itself well to the oak panelling and red carpets, but it isn't dark.

It was almost like sitting in someone’s front room for pre-dinner drinks, a bit like Rutland Water’s Hambleton Hall. Poor Craig had quite a challenge to explain the (in my view a bit too complex) menus to everyone and take all the orders. He made an excellent choice of wine for us (it's always an interesting test to ask the sommelier to choose something appropriate for the dishes we've ordered). There were a lot of staff, but unfortunately no-one (apart from Craig) seemed to really know what they were doing. They spilled the wine, delivered too much bread and didn’t refill the wine as often as I would have liked. Why didn’t they just leave the cutlery where it was rather than faffing around with it after every course? I made the mistake of ordering the goat (yes, I know, maybe the champagne had gone to my head). Not sure what I expected – but it didn’t deliver. The better choices around the table were the venison - no lets get this right "Loin of Roebuck" (excellent - no 'seminal' says J) and the beef. Interestingly there were no “inbetweeners” (sorbets etc) that you quite often get offered at a Michelin-starred place like this, but the time delay between courses was about right (if only they’d got round to the wine). The truly worthwhile ‘inbetweener’ was (of course) the word from the kitchen letting us know the rugby score (at which a cheer from our fellow diners was heard)! This was even more worthwhile as the kitchen-staff were French (he he=). The dining room was far too hot; it was warm outside so the log fire and radiators were overkill tonight. So we quickly escaped back to the lounge where the doors to the fanous gardens were opened and the whiskys and ports were waiting. Overall, very good, not as slick or stylish as I expected, but a really informal, enjoyable evening with great company - thanks to M & C:)

Next morning, we got up quite early to visit the nearby designer outlet place and with proper Lancashire bacon butties inside us ( - after all, it was at least 12 hours since we had eaten!) take up the opportunity of some excellent retail therapy (essential on a Sunday with a hangover). On the way home we inevitably we had to stop at the best local Farm shop in the area http://www.huntleys.co.uk/ (currently undergoing a refurb/expansion). We bought some excellent wild boar and other bits and bobs and treated ourselves to some award-winning and famous local ice-cream (cointreau and orange was the winning flavour) before hitting the motorways again.... picture to follow....