"This is not a public right of way"

I don't have the kids, this weekend, but Dan asked me if I'd like to have lunch with him, today, so after I'd had a swim, I drove down to Lancaster and popped into Go Burrito to buy us something to eat and then drove out to where he works to pick him up.

We ate our burritos in the car and then, as he still had 40 minutes of lunch break left, we drove into Morecambe and parked up near the old station before heading to Brucciani's for ice cream. Morecambe's an odd place; it feels to me like it's kind of on the up but then there are these run down sections, like the one pictured, that need attention to restore a sense of self-worth to the town and its inhabitants. Brucciani's is a diamond in the rough - although certainly not the only one - and it was very pleasant sitting, chatting and eating with Dan.

All too soon, I had to drop him - a first class lunch companion - back to work and then I went back home to get ready for the night away with the Minx. I did this by utilising the unorthodox method of lying on the sofa and closing my eyes, which meant I had quite a bit to do in a hurry when she arrived, keen to get going to our destination, which, at this stage, was still a surprise for her.

It was only ten minutes in the car, if that, before we were pulling into the car park at Hipping Hall, and then we checked into our room. We were already enjoying the grounds and the room but the icing on the cake was that Chris (see yesterday's blip) had popped in earlier and left us a bottle of champagne. As you can imagine, that got the afternoon off to a great start!

But the real treat was the evening meal. It is expensive there but the tasting menu at Hipping Hall is incredibly good. And like a much, much nicer version of 'death by a thousand cuts', the series of small dished left us feeling stuffed and with only just enough room for the cheese board.