Bean a while

I have taken the day off ready for a weekend visiting the familial home up near Stoke. Embarrassingly I haven't been there since Christmas, although I have seen the family elsewhere. If the Mozambique move pans out as planned, it'll be the last time I have the chance to visit Stoke for a good while. The city gets some bad press, so it could be considered a blessing not to have to visit it. However I'm fond of the place and imagine I'll be applying a sentimental lens to things all weekend.

I had two great catch-ups in the morning, before leaving Cambridge. One early one with Leigh, fresh from a travel-filled summer holiday, during which we grabbed coffee and pastries and walked and sat in sunny meadows and on a bench by the river. Then with Helen for breakfast #2 at our favourite cafe. Both of these friends are fantastic at introspection and balance and I value them greatly.

I arrived in Staffordshire in the afternoon and inspected the parents' redecorated bedroom, which looks fresh and spacious. I received the latest local goss and got ready for dinner together with the sister and boyfriend at a pub nearby; the Swan With Two Necks. It's had a revival in recent years and is now a highly successful gastro-pub serving artisanal cheese platters, posh cocktails and creme brûlée. The citizens of Stoke were lapping it up.

When we were immature teenagers in any reference to the pub we used to replace 'Necks' with other words; usually extremely unsavoury ones. Then we used to find ourselves hilarious. Until tonight I hadn't actually been inside since my sister's 8th birthday party when she found a fly in her beans. At that time the pub was one of those huge family-friendly affairs with an indoor play area attached. I worked at a similar establishment a few miles away for five years and recall very clearly the chaos of dealing with kids' parties, beer gardens full of clamouring customers and the often dire quality of the food (often microwave-based). I remember once finding lots of baby poo on a high chair around a table that a family had vacated in the main restaurant. I carried it to the backyard and hosed it down from afar. These pubs did a roaring trade for many years but fell out of favour and needed several revamps. This possibly timed with when gaming for kids became so popular that not enough of them harangued their parents to take them to the Wacky Warehouse.

I am pleased to report the Swan With Two Necks is currently doing wonderfully well and we had an indulgent family meal out.