Feel Good Food...

It must be my age or an iron deficiency but lately I find myself tearing up when I encounter kindness, good service or 'pay it forward' type stuff.

Today I am trapped in Ludlow. If I was to choose somewhere to be trapped it would be Ludlow or possibly Barbados... My husband's car needed some TLC and so, till 3pm I am camped in the library, writing. (The library is not a quiet zone today.... the baby noises are fine, the ignorant parent noises on mobiles and shouting details from computer screens less so.. sigh..)

I am writing a script for a sit com. Get me! My belief in myself is concerning but hey ho.

Writing makes you hungry so at lunch time I ventured out to get something yummy.

Ludlow is the gastro capital of ..... well, everywhere. There's a plethora of eateries stocked with delicious produce from an unending list of local producers; Monkland Cheese, Swifts Bakery, DW Wall butchers in the high street and AH Griffiths on the Bull Ring with pies and meats and game. Then there's the market in the Medievil square, the cafes and of course the restaurants, including the award winning La Becasse and Mr Underhills.

Today I did not need caviar, walnut bread, home reared pork pie or a Ludlow sausage, I just wanted to grab a little takeaway cup of home made soup and a roll. I stood on the tiny pavement off the Bull Ring close to The Feathers Hotel. Along the street I noticed a little alley called Fish Street and there I found the tiniest cafe in the world, (possibly.)

On the board outside THE CAFE my lunch was advertised: Small Soup and a roll. £1.95. Perfect.

Inside was a joy; four clean little tables and a minute serving area. My order was taken and I stood talking with a delightful boy who told me that he was slightly worried about Friday's weather as he had plans to look into some family history. He also told me that he'd just eaten his lunch, a hot curry. He, like me, prefers his curry to be hot. Quite right too.

THE CAFE is staffed both by learning disabled members and by volunteers. This space provides work, training, and social opportunities and offers a great service and delicious food. Next time you are in Ludlow, pop in for your lunch or a snack, you won't be disappointed, my soup and warm home-made bread was delish and the feel-good factor warmed me through.

Fire and a Party.... improvisation.

Bonfire night (this past Saturday - the 5th) went with a bang as usual. For the third year running our pals from far and wide packed up their families, fireworks and fantastic desserts and wheedled their way to Shropshire and The Larches. We were expecting almost sixty guests, more than twenty of them staying the night.

It was a miracle I made it to the Saturday, for starters my head cold seemed to have turned into a brain tumor, so magnificent was my headache. I can only assume this was a combination of stress and sinus strain. It also wasn't great that, on the Friday, we seemed to be experiencing the worst weather for months, with a ton of rain creating flooded roads further down in the valley towards school.

The rain was also turning our driveway into a quagmire and I worried that the farmer's low loader would sink low in the field, as he endeavoured to push the huge bonfire into a compact shape. We build the bonfire over a year and therefore it is generally monumental, but we regularly disturb it to ensure no creatures consider it home. This final shake of the bonfire is invaluable to ensure no animals remain before we light it.

Apart from the weather, all seemed well; the house was cleaned, bedrooms made ready, drinks chilling, the only thing that niggled me is that my caterers - a couple I've employed for the past two years who run a mobile burger van serving local sausages, burgers and hot crispy chips, hadn't returned my last two calls. We had agreed the date almost a month ago and had discussed the menu several times since then but now I needed to clarify numbers, always difficult to judge till the final few days when guests finally confirm or decline the invitation. I also needed to ensure timings for feeding everyone before the firework display.

At 3pm I tried the mobile number yet again, just before I had to leave for school pick up.

The caterer answered and I sighed with relief.

'Gosh,' I said. 'You're going to give me a heart attack, I've been trying and trying to contact you.'

'Oh yes, sorry about that I meant to call you back. We can't do your party now as we're booked somewhere else. I forgot to look in the diary and we were already booked to do this big thing in Ludlow. Sorry, should have told you.'

Bombshell.

***

Do you know what? It was fine. I phoned the local butcher Bowkett's of Tenbury and he made me 100 of the fattest and best tasting sausages ever.

On Saturday I awoke to bright sunshine which continued all through the weekend and there was not a murmur of a breeze.

We set up our barbecue, (previously packed away for the winter,) in the log shed and even employed Grandma's 1970's hostess trolley to keep the food warm.

We offered sausages in finger rolls and burgers in soft buns and our guests did us proud by bringing some truly stunning desserts (even though I'd specifically asked them to bring deserts in the invitation...... good lord, cardinal error!)

The children marauded in the dark, loving the wild freedom of our fields while the adults drank wine or sipped at hot cups of my home-made tomato soup, many did both. The fireworks were awesome - very professionally managed by Hubby. So all in all it was a great night, especially great to see old pals of course and local people who have become good friends.

We've cleaned up now - probably need to go and empty the cans and bottles tomorrow at the recycling bank and I definitely need to wash the floors, but other than that the house looks fine.

It was a super party again and a late'ish night but I think we'll have a year off next year. Catch our breath a bit and go to someone else's display..... look out Oxfordshire were coming to visit!!