Karen Wright: Weekend celebrations and first barbecue of the year
Last weekend it was my birthday, and it was just the tonic that I needed after a few weeks of difficult times.
Both of my daughters came to our home for the celebrations travelling from Brighton and Oxford where they live. It was extra special this year as the date fell within the school Easter holidays which meant more time to spend with my small grandchildren.
I wanted to find somewhere we could all go, including my mum, to spend a few hours out of the house. I have recently joined the National Trust so it made sense to visit something from their portfolio. I settled on Nostell Priory. We started by enjoying lunch at the café there and we ate outside in the sunshine. Then a few of us went inside the house to look around whilst the children and their parents visited the gardens where they particularly enjoyed the adventure playground.
The weather was beautiful, and we headed back to our house to finish the day in the garden. We had our first barbeque of the year. I made pork souvlaki and some vegetarian skewers plus the obligatory burgers and bangers! I had prepared a selection of sides including Greek salad, German potato salad, roasted beetroot and orange salad and a huge slab of homemade focaccia.
My mum's gift to me this year was a slap-up meal at the Castle pub in Sandal. She booked a table for six of us, all adults on this occasion, and it was wonderful to sit with her and my family in such a beautiful and relaxing place. We all chose the Sunday roast, and it was fantastic. The Yorkshire puddings were huge and so crisp and delicious. I really need some tips on how to get my Yorkshires to turn out like them, they really were fabulous.
All too soon the weekend was over, and my youngest daughter returned to Oxford directly after lunch. It was sad to see her train pull out of the station but hopefully it won't be too long before we head down to visit her in such a gorgeous location. Every cloud has a silver lining if you look for it!
Looking forward to the next few weeks which will see me collecting my replacement caravan and heading off for a practice run to Thirsk to test everything out before heading off on our escorted tour to Germany!