At midday I kept a dental hygienist’s appointment with Bronya at Birchfield Dental Practice, after which we brunched at New Forest Emporium Café at Newlands Manor Farm.
As is now customary, Jackie produced the photographs.
Here are the Brunch and Lunch Menus;
a selection of interior views;
various wall decorations and
artefacts;
cakes on display;
and containers on the tables.
Our choices were cooked to order. Therefore there was a more than acceptable wait balanced against the quite superb quality of the very fresh food at most reasonable prices.
Jackie pointed out that the cheddar in her tuna and cheese panini was mature – not the bland variety one would normally expect.
This was perfectly matched by the taste of the ingredients in my Big Beauty Breakfast. Where else would I find cherry vine tomatoes and sublimely tasting mushrooms with sausages of the quality of those of Ferndene on a café plate.
The service was friendly and efficient. The waitress, a former nurse, offered to help each of us out of our very low armchairs – I availed myself of this and it was most professionally done.
Local radio was playing on the radio.
While we were waiting Jackie had also wandered around the outside.
Afterwards we took a trip to Hatchet Pond and back.
The first five of these pictures are Jackie’s; the next four, mine.
This evening we dined on scrambled egg, baked beans, salad, and toast.
Late this cooler but drier morning Jackie drove me to another pleasurable and progressive Chiropractic session with Eloise,
after which we brunched at The Quench in Station Road, New Milton.
Both sides of the internal picture have been cropped to respect privacy. Every customer was well behaved.
Here are normal daily menus and the very reasonably priced Festive Lunch one.
Various delicious looking cakes are displayed for purchase.
One shelf contains sandwiches ready to be turned to toasties.
Walls are decorated with such as framed railway posters from an earlier age; the establishment’s Covid Pandemic Business Hero Award; and an array of clocks set to display times from various locations throughout the world.
Ingredients for meals are sourced locally: the eggs are Fluffets, from a nearby couple who also supply Hockey’s Farm Shop – as can be seen the chef knows just how to fry them; the sausages, and quite likely the bacon, are from Danestream Farm Shop. Needless to say it was Jackie who enjoyed the fried eggs on granary, and I who tucked into the Naked Breakfast.
You may have noticed the two camel cruets at the corners of the laminated menu card. When Jackie asked if we could buy them the very friendly and informative owner said that they were not for sale, but could be exchanged for any equally quirky that customers would like to offer. These are a few examples of similar sets.
Because Jackie’s little camera makes a much better job of these interior close-ups than does mine she has produced all today’s pictures. Some might suggest that it is the photographer, not her tools.
This evening we all dined on Jackie’s pasta arrabbiata sprinkled with Parmesan cheese with which she drank Peroni, and I finished the Sicilian red wine.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE. THOSE IN GROUPS ACCESS GALLERIES THAT CAN BE VIEWED FULL SIZE BY SCROLLING DOWN THE PAGE AND CLICKING THE RELEVANT BOX.
Most of the beds in the garden are threaded with stepping stones placed for access. They have become rather overgrown. This morning I began opening them out, starting with
this one leading off the Dead End Path. You should be able to distinguish between the before and after photographs. There is, incidentally, no view of the garden that doesn’t include the smelly white alliums. They bring early delight to the beds, but need an enormous amount of thinning out. Not only does each plant grow on a bulb, but each single bell on the flowers contains another bulb which it drops onto the soil. Each of these grows a new allium the following year.
Regular readers will know that The Head Gardener can never resist an owl. This morning she excelled herself by buying this one with an owlet in a jumble sale.
Elizabeth came to lunch and stayed on for dinner.
Jackie drove us to Milford on Sea where Peter, at Sears Barbers gave me an excellent haircut which is visibly reflected here.
Wikipedia has this to say about the traditional red and white striped barber’s pole: ‘The red and white pole outside barber shops references a time when barbers were expected to perform bloodletting and other medical procedures to heal the sick; red represented blood and white represented bandages. “Barber surgeons” in Rome also performed teeth extraction, cupping, leeching, bloodletting, surgery and enemas. However, today’s barber poles represent little more than being a barber shop that cuts hair and does shaves.[10] Barber poles have actually become a topic of controversy in the hairstyling business. In some states, such as Michigan in March 2012, legislation has emerged proposing that barber poles should only be permitted outside barbershops, but not traditional beauty salons. Barbers and cosmetologists have engaged in several legal battles claiming the right to use the barber pole symbol to indicate to potential customers that the business offers haircutting services. Barbers claim that they are entitled to exclusive rights to use the barber pole because of the tradition tied to the craft, whereas cosmetologists argue that they are equally capable of cutting men’s hair too (though many cosmetologists are not permitted to use razors, depending on their state’s laws).’
A couple of doors away from the barber’s is situated Polly’s Pantry Tea Rooms, first featured in ‘Portrait of a Village’ a couple of years ago.
Here are some of the home-made cakes on display.
Jackie and Elizabeth enjoyed cakes, tea, and coffee served by the delightfully friendly Julie, while they waited in this establishment for my shorn appearance. I joined them with a pot of tea. As I sat facing the window I observed a number of passing visitors examining the cakes. It seemed to me that this would make a good photograph. However I had no wish to deter prospective customers by shoving a camera in their faces. Yet I did have a couple of available models.
I sent them outside to pose.
Earlier, two little boys, noses pinned to the cabinet, had come in to choose ice creams.
As my two ladies came back inside the shop, they reprised the youngsters’ pose.
After this Jackie drove us on to Keyhaven, where the wreck has developed a lurch.
As I watched a mallard fishing, a gull homed in on it.
The duck sped off. Fortunately the gull gave up the chase.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s scrumptious cottage pie, runner beans, and carrots and Brussels sprouts cooked to such perfection that all the flavour was retained. Chocolate eclairs, cream slices and Madagascan vanilla cheesecake were the desserts from which to make a selection. Elizabeth and I drank Vacqeyras Côtes du Rhône 2015.
After a session of reminiscences Elizabeth returned home to West End.
