The Family House – derrickjknight

The Lion Dance

Knowing that we were to celebrate the Chinese New Year this evening at The Family House in Totton, I delved into my old slide boxes and found some of a similar event taken in March 1980, just before we moved from Horse & Dolphin Yard to Gracedale Road in Furzedown, South West London. Each Chinese New Year takes its name from an animal sign of the Chinese zodiac. 2015 is the Year of the Goat.

These two pictures feature the Lion Dance which is always performed at the celebrations, dancers often visiting restaurants, such as China Garden in Morden, and The Family House.

My first image includes the Polar Bear pub at the corner of Lisle Street, which is now a ‘Ku Bar’, self-proclaimed as ‘London’s Finest Gay Bar’. The De Hems pub, in the second picture, remains in its original use. A description of our relationship with that establishment during the time we were neighbours, and certain other Soho stories, is to be found in ‘Meandering Through Soho’.

When we first saw the lion dance, we, like many others, thought it was a dragon dance. In fact the latter is very different, requiring many more dancers than the two who perform that of the lion. Dragon dancers are visible, because they prop up the mythical creature on poles. Spectators cannot see the lion dancers because they are inside the enormous puppet. Those shown here are, naturally, rather larger than those that visit eating places.

During the preparations for last year’s New Year, a couple asked me to photograph them against the backdrop of Gerrard Street, which looks very different today than it did during the 1970s.

This evening The Family House did not disappoint. I have seen a few Lion Dances since the Soho seventies, non better than The Marchwood Lion Dance group who performed during our meal tonight. Accompanied by dramatic drumming the dancers entertained the diners for some considerable time.

One of the delights of this establishment is that they play the music of our youthful era with recordings by the original artistes. It is fun trying to remember them all. I must admit Minnie Riperton’s ‘Lovin’ You’ had me beaten. But not Jackie.

We dined on a selection from the eat as much as you like menu, and drank T’Sing Tao beer.

All the way home a flashing dashboard was instructing us to ‘check emissions’. Since neither of us knew either how to do this or what to do about what we might learn, this made for quite a hairy journey home. But we made it. A visit to Downton Service Station in the morning will be in order.

Idiosyncratic Garden Design

Last night Jackie and I met Flo, Becky, and Ian in The Family House Restaurant in Totton where we dined in celebration of our granddaughter’s eighteenth birthday. We had our favourite set meal, M3, which consists of prawn cracker appetisers; starters of sesame prawn toast, chilli spare ribs, seaweed, and a sweet chilli dip; next came crispy duck, cucumber and spring onions, and plum sauce in a plentiful supply of pancakes; and finally special fried rice, vegetable chop suey, chicken and black beans, and shredded beef in chilli sweet and sour sauce. Apple juice and Tsing-Tao beer was imbibed. Then came the surprise. The music to ‘Happy Birthday’ started up, the whole of the packed restaurant joined in the singing, and our charming and witty waiter advanced upon our table with a magnificent knickerbocker glory which he placed before the birthday girl. The staff could not have known that mango, the main ingredient is Flo’s favourite fruit.
This Chinese restaurant is a business run by a most delightful family originating in Hong Kong, and including the proprietor’s British born wife. They are always very friendly and Mum’s cooking from the kitchen is excellent.
This morning, on their way to Barton on Sea, Becky, Ian, and Scooby dropped me at the bottom of Lower Ashley Road from where I walked to New Milton to finish my Christmas shopping. Afterwards, I walked back along Christchurch Road and they picked me up at Caird Avenue.
Atop a thatched roof in Lower Ashley Road perches a finial pheasant. Further along, a snowman appears to have found the warm weather too much for him and has flopped onto another roof. A nearby garden’s gnome has been surrounded by more seasonal figures.

One house, all the year round is decked by memorabilia suggesting it may be masquerading as a public house. This is a street of truly idiosyncratic garden design.

It was market day in the town. Father Christmas visited the stalls in his more modern transport than the traditional reindeer.
Flo helped me wrapping presents this afternoon. Before dinner all the older adults went for a quick drink at The Royal Oak, where Ian initiated an interesting conversation about favourite films. ‘Shane’, of course, was the first one that came to my mind.
This evening we dined on pork rib racks in barbecue sauce and savoury rice. Please don’t imagine this was the contents of a doggy bag brought back from The Family House, because it was Jackie’s own production. I finished the cabernet sauvignon.

Tony and Anne, Trevor and Jan

Clearance of the future rose garden continues apace. Yesterday Jackie uprooted several unproductive fruit bushes, and this morning I removed the last of the box hedges and a photinia that had been well rooted for a few years. This latter plant required the use of a grubber axe. It had to come out because it has the potential to grow into a huge tree. There is one in the jungle garden next door which is so high that we get the benefit of it.
After this, I took my now customary route on foot to Milford on Sea, taking a diversion through a nature reserve on the way back. Having passed through Shorefield, I met Mike, the postman, who confirmed that he was indeed more comfortable in the front garden next door, photographed yesterday. He was also very helpful about the problem I have been having with misdirected mail being delivered to The Old House, Lymington Road. This is yet another difficulty with MyBarclays, who hold my French bank account. They will only accept proof of address from my New Forest Council Tax bill. This gives our address as Lymington Road, rather than Christchurch Road. I am engaged in a frustrating exchange of e-mails with the bank. Until this is resolved, Mike suggested I might explain the problem to the residents of The Old House, which is not on his round, so they may readdress my statements.
The Solent is now calm enough for leisure yachting. People were walking babies in buggies, and sometimes frisky dogs on foot. From the cliff top Tony pointed out the Isle of Wight to his wife Anne. We conversed about my photograph and the general state of the cliffs. I have mentioned before, the superb view The Beach House has of the island and its lighthouse. Today I shot it through their mature conifers.
On the way back out of Milford on Sea there is a footpath on the right. I have speculated about where it might lead, but had not had the confidence to try it before. Today, however, I noticed Trevor enjoying a cigarette as he basked on a bench in the sunshine. Crossing a footbridge over a stream, I asked him where the path led. He directed me along it, telling me how I could pick up the coast road. As I walked back over the bridge, an attractive woman came into view. This was Jan, who looks after the administration of the Community Centre cafe. She is a blues fan and particularly likes The Blues Band, especially Paul Jones and Tom McGuiness. This discovery enlivened our conversation somewhat.
Crossing a road along the footpath I entered the Nature Reserve through which it ran, leaving it on a slope up to Woodland Way on the left. This led to Delaware Road, and thence the cliff top. The path, beside which cyclamen blooms among dandelions, does extend further, and one day I may explore it more.
Tonight we dined at our old haunt, The Family House Chinese restaurant in Totton. We ate our favourite set meal, and both drank T’Sing Tao beer. Like many Asian restaurants they juggle, very successfully, with serving diners and taking down takeaway orders.

Isle Of Wight Tomatoes

Early this morning the crow, having adopted the back of the bench as its new taking off strip, flew directly onto the top of the bird feeder, but didn’t stay. It can only scavenge from a tray in the construction, not the closed containers. Jackie is wise to that, so isn’t filling it at the moment. The blackbird, with her partner perching guard on the snake bark tree, continues to sit on her eggs.

It is now possible to see through the entrance to the kitchen garden from some distance away. Pictured here are two sides of a path surrounding an oval flower bed at the far end of the garden, as they appeared at the beginning of the day. They are in there somewhere. It was my task to begin restoring them to their former glory, whilst Jackie continued transforming the central gravelled walkway. Here, the brambles were rampant and well established. A certain amount of eradication of them from the beds was required.

This revealed more hidden plants, like the day lilies, the colour of one of which seems to have confused a bloodsucking insect into thinking it was clamped on to my forearm. With some painstaking sifting of

earth and gravel Jackie completed the central path today. I, on the other hand, although making a good impact on the left hand side and far end of the ovoid ring, came to an abrupt halt when I encountered the bamboo. A number of strong stems had penetrated the path and defied my fork.

That was a battle I was prepared to fight another day. It had taken three months completely to eradicate a clump of the insidious roots of this grass at The Firs, so I wanted to be fresh for the job. Mañana.
On a sunny day such as this, the light streaming through the kitchen windows at lunchtime is stunning.

Placed at random at the end of the table when preparing it for the food were a vase of tulips Shelly had given Jackie, an accident pot containing alliums and a petunia, and a bowl of tomatoes. These tomatoes were a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours. And they were delicious. Jackie had purchased them at Setley Ridge Farm Shop, to which a couple from the Isle of Wight travel weekly to supply them. Apparently supermarkets cannot sell them because they are not uniform in size, redness, and rotundity.
We received a very warm welcome from the family at The Family House Chinese restaurant in Totton where we dined this evening on the usual good food and Tsing Tao beer.

The streaks in the sky on our way home were of the equally warmest hues.

The Knocker

Soon after 6 a.m., reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’, there he was, the blackbird, ‘rapping, rapping, at my’ office window. This went on for hours this morning. Jackie is quite worried about the poor creature. Let’s hope he gets fixed up with a mate soon.
When preparing for the fray he perches on a shrub we may be able to identify once it has bloomed.
Last night Jackie had researched architectural salvage outlets that might provide the missing article from our front door. She came up with Ace Reclaim at West Parley near Ferndown. We didn’t think we’d have time yesterday to get there before they closed, so deferred our trip to this morning.

Down a very rough track beside a garden centre, we found a veritable aladdin’s cave of treasures from bygone eras for the home and garden. What I liked was that almost everything carried an individual price tag. This makes life easier for me as I am emotionally ill equipped to haggle. I would have played the part of Brian in his eponymous film’s haggling scene rather well.
The men on site were friendly and unobtrusive. We were allowed to wander at will and were left alone to forage in the cabinet containing what we required.

Maybe it was the knocker on the window that focussed us on the missing one on our front door. Maybe we were becoming self-conscious about Jackie’s invitation to all and sundry:

Maybe it was both. Anyway, we found one. It didn’t have any bolts with it, so off we went to B & Q. Before reaching this DIY store at Christchurch we were tempted by Mum’s cafe. Situated on Fairmile Road between Norfolk and Suffolk Avenues this marvellous establishment serves a range of beautifully home cooked food of excellent quality.

Naturally we had brunch.

The bolts in B & Q were sold in packets of ten with their measurements in millimetres. I am quite used to seeing packets of peanuts bearing the warning ‘may contain nuts’. The bolt containers were unequivocal in their message that they did contain nuts. Actually we didn’t need the nuts, but I don’t suppose the company would take them back and give us a discount.

Working out the thread diameters was fairly straightforward, given that we had the knocker with us. The length we would require was a little more problematic since we hadn’t brought the relevant door with us. Jackie had the brilliant idea that we could measure the thickness of one of the doors on sale in the store. She did that whilst I went to choose a drill.

Back home we discovered that our front door, although comparatively modern, was thicker than those at B & Q. So back we went to change the bolts, and returned home in time for me to receive a welcome phone call from Sam.

There were no bits provided with the drill, which was no problem because I had a case of drills at home. Somewhere. In a box. Somewhere.

I had seen them. I know I had. In this house. In a box.

So a search ensued. Eventually I found them in a box marked fragile. From a previous move. Obviously.

Then I had to decide which bit to use. Which ones were for masonry and which for wood? A bit of trial and error was employed. Finally I had drilled two neat holes through the centre of the door. Just not quite the right distance apart.

‘One bolt will hold it firmly in place’, was Jackie’s encouraging observation. It did. I will do my best to forget my error. It might take some time.

This evening Jackie drove us to Totton and back, so we could dine at The Family House. Our continued custom after the move paled into insignificance when compared to that of a woman and her son who had returned on holiday from Queensland in Australia. When they had lived in Totton they had been regulars of this restaurant. The food was as good as ever, the company as convivial, and the T’Sing Tao beer as thirst quenching.

Mother’s Day

Most of the day was taken up in transporting Jackie’s garden. We had a surfeit of sisters offering lodgings for the contents described yesterday. We considered ourselves fortunate to be moving the vast number of plants that had survived the mild winter, and even more so that they were only starting to flourish and therefore not bushing out all over the place. Even so, four car loads were required to complete the task.
Our options for a place to store the portable garden whilst getting our new home in shape, were Helen’s in Poulner, Shelly’s in Walkford, or Elizabeth’s in West End. Helen and Shelly are each already sheltering various precious objects.
Given that by the time we take the plants to Downton, they will most certainly be bushing a bit, and that Walkford is the nearest sibling’s abode, that is what we plumped for. With flattened back seats and loading the car to the gills, in two return trips we had cleared a little more than half the items. Coinciding with our arrival back at Castle Malwood Lodge, Becky and Ian arrived to help. We had a plentiful lunch provided by Becky, then decided that two cars could probably finish the job in one last push. We filled Becky’s and Jackie’s vehicles and still had a few items over. I then had the brilliant idea that if one person stayed behind we could use a passenger seat for these.
That was it. Becky remained behind and continued packing kitchen items whilst the rest of us unloaded the cars at Shelly and Ron’s.
This evening we all dined at The Family House in Totton. The staff were their usual friendly selves, and the meal excellent. We chose M3 set meal. This has a range of starters; shredded duck; a wonderful special rice; juicy vegetables with crunchy water chestnuts; shredded beef; and chicken in black bean sauce. Becky drank Diet Coke. The rest of us imbibed T’Sing Tao beer.
Jackie sported her Mother’s Day badge. This had been given by Becky in addition to a card. Because of tomorrow’s move she realised Jackie would not really be able properly to display the card for a while so she supplemented it with a badge that could be worn.