Normally my favourite time of year, despite the constant travails and uncertainty, there has been much to celebrate recently: Spring has sprung, and out of darkness comes some light.
A metaphor for the difference a decade makes, perhaps?
War ravaging, barely affordable costs of living and constant doomscrolling meant we needed an escape: it would come, kind of, with the amazingly powerful ‘Naples 44’ (subtitled ‘An intelligence Officer in the Italian Labyrinth’) film (still available in iPlayer, I believe) and its emotive narration by Benedict Cumberbatch and haunting tales of what happened in the city during the war, what with cats disappearing and desperate women stood next to piles of tinned foods. Upsetting and beautiful in myriad ways, what stuck with me most were the end lines, as Norman Lewis announces ‘if I were to be reborn tomorrow I would choose to be Italian’.
Sharing this sentiment, I decorated my classroom entrance for World book day:
It was, of course, inspired by my love of all things Partenopeian. Dreams of sunnier climes transported us forward to 1960s Campania and the fantastic new series of My Brilliant Friend, courtesy of the beautiful words of Elena Ferrante (if that IS your real name) then took us to Malta for the intriguing ‘The Holiday’ before whisking us over to the cartels of South America via ‘Ozark’ series four (part one, with the remainder being released this weekend) before returning to a familiar setting and gripping ‘Our House’ which had clever twists and turns aplenty.
Talking of which: some amazing photos of us!
Great times were also had by all out of the living room: 50ths and 40ths with old friends, and an incredibly enjoyable trip to the West Midlands for a beautiful wedding with old school friends which took me back to 1995 for a day. My GCSE years were filled with Friday nights drinking and discovering music and film (often returning home to this question) with some great guys and it was so brilliant to catch up and reminisce.
How good it was to even have a dance in lovely surroundings… and with fantastic company!
The perfect way to start the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of our own special day, which I’d written about for the Empire State Building website and the folks there were so smitten with the narrative of our romance that they promised to send a little gift.
I kept it a surprise from WW, and it was a little bit like the shocking end of Seven (another nod to 1995, or was it the insomnia of Fight Club?) but even I was blown away by the thoughtfulness and generosity of the ESB when the FedEx parcel arrived… it all brought back such wonderful memories and really made us feel special.
Like ESB VIPs, in fact.
“You don’t work in the Empire State Building. You propose in the Empire State Building. You sneak a flask up there and raise a toast to the whole city of New York.” -Maureen Johnson
To resurrect other treasured, special moments we also returned to our favourite place: Britain’s Classic Seaside Resort. This time we encountered the Botanic Gardens for the first time, a lovely little place with its aviary and crazy golf course and beautifully colourful geranium beds. We also visited the newly renovated market, now a bar and food hall with a plethora of delectable delights we will definitely return to. That we only had a drink there this time was because we he had a prior booking to attend at The Vincent Hotel in Southport.
That’s where we celebrated our wedding breakfast and danced the night away in bespoke trainers, and, whilst we’ve been back myriad times since, we’d never gone for tea as a family of four. It was lovely surprising the kids with a trip to the beautifully renovated market (on the street where we bought the bridesmaid dress and tie material, and later the pram and car seat) before a fantastic meal with excellent service and a magical dessert (we opted for the limoncello, as enjoyed on the first night of our honeymoon!)
I’d emailed the hotel in secret, asking if we could view the function room if it was free, and thankfully it was being set up for a wedding the following day – lovely little kwinkydink – which meant we were able to show the kids the space where we cut the cake, have the speeches and performed our first dance. Five minutes of joy and reminiscence which was another perfect anniversary gift… This was such a lovely opportunity and we thank the staff there for the chance to share it with the weens.
The next morning it was up early for potentially the final school drop off for ages – mixed feelings, quite liked doing it but not sure I could do it every day, despite this one including seeing Allan leaving his own offspring at the school around the corner – and a trip to the intriguing CONSCIOUS show at the Bluecoat by Suki Chan, on the theme of dementia, which doesn’t sound very romantic but was certainly emotive and thought-provoking – before an eagerly anticipated lunch date and the more intimate celebration of our tin milestone.
We’d agonised over where to go, based on previous excursions, and couldn’t see past the perfection of our previous foray into town and the amazing Barnacle. You can read all about our first visit here…I even wore my wedding shirt for the first time in years – it was bespoke, based on Pep’s 2012 style, and not my 2022 Dad Bod – and actually a payment for a blog I’d written for a now-defunct bridegroom website and now only just fits!
There’s more detail to come, but a 12.30 lunch so we could get back to pick up the kids meant that, whilst I wasn’t drunk at all, made some quick notes on the train home and typed out the following:
Emotions of the absence
Amazing camaraderie with Ben and Jack
Choice of wine to go with the pork
Passion for the local produce and the honest comments about desserts
Easter eggs next year?
Best serving double act since Fred and Merlin
This all made sense the next day, thankfully!
We were genuinely upset that we couldn’t go back the next week, and the week after, given how wonderful a a welcome we received (and a farewell, hugs and wedding invites included!) but we’ll be returning in the summer. Honestly, the staff there are simply incredibly good at their job and know the food and wine inside out but also feel like your mates instantly.
The food: incredibly sumptuous oysters, designed to be chewed; the lambs tongue, with raspberries for a new combination; the chowder, even better than last time; the perfectly cooked pork, with the jus that begged to be supped from the jug; the succulent chicken, with the delightful hen of the woods mushroom; the panna cotta with bay, thyme & honey… the cocktails (my maritime martini was incredible…) and the after eight inspired gin drink with a shard that WW devoured and should be an easter egg… There were just so many stand out dishes and drinks that I’ll just share the pictures and leave it there.
Paul Askew, thanks for all you do for the city and the region! Ben and Jack, thanks for the impeccable service,
The food itself is just perfection and we couldn’t have wished to have made a better decision for both legs of our culinary celebrations.
Back home then, for the remainder of the holidays and streaming selections brought more success. In no particular order: Moon Knight and the returning notion of having an alter ego. My childhood hero, Pat Nevin, on Celebrity Mastermind and losing to one of the reviewers on Gogglebox (despite his autobiography making him sound like the most knowledgable and articulate footballer that ever lived – an outstanding read!)
Now, for a brief interlude and honorable mentions to other highlights of the last couple of months:
A fantastic breakfast at our new local, with the coolest branding around, The Oxford, whom we wish well and urge all to attend.
Then there’s the visits to farms, Acorn Farm and St Michael’s, which again were a lovely reminder of Spring and nature on our doorstep, and exactly why Easter really is the best time of year.
There also came Turning Red – great music, beautiful design, clever and very close to home – and finally getting what everyone was saying about Killing Eve, what with its graphic violence and stirring romantic undertones yet the plot promoting even more longing to travel when you saw those exotic locations.
And, Tyson Fury – great fight and got me thinking of not just meeting him last summer but the journey he has been on; I sat re-watching the highlights with the littlest one the following day and he’s starting to show an interest in pugilism that then brought back older memories of this magical movie moment from Bugsy Malone:
And then, the football and three Marine FC games as their run towards play off success progressed – E really is developing a keen interest in the game, getting to know players and club colours and practising out in the garden all the time. Also, he;s always asking questions such as ‘who is this playing?’ ‘Is Neil Kengne better than Leo Messi?’ and deciding which kit to get for next season… I’ve never pushed it with him, but now it’s glorious to see things taking their hold and he’s really caught the bug (next to The Bug, for those who know)
Taking the family to the last game of the season was just brilliant and, even though they lost it, they won the ones that mattered. I listened to the play off final via YouTube and marvelled at the scenes when the squad returned to the stadium in celebration, feeling a sense of pride and excitement for once, and so we might even get a season ticket for next season!
Evertonian turned Sky pundit and impartial commentator JC was even at the last game, stood near us and clearly intimidated more than I’d seen him since facing up to Duncan or even our encounter in town one night at Easter 2001.
As always, bigger issues and events await ominously… but they can wait, for now.