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| The pier at Cleethorpes |
It was Shirley's birthday today. I bought her some new walking boots, a summer dress, a nice bottle of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, some Cadbury's mini chocolate eggs and a colourful bunch of Gerbera daisies but still she wanted more! She had the idea of visiting the coast - seventy miles from Sheffield so at 10am we set off.
Clint was purring as we headed east along the M180. At first we decided to head south of Cleethorpes in the direction of Donna Nook which is a coastal nature reserve famed for its seal population in the autumn but by March the seals have all left along with their new pups. Here land and sea threaten to merge and at low tide you might imagine that you could walk across The North Sea to The Netherlands.
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| Royal Air Force training aids at Donna Nook |
After an hour we were back in Clint and made a short stop at Marshchapel on our way back up the coast to Cleethorpes. We had a nice stroll around the town before reaching our lunch destination - Steel's fish and chip restaurant. It was an establishment that Shirley's late parents - Charlie and Winnie - would occasionally visit and a traditional eatery that has won many plaudits.
Battered haddock with chips and mushy peas, a pot of tea and some bread and butter - you can't beat it and we also had a window seat overlooking Market Street, watching all the comings and goings. A small funeral party emerged from The Market Tavern - some holding purple balloons - as senior citizens with small cars manoeuvred with difficulty out of tight parking spaces.
Later we went in a seafront amusement arcade and frittered away a tub of two pence pieces on one of those coin drop machines - trying to push other two pence pieces over the moving ledge inside the glass. I have always enjoyed losing money in those frustrating contraptions.
By the time we had strolled a few hundred yards along the beach, it was after four o'clock and the birthday girl decided it was time to head home. It had been a nice day out in brightening weather and a pleasant sway to mark my wife's 59th year in this world.
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| Pew carving by Thomas Swaby in St Mary's Church, Marshchapel |
A very nice day, from the sound of it. Belated birthday wishes to your Shirley!
ReplyDeleteAnd the next time you want to lose some money, just mail it to your dedicated readers instead, okay? It'll save you so much time and frustration :)
Hey, money isn't everything O'Jenny!
DeleteHappy birthday Shirley. You had a very nice day. Fish and chips are one of my favorites. I don't know about the mashed peas though?
ReplyDeleteNot mashed but mushy Red. I am afraid one has not lived until one has consumed a portion of mushy peas.
DeleteHappy Birthday to Shirley! It sounds like she had a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteYes she did and many birthday cards too Bonnie.
DeleteHappy Birthday to Shirley. It sounds like you both enjoyed her day very much. Cheers to Shirley. :)
ReplyDeleteNew Zealand's Marlborough Sounds' region and Hawke's Bay produce some brilliant Sauvignon Blancs...and Marlborough Sounds also has delicious salmon. It's oily, rich and delicious!
I love battered fish and chips. I love mushy peas, but I can't get my head around combining them with fish and chips.
However, I do love mushy peas with a good meat pie. Different tastes for different people, countries and habits, I guess.
We have sophisticated palates here in The North of Merry Olde England but we also enjoy mushy peas with meat pies. Thanks for visiting again Lee.
DeleteYou are a sterling giver of gifts! Boots, dress, chocolate, wine AND flowers? Please tell me they were all in the original carrier bags
ReplyDeleteNope. I bought them all second-hand from a furtive fellow in our pub. They call him Burglar Bill for some reason.
DeleteHappy Birthday Shirley.
ReplyDeleteAn English day out at the beach is so different to an Aussie one isn't it Lee? For one thing I think a lot of us here prefer our fish done in breadcrumbs and mushy peas are not even on the menu ( though I enjoy them when visiting England). No amusement arcades here either. Just sand and surf and perhaps a picnic in the park nearby.
So true, Helsie...re the beach.
DeleteI'm not sure if you remember...it was probably before your time, but not mine....I'm ancient :).....back in the Fifties and early Sixties the old jetty at Redcliffe had an entertainment area on it....
http://historyredcliffe.com.au/portfolio/redcliffe-jetty/
I remember visiting it once when I was just a kid...our Nana took my brother and me, by rail motor, for a day out there...which was a pretty big deal back then. And then later when I was in my early teens.
Wow! The old rail motors...I'd not thought about them in a long while. I'm not sure when they ceased service, and I can't fine much information on them.
Sorry for taking over your blog without your permission, Yorkie! :)
I am very happy for two "mature" Aussie ladies to hijack this blog for a natter. I'm surprised you haven't talked about the price of fish and your preferred undergarments too.
DeleteA very happy birthday to your wife Shirley!
ReplyDeleteMy 59th is coming up later this year and I hope I am as lucky as Shirley regarding gifts except for the walking boots, they would be wasted on me I'm afraid but a nice pair of wellies would do!
There's nothing better than being with someone you love and enjoying things together.
Love post.
Rather than wellies why not ask for thigh boots made from soft Moroccan leather.. with stirrups and a bullwhip. (Only joking Christina!)
DeleteNo point. I already have these things.........:)
DeleteThat sounds like a good way to spend a birthday. The other presents sound very nice, too. Who can resist a man who gives a woman a summer dress, walking boots, chocolate, flowers and a bottle of wine!
ReplyDeleteI know those penny-pushing machines from many a summer holiday in Scarborough. Steve introduced me there to the world of amusement arcades; a few hours of fun when it was raining (which it did occasionally).
How the idea came up to eat bread and butter in addition to fish and chips I will never understand - to me, any meal that has bread does not need anything made of spuds, and the other way round. It is like eating bread with bread, and mashed potatoes with chips... but I know it is the traditional way to eat this, and I am glad you had the chance to eat at a place where they really seem to know how to make them.
I use the bread to make a chip buttie (sandwich) to sit on my side plate.
DeleteI am pleased to learn that Steve enhanced your cultural appreciation of English society by introducing you to coin drop machines. Shakespeare isn't everything.
Sounds like a great day out! I'm impressed that you found something useful to do with a 2p coin! LOL!
ReplyDeleteThat fish & chips place sounds good -- maybe we'll have to head up that way ourselves one day. Wonder if they'd let Olga in?
Oh, and what's this I read in the Guardian about Sheffield cutting down hundreds of its street trees? What the heck is going on up there?
DeleteHappy birthday to your wife Shirley! What a lovely day out, spent with a kind and loving husband.
DeleteGreetings Maria x
Kind and loving husband? No, she was with me Maria!
DeleteAND STEVE>
No dogs allowed in Steels I am afraid.
And the trees... yes, it is a bloody disgrace and all about private enterprise mixed with callous stupidity and arrogance. Perhaps I will blog about this some time soon. It makes my blood boil.
STEVE> See this post from a year ago:-
Deletehttps://beefgravy.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=City+of+Trees
This is really interesting to me because we are going to the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds next week to look at a couple of properties. It's not a part of the country that I've ever visited before.
ReplyDeleteThe Lincolnshire Wolds is a lovely region of rolling chalkland. There are some very nice villages and small towns including Caistor, Horncastle and Louth. In pre-history, the sea lapped up to the eastern edge of the wolds and the flatlands between Mablethorpe and Louth were in fact salt marshes. Lincoln itself is a very pleasant city with much history though it is twelve miles west of the wolds. Living near the north end of the wolds makes road travel to other regions swifter.
DeleteHappiest Birthday to Mrs. Pudding, and I'm glad she got her heart's desire to see the sea and have a most very English celebration.
ReplyDeleteThank you American cousin.
DeleteHappy Birthday to Shirley! What a good husband you are, Neil. It sounds like you gave her a wonderful day to remember. And your dinner looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI doubt that I am as wonderful as your husband Jennifer!
Delete