Friday 14 February 2020

Sunday lunch

Meat is a serious business in the Dales. The media may be full of vegan recipes and the necessity of changing our agriculture to plant-based crops in order to save the planet, but it appears to be falling on deaf ears around these parts. At home we eat mainly our own-grown produce; three large freezers and dry storage keeps us in fruit and veg throughout the year. But when we are in the Dales we go out for Sunday lunch and our eating pattern is different, it's Yorkshire pudding, a generous slab of meat and the most delicious beef gravy! (My smooth fox terrier always waited in eager anticipation for my return from the pub with a doggy bag full of all the meat that I couldn't finish.)
On arrival in the Dales we phoned 'The Queen's Head.' No response. We left a message but no-one got back to us. Phoning is a tricky business here because we don't have a land line and mobile phone signals are erratic. We have to walk to the back garth and stand facing west to have any success. If you absentmindedly move a little to the side while talking the connection fails.
On Sunday we drove to the 'Queen's Head' anyway. No sign of life. Another car pulled up and the occupants jumped out and  peered through the pub windows. Curtains half closed - what's going on?
We drove to 'The Huntsman'. "No food, the chef's done a runner." We drove to yet another of our regular eating places. It was full, obviously with clientele from the other places. It was getting late  now and we were feeling ravenous. Last chance was, 'The Friar's Head'. Well, good for the friar, he had a table for us. We were so hungry that could hardly make a choice from what was on offer. Okay then, why not just plump for the three roast option? Enormous plates of meat arrived. Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, crackling, assorted sauces, gravy, every sort of veg. It looked overwhelming.
But, Dear Reader, we ate it all!

It's just as well that we do a bit of walking to offset all this feasting. The weather was far from brilliant during our stay so our walks on this trip were short. It's been a wet year, as the mossy walls testify.




What's the saying? There's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing!



Snowdrops and forsythia on my wall.
And it's always a beautiful day when it's time to leave!


17 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos. I'm impressed with your ability to provide so much of your own food. What an amazing effort that must be. I try to eat healthy, and eat less red meat. However, sometimes beef is what I must have.

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    1. Growing our food does take a fair bit of time, Colette, but it's something that gives me great satisfaction. I know that nothing has been sprayed or contaminated. Also the digging, bending and stretching is a good workout instead of going to the gym. (Or so I tell myself!)

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  2. The weather does not look too bad in your pictures (wonderful, by the way!), but then of course you would not pull the camera/mobile out to take pictures while walking in pouring rain. I love the mix of sun and clouds in the sky, and the mossy stone wall is just beautiful.
    Did you ever find out why your first choice of pub was closed?

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    1. Yes, I heard later that the pub was closed because there had been a death in the family.
      Strong winds were the main difficulty this time - difficult to capture on a still photo!

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  3. Beautiful photos. Happy Valentine's Day.

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    1. Thank you, R. I hope you got chocolate - and roses!

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  4. It all look so gorgeous! And the moss so lush! When you're really ravenous like that, it's amazing what you can put away. Crackling is just irresistible. I remember packets of pork scratchings as being about the only snack available in some pubs when I lived there. Never seen such a thing before or since.

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    1. Pork scratchings demonstrate what a dire place Blighty used to be for eating out!

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  5. Winter scenes, often stark and devoid of color, have beauty also. Your photo of the green moss and the bare trees shows the magnificent artistry of Mother Nature and your skill as a photographer.

    We eat much less meat than we did years ago, but I don’t think I could ever be a strict vegetarian.

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    1. I can't describe myself as a strict vegetarian either, just that my diet is mainly veg.

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  7. What a shame so many pubs are going but, nice that you’ve still got The Friars Head .... it looks and sounds amazing ! .... and such beautiful countryside in your part of thd world. XXXX

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    1. The pub closures are only temporary problems, Jacqueline, although meal standards can dip and dive depending on who is working in the kitchen! The countryside is a constant, however, and a great source of joy to me whenever I am there.

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  8. What beautiful photos. The food looks GREAT. We are kind of the same here. We eat mostly vegetarian (I eat some fish now and then) but when we go out to eat, we both seem to go right for the meat!

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    1. The dairy industry would certainly be bankrupt if it had to rely on us, but an occasional meal of good quality meat is a real treat. It's a serious business in the Dales and the shops and restaurants usually know all the details of their product,such as who reared the animal, it's breed and age .

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  9. "There's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing" you had me cracking at this line! This is so true indeed. Loved the food photos (drool!). You are pretty good at landscape photographs, what equipment did you use this time? Cheers, and when you are free, do share tips on how you manage your travel and photography. Do check out some amazing photographs at http://www.bloghasting.com

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