Edit: wrote this last night, but ran out of time to publish it

Drove down to Hastings this morning to pick up DP’s suit for DD2’s wedding on Sunday. He tried it on and he looked so handsome in it. He wasn’t very comfortable wearing what he called, well, I won’t tell you what he called it! But my goodness, he looked good. It won’t hurt him to wear something like that for one day. And I completely forgot to take a picture, doh!

We were hoping to collect our own wedding rings at the same time, from Newhaven. But the chap wasn’t in, he was busy testing his new toy, a Suzuki bike, at Brands Hatch. So we came home, then drove all the way back to Newhaven again in the evening. He has done a really good job and they look lovely. I wore my newly enlarged engagement and wedding rings for half an hour this evening, and my finger changed colour! He’s going to have to let them out a bit more yet! The engagement ring in the picture is the ring DP bought on Christmas Eve in 1978 for £143. The insurance valuation given to us by the chap who made the wedding rings put the replacement cost at nearly £1,000! Blimey! Admittedly 1978 is a long time ago, but even so! DP says, oh good, shall we sell that one and get a different, cheaper one? I think he was joking

On the way back the first time, we popped into a pub new to us for a bit of lunch, and it was quite a find. The Squirrel Inn, just outside Battle, and in fact, very near to Claverham College where I went for the cooking course recently. DP had a steak pie, which was delicious. A proper, double shortcrust, pastry pie. I tried the pork taster plate, and it was wonderful. Belly pork, a proper sausage, black pudding and pork loin, all with creamy mash, proper gravy and fresh veg. A good de-caff coffee to follow too. Sometimes the de-caff coffee in a pub is good, sometimes not very good at all. The menu choices were good, the decor quirky with cartoons and vinyl albums on the walls, remember those? There is a big garden too. So if you’re passing, it’s well worth giving it a go.

One of the things they have there is a windowsill full of propped up cook books, so I perused one as we chatted, waiting for our lunch. It was on British Cookery. I got a couple of good ideas from it which I shall write up soon. Potato cakes, which we could use in various ways, Pan Haggerty, a vegetarian favourite that I used to cook a lot, but haven’t done for ages. Apple and spice porridge which looked lovely. And a vegetable Toad in the Hole, which I am definitely going to try.