January Jollies

It's been a long month, getting used to being back at work after an illness that lasted a couple of months and making the money stretch a bit further than normal. However, I have managed a couple of evenings out.

Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra

Another wonderful concert by the IOW Symphony Orchestra. The concert began with  'Epic March' by Ireland, followed by Symphony No. 1 by Shostakovich. After the interval was a Violin Concerto in B Minor by Elgar, with the fantastic musical talents of soloist Charlie Lovell-Jones. Superb.

Social Night

I attended a meal out with a group I belong to, at the Victoria Lodge Hotel in Shanklin. This was very pleasant; we had a three course meal, which, for me, consisted of tomato soup followed by salmon in hollandaise sauce with a selection of vegetables, then apple pie and ice cream. After this was cheese and biscuits and tea or coffee. Once the meal was finished we were given a '2017 quiz' and a sheet of Christmassy anagrams to do. My team did rather badly, as we knew little about sport or popular TV! I may go again next year. 

Christmas Dinner

Well the weather really isn't right for rambling so I shall continue to waffle on about food. I attended my work's Christmas Dinner at The Bargeman's Rest, Newport on Friday last and had a jolly time. Pleasant company was accompanied by good food in sizeable portions.

 

I began with a Spinach and Ricotta  parcel and salad. I had expected the parcel to be of delicate pastry, and was surprised when it turned out to be rather chunky and pie-like. However, it tasted very nice, as did the salad. For my main course I was given a huge portion of stuffed, slow roasted pork loin with an arch of very crackly crackling, and roast potatoes. Vegetables provided separately were cauliflower cheese, carrots, sprouts, and boiled potatoes, and there was also cranberry sauce and gravy. Absolutely delicious all round, and the pork was cooked to perfection. Pudding had been pre-ordered, and was a gluten free chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce and squirty cream. This wasn't such an impressive course; the brownie was rather thin and large, rather than small, chunky and oozing chocolatey gooeyness, the sauce wasn't necessary (or at least so much of it), and the cream should have come in a jug. By that stage I was so stuffed from the first two courses that pudding didn't really matter!

 

The service was excellent all round, from bar staff to waiting staff and I would definitely eat there again.