erastes

We went to the Swan in Ingham, where we’ve been regularly for the past 3 years and found that they had had a refit, and had a new chef, new menu, new floor, new furniture.

Now it’s an ancient building. It was part of the stable block of the (destroyed by Henry 8th) monastery at Ingham and dates from around 1360. It’s been sensitively restored using the same brick and flint style you see all over this part of Norfolk. However the furniture (previously heavy gothic oak chairs and tables) is made of “something supposed to look like oak” and even got woven cane at the bar – wtf? - and is flimsy and doesn’t SUIT the building. They’ve put a pine floor down over the beautiful old stone flags. Why? Why why why??? The pine floor (perhaps a more suitable dance floor for parties?) BOUNCES every time someone walks past ruining your lunch – and worst of ALL. The Menu is now “trendy-I-could-be-in-Masterchef-you-know” with jus and foam and wilted this and beds of that and drizzles of this and confits of something or other.

Look. I don’t mind trendy food. I appreciate today’s trendy food better than the nouvelle cuisine we used to get in the 80’s – at least you get a “plate of food” – but when I go out into the middle of NOWHERE to one of my favourite country pubs which does home made wholesome country pub food – I don’t want THIS.

Served on slabs of slate? What’s with that? There’s no slate around here! You just try and put gravy on it, and see what happens. Oh sorry. JUS.

If I want that kind of trendy city stuff, I will go to Norwich, because that is where it belongs.

WHERE’S MY STEAK AND KIDNEY PUDDING????? I tell you that I’m glad little Aslan isn’t round to see this, because if I’d had to go back out to the car (not that we would have taken him today with temperatures in the 90s) and had to EXPLAIN that there was only a bit of meat and a lump of crackling and a splodge of something and sorry, there was no S&K for him, he would have been heartbroken. As am I.

*cries* We won’t be going back. BAH.