Today

It was my 34th wedding anniversary on Saturday. So we buzzed off to Meare Manor for a very nice dinner. We went with one of my brothers, his wife and youngest boy, my other sister in law and 2 dear friends. We put on our smarties, hired ourselves a minibus and were very jolly.

The location was lovely, a pretty manor (possibly Jacobean), close to the village street, with a pretty garden in which we sat to have pre-dinner drinks. We had a gift of a beautiful plate and matching dishes from Brother David (will go very well in flat 2, no 9) and drank champagne.

The meal was just right, served in a graceful dining room by friendly waitresses. We drank some good Sancerre and a Portuguese red wine. We relaxed at our table after the meal and the conversation flowed fast and freely.

Got home at about 1.30, having felt that we'd truly celebrated.

In My Day

I don't recall our first wedding anniversary, but then I was heavily pregnant with Lizzie and we probably didn't go out. I do remember our 2nd. We got a baby-sitter for 9 month-old Lizzie. We went to a highly recommended restaurant called the Horseshoe in Herstmonceux. It was a heavily faked half-timbered building that got its name from the fact that the entrance was shaped like a horseshoe.

We were ushered straight into a vast barn-like dining room where there were about 3 other diners. Waiters and acolytes rushed up to our table. I don't remember the whole meal, although I do remember one part which involved flambeing something or other at the table.

What I do remember is that the service was so fast we had barely put down our forks when the next stage arrived and we were done and dusted by about 9.00 .

There didn't seem to be a "coffee in the lounge" option, so there we were, on the street, so to speak, with no idea of how we were going to spend the rest of the evening.

Our babysitter got off early, though