Lovely day out

One of my greatest friends spends her summers in France but, for house insurance purposes, has to fly home after so many days. She can check on things before she heads back to the sun.

It's become a bit of a tradition that I drive up the M6 to see her and we have a leisurely lunch and a catch up. Today was the day.

The roadworks were slow and annoying on the way up, but I had a clear(ish) run home.

It was great to see her and lunch was fabulous. There is a fishmonger in Heaton Moor with restaurant tables in the back.

Fish is, of course, their speciality and today I made another convert to perfectly cooked squid. My friends who say they don't like it because it's rubbery are easy to convince that it's fabulous when they taste properly prepared squid. It's worth sharing a piece in the interests of their enlightenment. Moules Marinieres (with frites) were the main course.

The delicious food made the perfect backdrop to a good catch up and a lovely day out.