Spice Essence

I'd hoped to get home early, today, to greet Dean, who has come to stay for a couple of days. In the end, though, I didn't get away from the office until after five, swung 'round to pick up Dan and Abi, and arrived home just before six. It was too late to cook*, so I suggested that we pop out for a curry at Spice Essence.

I love the ritual of a curry. You get seated, sort out your drinks and poppadoms, and then sit back and relax, and get chatting. At some point, someone will come and ask you if you're ready to order and, if you're a Pearson (or is it everybody?) you'll ask for a few more minutes to decide because you've haven't actually opened the menus yet. This may happen two or three times.

There is actually an advantage that arises from this lack of focus, which is that by the time you do order, you've had enough poppadoms and chutneys such that you ask for an amount of food that there is reasonable chance you'll manage to finish.

We had a splendid time, this evening. Milly came over to join us for a drink and then decided to eat, too. Part of Dean's charm is that he gets on with people of all ages, and simultaneously, too, so it was a wonderful finish to the day. Although, in fact, that wasn't quite the end as we went back to the cottage, finished off the tub of celebrations that we'd opened for Milly's birthday party two days ago, and Dean and I tackled the bottle of Jack Daniels that he'd kindly brought with him.

*To late, that is, if your primary concern is finding an excuse to go for a curry.