Happy Australia Day!
G’day! Yes I’m back in OZ again and consider myself very lucky to be missing out on the UK winter though having said that as I write we are in the middle of a tropical storm here in southern QLD, the worst rain I have ever seen but it’s still warm and it doesn’t require quite so much will power to sit at the computer.
Had to get over jet lag quickly in time to celebrate my gorgeous g’daughter’s 6th birthday. Her present, her first pets, 2 guinea pigs, she’s seen here holding Rosie. 
The guinea pigs cost $20 the cage $200! The party was held at a craft centre, 14 children making lots of messy things they could take home. I’m very happy that when my kids were young we had their parties at home, now a days there’s pressure to come up with a new and original venue every year. (Should I go into kids’ party planning when I get home???)
Yesterday was my handsome g’son’s 4th birthday, his present a guitar, he’s hoping to start lessons soon. He had a bowling party; so funny to watch toddlers sending great big bowling balls down the special ramps for kids, they loved it.
Tomorrow is Australia Day & if we haven’t all drowned by then my son is becoming an Australian Citizen (happy he’ll still be British as well!). After the ceremony having a big party to celebrate, only Aussie food & drink allowed.
You can see I’ve been having a very happy family time sadly my poor husband is in Greece trying to get his passport renewed. You will remember from an earlier post that he started trying to renew it in late November. We found out that the Greek Embassy did not send any passport renewals that had been submitted since the beginning of December (350 of them) to Greece until the 16th January!!! They said they could not afford to send the diplomatic bag. The way they have treated their citizens in UK is just disgusting and all the time the only information they would give was that they would phone when the passport was ready. The only solution was for him to fly to Greece, we are praying he gets it very soon but it is so sad he has missed all these lovely celebrations.
Before I left home 5 of us met up (4 LWL & a spare!) at The Heath, Dibden Purlieu for a farewell lunch. It’s a good venue for relaxed dining, not wonderful food but it’s very reasonable and nice surroundings!
Not long after I left the others went for a wonderful lunch to The White Horse 
in Otterbourne, so wonderful they have given the food 5/5 and a total score of 23/25! (Sorry I missed it!) It’s the 2nd new venue that has been recently renovated and opened by the local company Ideal Collection mentioned in the previous post. They are to be congratulated; like No 5 Bridge Street in Winchester they have once again got a wonderful team running the White Horse and the décor is gorgeous.
We’ve only been out to eat once since I got here; we went to a Hog’s Breath Café, they are famous for their 18 hr slow cooked steaks! The steaks are OK but not amazing, quite a fun atmosphere though so worth a try if you ever come down under.
I’ve been very brave and not only stroked the guinea pigs (they look like rats to me) but also a local 
friendly kookaburra so really getting into Aussie wild life! We are very near The Currumbin Wild Life Sanctuary where they feed the birds daily so we think that is why many of the birds that land on our balcony are so tame. Will still not be sea swimming though, the Aussies laugh at my fear (hearing music from Jaws!) but there have been 2 shark attacks since I arrived! Not in this area but still scary. 
Before the rain started I was spending my time in the pool, walking on the beach and admiring the views!
Forgive me if these posts are few and far between until I get back to UK. The other 3 are out there eating on your behalf and new reviews will be appearing on the site so no worries!
Would love to hear your eating out experiences and Guest Book entries are always very welcome!
CJ X
Happy 2012!
The plan was to update The Blog on the 1st January but sadly the day was a bit of a blur! We all had wonderful Christmas and New Year celebrations and hope you did too but hasn’t it been difficult to get back to knowing what day it is again?
Of course we’ve all started the obligatory post-Christmas diet but willingly went off it to review the delightful 
No5 Bridge Street in Winchester. Very attractive décor and delicious food; it’s the sort of place you can enjoy either a full on meal or to pop in for a graze! They specialise in Small Plates; ideal with a glass of wine and for sharing a selection. We highly recommend and if you go (to No 5 or any other venue) please remember tell them LWL sent you!
It’s a new year and we are making a small change to our marking system. We’ve decided that to get a GOLD award a venue needs to have a 5/5 in at least one category so now a score of 21/25 will receive 
GOLD. 20/25 will now, along with 19/25 & 18/25, receive a 
SILVER award and as before 17/25, 16/25 and 15/25 will receive a 
BRONZE award.
Our Restaurant of the Month for January is an all-time favourite of ours Clos du Marquis in Stockbridge. It’s the place to go for authentic French food and they now have the added attraction of their delicatessen, The French Pantry. The only trouble is I have just discovered they are on a well deserved holiday until 17th January so make a note in your diaries to give them a call after that date!
Recently I re-Tweeted an interesting link from Heston Blumenthal 
“The 10 food ideas that changed the way we eat in 2011”
Apparently the word Restaurant is so over, any suggestions for alternatives??
2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 18,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Happy Christmas!
LWL DISCOUNT CARDS, ONLY £10 Last Day TODAY 18th Dec!
A Very Special Offer to help you with your Christmas Shopping ……
Until December 18th BUY A LADIES WHO LUNCH DISCOUNT CARD for only £10!
Remember they have no expiry date so they make Wonderful Christmas Presents; they are a gift for life!
An ideal present for family, friends or yourself of course and so easy to buy JUST CLICK HERE
(Please don’t forget to enter the name you want on the card).
Check out all the Discounts on Offer HERE!
FRAGILE & FRAZZLED!
Feeling both of the above and both are self-inflicted. The season of over indulgence is upon us; I was out to eat on last Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and for lunch yesterday! Mainly I was at friend’s houses but for two of these occasions we have reviews for you.
On Wednesday we went to the recently refurbished Tollhouse Inn in Lymington. The décor is lovely and the food is good. 
Unfortunately Thursday was one of the wettest and windiest days of the year and we went to the Christmas Market in Winchester . I had long looked forward to this as I hadn’t been before but the weather did rather ruin the atmosphere, I’m sure it would be lovely for a long browse on a nice day. It’s open until 21st December.
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We did have a lovely lunch at The Old Vine near the Cathedral and the warm atmosphere in there and the lovely food really cheered us up! Lots of people have recommended the Old Vine to us and now we know why. 
SM has tried two new venues; the atmospheric Cenos in Portswood Southampton
and the very traditional Grosvenor Hotel in Stockbridge 
I’m frazzled because I have hardly written a card, have hardly any presents and the house is still not decorated… I spend far too much time trying to keep up with LWL!
The answer is to shop online for gifts. Obviously I am going to recommend to you our Ladies who Lunch in Hampshire Discount Cards; they are still only £10 (we have extended the offer until 18th December). You can click here to BUY NOW they are a gift that lasts forever and they can be slipped into a Christmas Card so don’t take much effort to wrap!
I’m a great fan of giving vouchers and can recommend the ones from Austen’s Hair & Beauty in Chandlers Ford and from Rejuvenate Me ; nothing makes a more welcome present than a little pampering.
Seek & Adore is there for lots of unique and unusual last minute gifts like jewellery for example AND they are offering 10% discount to all, just enter LUNCH at checkout!
I have also found the Handbag Hooks from So Hooked make a great stocking filler, they keep your handbag clean, safe & out of the way! (20% discount on all purchases, email their site, say you are a LWL card holder and you will be sent discount code so you can buy on line).
They are not online but I’m going to buy lots of Christmas foodie treats from The French Pantry at Clos du Marquis
My wine rack is full c/o Tesco Wine online (next day delivery) and hopefully the 2 large food deliveries booked with Tesco will arrive with no substitutes. (Best to make sure there’s time to go to the shop if they are out of stock of anything) Fingers crossed I will soon have enough to feed the 5000!
Have to say I’ve been very impressed with the service from the old faithfuls… Amazon, M&S & John Lewis so excuse me whilst I get clicking and hopefully finish my present shopping!
As I am having a big family “fake” Christmas on the 16th (son & d in law off to OZ for a holiday) and then lots of other family and friends get togethers I think this will be the last offering before Christmas so we “Ladies” would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year filled with delicious Dining! XX
Highs & Lows & Lunch at Bibendum!
It’s been an eventful few days. Last Wednesday my husband and I had to go to London to the Greek 
Embassy to renew his passport. What a stressful performance it was, we were there for ages and it’s still not solved as they keep changing the required documentation. Trying to get info from Greece at the moment is not easy. The only nice thing about the embassy is the area it’s in; Holland Park has some stunning houses worth, according to our cab driver, £40,000,000! He pointed out Richard Branson’s house, (shock horror he had mismatching net curtains!) and the enormous one that Simon Cowell is renovating… it’s another world.
The highlight of London was a lovely lunch with a friend at Bibendum in the fabulous Michelin building… did you know that Bibendum is the name of the Michelin Man? No neither did I, read all about it HERE.
On Thursday I was very lucky as a friend invited me to use some free tickets she had to see the 
production of White Christmas at The Mayflower, Southampton. I absolutely loved it, shame it’s not still on because if it was I’d urge you all to go. It had a great cast, wonderful singing, dancing and costumes, very uplifting! Click HERE to read about it and don’t forget to look at the photo gallery.
On Friday I had a dinner party; I love eating but get very stressed about cooking so was happy that everyone, including me, enjoyed themselves. No I’m not going to tell you what I cooked because it was very simple in comparison to most of the restaurants we go to. On Saturday I had a horrible hangover and on Sunday a cold started so a wasted weekend. Still have the cold and feeling very sorry for myself especially as there is so much to do at this time of year.
If you are feeling rushed why not consider buying Ladies who Lunch in Hampshire Discount Cards as 
Christmas Presents? You can buy them with a quick click of the mouse, they can be popped into a Christmas card and best of all they last forever (no expiry date)! At the moment they are on offer for only £10; it’s easily possible to recoup this outlay on a meal for 4 in some of the participating restaurants so why not get one for yourself as well? Click for more details and to 
.
Sunday 27th, latest ALEX Ad Hoc !
We have been to some super restaurants recently and last Friday we went to another to dinner (yes we ventured out after dark) to The Jetty in Mudeford, Nr Christchurch (we are old enough to remember when it was in Hampshire!). Michelin starred chef Alex Aitken (pictured) has come up with the novel idea of “ad hoc” evenings… fun, simple, affordable… Alex chooses great produce for some new dishes or old favourites & creates a four course menu… all for just £25! Click here to read all about it.
NEXT Alex ‘Ad Hoc’
Sunday 27th November – 4pm to 7pm
This Sunday, check out the Sunset while you dine with Alex ‘Ad Hoc’
The Menu
Alex cooks Mudeford Paella
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Whole honey roast ducks to share with roasted roots and apple sauce
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Apple sorbet with Calvados
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Baked skin on rice pudding with jam
£25 per person
To book call ‘the jetty’ restaurant on 01202 400950 and quote Alex ‘Ad Hoc’
Unique Christmas Gifts from Seek & Adore!
Unique Christmas Gifts from Seek & Adore!
With less than two months to go to the big day it’s definitely time to start writing the Christmas card list, choosing a few new decorations and thinking about the presents – especially the tricky people who we always leave until the last minute.
Our friends at Seek & Adore have an imaginative range of unique Christmas gifts , stocking fillers and handmade Christmas decorations, they really should be at the top of your shopping bookmarks this season.
What’s more, I’ve negotiated a special Christmas gift for ALL Fans of LWL. Simply enter “LUNCH” at the checkout and you will receive 10% off your first order with Seek & Adore. Offer ends 16/12/11.
We all know how stressful it can be charging around the shops, so I don’t need to tell you the wonderful benefits of shopping online from your sofa with a glass of wine in hand. But Seek & Adore makes it even easier with a delightfully festive Christmas Shop, making it simple to browse hundreds of unique Christmas gifts and handmade Christmas decorations.
As I flicked through the site last night the leather Ipad wallet caught my eye and would be perfect for my son; while I know my husband would love Tanya Igic’s stunning cufflinks – and a few of Claire Lovett’s gorgeous little hanging bird decorations would perch beautifully on the branches my tree.
As well as offering you a simple, hassle-free and inspiring shopping experience Seek & Adore also champions the unusual, individual and handmade; so you’ll never have to worry about your family or friends getting the same gift.
With a large range of original gifts, accessories and homewares available at the click of a button, let Seek & Adore help you have a hassle free, handcrafted Christmas.
Happy Shopping!
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Foodie Mecca?
Residents of Milford on Sea must be among some of the luckiest in the South of England; they have some fabulous restaurants in their midst including TWO of our highest scorers!
Verveine, a long standing favourite of ours, has recently won Hampshire Restaurant of the Year and Chef/Partner David Wykes has won Hampshire Chef of the Year!
The Marine, a fabulous Art Deco building on the sea front has made the Good Food Guide for 2012. We made our first visit last week and were very impressed!
And worthy of special mention is La Perle, a charming family owned French Bistro.
