Helping Out and Eating Out

Afternoon, 

Tattoo finally settling down I write to you after an eventful and laid back kind of bank holiday weekend. As things start to get back to more normality, or whatever this new bullshit is now, Mr Warehouse and I have visited friends, family and even done a spot of masked-up shopping at a local retail park. However there is one thing I am looking forward to tonight, as I have done for the full month of August and that is one of my fave things to do of all time - Eating out!

Announced mid-July 2020, the Gov.uk website states that from 3rd to 31st August, foodies can get a 50% discount when you eat in Monday to Wednesday's that are registered with the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme. But what is it and how does it work? 

With the scheme launched in order to boost more spending from the Great British public following the reopening of many of our favourite haunts by the Governments Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, with the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme means many can get a 50% discount on food or non-alcoholic drinks to eat or drink in (up to a maximum of £10 discount per diner) as many times as you like. You do not need a voucher but can use it at the same time as other offers and discounts. The discount will be automatically taken off the bill should you eat in on the designated days and establishments will then claim a reimbursement from the government for the discount they’ve given you. 

Winner, winner chicken dinner. And you can take your pick from Nandos to KFC and other local chicken shops as there is no minimum spend. Some of the drawbacks though? You cannot claim discount on alcoholic drinks or service charges. Where can you use it you ask? Participating establishments may include restaurants, cafés, bars or pubs and even some work or school canteens. With all diners in a group of any size being able to use the discount it is certainly one that has been popular the last few weeks.

Mr Warehouse, Miss Tweedle-Dee and myself have certainly taken advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme at a participating establishments and quite frankly taken the piss sometimes, eating out at least once a week, sometimes two or three. 

Week one I took the chance to frequent somewhere I had been meaning to take Mr Warehouse, Miss Tweedle-Dee and myself for several months - Pasha. Located in close proximity to Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes, Pasha are leaders of exquisite Turkish and Mediterranean Cuisine and proud to have reached the Finals of the British Best Kebab Awards 2020.With every meaty morsoul ever-so slightly charred on the outside, tender and succulent on the inside there are no ovens, pots or pans. Just teasing flames from the grill and the best ingredients we can source in locally from within the Buckinghamshire area. Being Turkish food it was a more healthier and fresher choice but with their signature welcome bread and salad prepared the authentic way on site by experienced chefs and platters to die for it was the perfect place to start our culinary journey. 

Week two was Date Night and Mr Warehouse chose an Indian down the road from where he used to live in the next village over. Lounge India welcomed us on a rainy but terribly humid Tuesday but was nice to visit and get the history that it was once a pub run by Mr Warehouse's Dad. Specialising in Indian & Bangladeshi food, every dish was authenticly cooked which were mouth-watering delish, if a little different for me (someone who had never eaten out at a Indian in my life up until that point and barely had a takeaway from one). But with each dish cooked fresh to order and using the finest combination of spices, most of which were freshly grounded in the kitchen.

Week three was special since it was Mr Warehouse's birthday. On the day, following an escape room experiance (honestly so much fun and 100% doing it again), I treated the Bae to dinner at Browns Milton Keynes, conveniently located just over the road on Midsummer Boulevard. Whether it’s a pre-shopping lunch, afternoon tea or, as in our instance, an la carte dinner, the menu delivers fresh and seasonal dishes and all served in the comfort of our stylish yet cosy brasserie ith the elegant yet comfortable bar in the background offering exceptional drinks including classic and contemporary cocktails which we just had to try. 

Last week I had another disappointment (although not on the same level as the Indian) when Miss TweedleDumb and I branched out and visited the Blossom Room, again in Miltons Keynes Hub District. Instagram worth posts lured me to the establishment, however whilst the venue itself screamed dinner with the girls pre-night out, the food was slightly letting the "show" down. I dont know maybe its just not the kind of place you go for food because the cocktails were lovely. Certainly looking at the website it is the perfect Hen-Do starter location with Cocktail Masterclasses and VIP Booths or maybe a calmer Afternoon Tea or Bottomless Brunch to tickle your fancy. Anyhoo, definatly worth a visit for afterworks drinks and to decompress from your office in the tower block next door, the Blossom Room comes with golden angel wings to pose next to, cherry blossoms to gasp at and flower walls with neon signs to lust over, but not really somewhere for food, especially so when the website describes itself as "Japanese-inspired where the theatre of food and drink is served" and here I was expecting sushi and dancing Kimchi. 

Tonight was the last day and so we went out in style booking one of the last tables at The Smoke Pit in Northampton. Right in the heart pretty much of the town and situated behind the buildng I did some of my first ever counselling sessions in and next to The Cordwainer, a Wetherspoons pub whee I had my first post-college job after moving from the 'Shire, it was certainly an experiance being back. A casual, compact BBQ restaurant with sofas and high stools, for pulled pork & chargrilled meats, it was an exclectic mix of odds and sods collected from bric-a-brac shops with an all american feel and a nod to street food and art. The venue alone had Mr Warehouse and I looking around for the whole of our duration there and definatly somewhere to be coming back, if only to try the mega-death shakes my Dad had reccommended to us so highly. 

However as week sixteen starts and the bank holiday ends, so does EOTHO. But does it have to? A news article from the BBC has gone into detail about how beneficial this has been for eateries and establishments up and down the country. Since it was originally designed to boost the struggling hospitality industry, in its first three-weeks over 63 million discounted meals were ordered, but now as the "freebie" ends several restaurants say they will carry it on at their own expense including Tesco Café, The Real Greek, Harvester & Toby Carvery  just to name a few. 

Obviously some of the critics have had had their fill so as to speak and with fast-food chains such as Burger King, McDonalds and others having taken part EOTHO has drawn questioning from some anti-obesity campaignersand ergo pointing the finger at government and asking whether this is them giving a ''green light to promote junk food''. This is something I can totally get behind and understand since the discount doesnt seem to sit well alongside the government's healthy eating plan that bans "buy one get one free" deals on unhealthy food and this is not even taking into consideration the growing evidence of links between obesity and an increased risk from coronavirus. 

Do I think it should continue? Yes is the short answer. However I feel like the little guy is getting left behind as the bigger multi-site corperations can afford to take the hit of a tenner a head, little independants maybe cant and that can't be good for business or economies. If it is extended then whoopie for me and all my loved ones, but I think the government needs to get smarter with their "help" and only allow smaller companies to cash in on the benefits whilst also offering discounted gym memberships or fitness schemes because hell only knows I will need something to shift this Corona-comforter from my waist!

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

Celebrating Terrorists And The People Who Die to Protect Us From Them

Hello and Good Morrow, 

Once I was finished playing dress up and wearing scary make-up in last weeks Post I decided that a little less was definitely more - Except when it comes to my social life. And after hanging up the Little Red Riding Hood, I started to make plans for the rest of the year. 

Now in England, as well as the other United Kingdom occupants we here celebrate the night of Guy Fawkes on (Remember, Remember) the fifth of November, every year. Guy Fawkes, to give you a bit of background was some bloke who in 1605 (After the Battle of Hastings where some dude called Harold II lost an eye, and before Jack The Ripper - that other dude that liked to cut women) tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London. All because of some beef that he had with the current King of England, James I. 

Turns out that the disagreement leading to the hopeful demise of King James I and all his kings men on November the 5th 1605 was actually we can all relate to in modern day society. So - Bringing it back down to street level - The thirty-five year old Fawkesy (Not an actual name, I just made that shit up for the LOLs) had decided that after growing up in a government whereby Queen Elizabeth I was going around making all these laws about being a Catholic and all Guy had enough. But luck would have it though as James I comes into power and everything would change for the better. But this was not the case and the laws that were introduced by Q.Lizzie No. 1 were now being held up and even added too by that Jammy James the first. 

In a way probably very similar to that of the 2010 manifesto that was drawn up by Mr. Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats Party stating that he would make it his duty as part of a coalition government with David Cameron (Current PM) of the Conservative Party that Student Tuition fees would not increase. But oh, what was that, not even twelve-months later our little Cleggy broke that promise after being bum-raped by Cameron into raising them to over £9,000.00 a year in some cases much, much more, sending students across the country into meltdown after not only increasing fees, but pricing those on the brink of being able to afford going to Uni right out of the market. I was one of the last years that could have gone to University, but instead of putting in the hard work needed at college I opted into creating a life with my future husband-to-be, Mr. Workaholic. That ended but the anger towards the Lib Dems has not and still ensues to this day, reminding me of the one of the biggest regrets in my life. 

Anyhoo, Back to the Story. What did the little Guy do (see what I did there)? Did he write a strongly worded letter? Did he protest with flaming bags of shite? No. Well Sort of. Except the shit was actually thirty-six barrels full to the brim with Gun Powder, Something Mr. Fawkes had learned how to handle well and became somewhat of a connoisseur throughout Europe. And so with only hours to spare, England's most Infamous (and probably the first) Terrorist was caught in the act. I would like to think that Guy was just down the local having a couple of bevvies with his posse waiting for things to start 'Poppin' outside when the Feds came to arrest him. 

After the event was foiled, Guy Fawkes was tortured in good old fashioned style using The Rack as well as other instruments of immense pain and suffering. And 'eh, well done to the lad as he lasted two days on that thing before he uttered a word, something King James I was very impressed by. Eventually he 'fessed up and was sentenced to the highest punishment - To be hung, drawn and quartered! Unfortunately for the King and his Hitman, Guy was a little savvier than they were and as the noose was place around his neck, he jumped thus committing suicide instead and ending what would otherwise be a long and drawn out death. 

And that is the story of Guy Fawkes, a terrorist in his own making. But as we left the fireworks and bonfires behind on Saturday, celebrating them with Mr. Warehouse, Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb in Luton, I donned a bright red Poppy for a celebration of a different kind on Sunday, thinking of our fallen soldiers on Remembrance Day. Standing in the crowds, my Daddy behind me on his Motorbike, riding as part of the Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal I stood as proud then as I was in all the times I stood alone whilst he was either at war or with comrades delivering Poppy Wreaths to the cenotaph along Bedford's beautiful embankment. 

I was reflective on how so many men, as well as women and children had died in the World Wars there had been, but moreso in the fact that since that moment we as a country had never really been out of war and at peace. Afghanistan, Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Falklands, Iraq and the Gulf. All wars that I, as a twenty-four-year-old second-generation military daughter had seen in my lifetime alone. Too much and yet for Politicians, still not enough? 

I remember getting angry at the 2004 attempts at Christmas number one - A classic rendition of Bob Geldof and Midge Ure's Do they know its Christmas? One of the lines I remember vividly sang out "War is Over" and I remember thinking that "No, No its not. War is not over and I know this as fact as my father will not be spending Christmas with us that year" and as a small person it infuriated me the fact that some jumped up little hairy homeless-looking man and his Pop Princes and Princesses were trying to convey tat everything was OK and no-one was getting hurt when in reality many were dying every day. 

But as I came back from the one minute silence, brought back into the room with the heart-wrenching Last Post, I caught myself pondering - When will it end? In truth, I don't think it will ever end. Politicians are too greedy now (although I doubt that even when Guy Fawkes was alive they were hardly humble-giver-backers). And then it suddenly dawned on me ... In the same weekend I had celebrated both Terrorism and Remembering those who died in conflict trying to stop it. Interesting concept I thought I would share with you all this week. 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx