Dramas and day-trips in Stoke-on-Trent

My next stop was Stoke-on-Trent, to spend around a month with my very good friend Joy and her family. The weather was stunningly good for the first week I was there, and we took full advantage of it with many picnics in the park, bbqs and walks in the sun. Although not perhaps a typical area of England that one would think to visit, it had its own charm.

We bought a small disposable bbq after my success with one in London, and were soon cooking saussies on the barbecue with a beer in hand - proper kiwi summer! (complete with dying somewhat from smoke inhalation!)

























Joy was lucky enough to live next to a number of parks and green spaces, and we enjoyed many a day of taking her son Harvey to the park and entertaining him on the swings.

Our picnics were a great success, often involving homemade hummus (if you haven't tried this, you really should. Simple and delicious) and once a week we would pop down to the pub to meet up with their local friends and share a pint or two. My favourite place was a pub called 'The swan with seven necks' (although we kept forgetting what number there were causing us to say anything from seven to sixty to five-hundred) 

As always when we get together, much cooking occurred, including our first attempt at panna cotta! Surprisingly it was fairly easy and tasty, we even got the wobble just right! Unfortunately the hard part was getting it out of the mould - we ended up having to resort to hot water and alas, as can be seen below, this caused it to melt somewhat. 

Although we had exciting upcoming plans to go to Italy for a couple of weeks and enjoy the summer, we also decided to take a day trip to the Lake district, as it seemed a shame to spend a month in England and never see anything new. The day started off sunny giving us a lovely car ride up the country, however dramatic clouds began to cover the sky as we reached our destination. We had brought a picnic and decided to plonk ourselves right next to one of the famed lakes, to enjoy it to its full potential. 

Even with the cloudy weather, our picnic was lovely and relaxing, and well timed too as it began to rain just as we finished. Unfortunately the car was a good ten minutes walk away through the bush, and it began to absolutely pour down (of course we hadn't thought to bring umbrellas) by the time we arrived back at the car, we all looked as if we had taken a shower in our clothes. Not having had the time to swim before it began raining, we decided that since we were so wet anyway, we might as well strip to our togs and go swimming in the rain, which is exactly what Joy and I did, running back through the bush in the rain and throwing ourselves into the (surprisingly warm) lake. My favourite part was when a couple of hikers in heavy wet weather gear tramped by us staring in total disbelief. 

The month stay wasn't without mishaps of course, as Harvey had reached that wonderful age of getting into everything and anything possible. First the mystery of Joy's missing iphone which had her searching in desperation only to find hours later that Harvey had decided the perfect place for it was in a half opened can of coconut milk in the fridge...and then the worst one when in a second of looking away with Harvey on her lap whilst checking important documents, he managed to tear Joy's passport the day before we were meant to leave. I can't actual detail the spectacular panic and ensuing meltdown we all had, ending in a desperate drive down to Liverpool to secure an emergency one. Thank goodness for British efficiency! Aside from the many small dramas along the way, we finally were ready and excited to begin our new adventure in Italy.