The weather was beautiful. The sun was out and we were all wrapped up. The boys had grabbed their sunglasses before we left the house too! We walked round and looked at all the stalls and the boys were fascinated by the skateboarders and the fountains in the square.
This soup will store in an airtight container for a couple of days in the fridge or in the freezer for a few months. The recipe below serves two adults and two children with one portion left over for a lunch or dinner another day.
This month the boys have been loving eating and drinking all the chocolate at our meals out at Bill’s and Timmermans Garden Centre, swimming and going down the big slide with Nana pushing the wheelbarrow at the pumpkin patch, trick or treating and spending a little bit of their pocket money on new pens and a small toy.
Bill’s in Nottingham is in a beautiful building. It used to be a bank. The ceilings are high but it feels quite cozy at the same time with sofa benches and velvet cushions on the wooden chairs. There were a few people in the restaurant at 10am but it was fairly quiet which was great for us as we got served immediately. There is a separate children’s menu and the portions for the boys were great.
I’ll always have a soft spot for Hull, my university city, the place I spent three years of my life, studying, having fun, growing up. I’d been promising the boys for ages that I would take them to see “Daddy Shark” i.e. a shark at an aquarium and as Matteo’s parents were over to visit I suggested we go to The Deep.
My Dad stayed at home watching the rugby, also because he’s having a problem with his ears at the moment which means his hearing is even worse than usual even with his hearing aids in. The boys had been to this park twice before with Nana and Grandad but it was mine and Matteo’s first time there. It was nice to have some fresh air as we hadn’t been out of the house the day before. Ethan & Oliver were in their element running up and down and going on everything. Their favourite has to be the zip wire. In some parks they have to be lifted up to get on but here they can do it all themselves. They loved zooming down and running back to have another go. After half an hour of watching them running off some energy and us adults only really walking a little bit and pushing them on the roundabout and swing, we started to get a bit cold and so we headed back for a cup of tea to warm up.
Gedling Country Park was an old colliery and was officially opened after paths were installed for walking and cycling in 2015. The playground was added in autumn last year and the boys love it. There is a large area for toddlers with a sand pit, floor trampoline, swings, slide and a roundabout and then another large area for older children with swings, two slides and a climbing frame among other things. The boys favourite is the zip wire. There are also picnic benches so you can take food to eat.
This was the fourth time visiting the Pudding Pantry for me, third for the boys. When we really enjoy going somewhere, we go back again and again and we always order the same thing! I know we should probably try something different but I think we like to stick with what we’ve had before and know we love! The staff are so friendly, the service is fast and the food (and drink) really is delicious.
The Nottingham restaurant is set in a beautiful old building which was actually a merchant’s townhouse and has three floors including the cellar which houses the toilets which have been done up with period features. We were sat at a round table for 8 people in a semi-private room off one of the main rooms. This was great for the kids as it meant that when they had finished eating they could get up and walk around without bothering other people eating.
The last four weeks have been all about spellings and reading. I’m finding it really hard to fit it all in but the boys are doing so well. Last week they got 7/10 in their spelling test and this week Oliver got 7/7 and Ethan got 6/7. Oliver said he also got 3 merits for doing well so we’re so pleased.