pumpkinstrokemarrow

Yesterday to lunch at our local branch of the Barons Pub Company (http://www.baronspubs.com/), a company which appears to come without an apostrophe, a pub called the Star, a convenient walk across Epsom Common from where we live.

Inside dining room should have been fine but was rather spoilt by musak, so we settled for dining under the giant red umbrella out front. A sufficiently giant umbrella that it had a slender black post holding up each corner, in addition to the overhead white steel. Comfort was enhanced by rather spectacular hanging baskets - baskets which the waitress told us had been going strong for weeks, the work of some hanging basket contractor who trundled around once a fortnight or so to make sure that all was well. I wonder now what all this flower dressing must have cost them.

Started off with a very satisfactory couple of pints of Sharp's Doombar. Didn't fancy any of the starters - nothing light like bread and oil or olives - so moved direct onto the main course, in my case calves liver. Which was served on a four inch diameter cylinder of mashed potato tricked out with a bit of veg. to earn its fancy name (colcannon) and which was OK but not great. The liver was cut a bit thick, included the odd bit of pipe, was a bit over cooked and the accompanying gravy was over flavoured. Was then tempted by the cheese but on reading that it came in the form of a cheese medley, with celery, some kind of marmalade and biscuits, decided to abstain, despite its being perfect to share. After three pints of Doombar, did not feel up to negotiating something more sensible.

The menu also included my second meeting in as many weeks of a posset for pudding; posset being a word which has negative associations for me and checking with OED reveals that one meaning is the stuff which babies sometimes eject orally after feeding - which might account for the negative associations. The other meaning is a drink made of hot milk curdled with something alcoholic, fortified with sugar and flavoured with spices. Used as a cold remedy. I do not suppose that is what the menu meant either.

But despite this carping and moaning, we will be back. The place has too much going for it to be avoided.

Back home to a couple of encouraging tit-bits from my latest NYRB. Item 1, lots of young Muslims are much more interested in getting some basic democratic facilities at home than in whacking the infidel. Bin Liner, his violent methods and his death all a bit old-hat. Item 2, Syria might have its problems, but it is also a haven of religious tolerance in a generally rather intolerant part of the world. The ruling clique are from a hill dwelling sect with rather eclectic beliefs, which most other Muslims regard as infidel and which was much oppressed over the years by the sunnis of the plain. But when the hill dwelling sect got into the chair, they went in for religious toleration of all the various faiths in their part of the world.