Day 28: Thursday 24 April 2014

Dear reader there have been some comments that I have not been providing enough information about the food I have been eating, so I thought I would start today's blog with a description of today's meals.

Breakfast started with some freshly squeezed orange juice accompanied by home made fruit salad.  This was followed by what is quaintly known around these parts as a full English breakfast.  This comprised of fried eggs happily provided by the contended hens at Speckledy Hens of Southside Farm, the bacon and sausage came from the not so contented pigs at Sandridge Farm, the mushrooms and tomato from Hillside farm and a homemade potato cake.  This was accompanied by toast and fresh plunger coffee.  There is a choice of eight coffees and sixteen teas.  Not a bad start to the day.

Whilst I am talking about food I may as well keep on describe dinner tonight.  I decided I would go to a proper restaurant, one with tablecloths and waiters and chose Browns on the Avon river.  Upon arrival I had a G & T and decided on my entrée of duck terrine.  When I ordered this I asked the waiter  if the duck was wild and he said "it wasn't very happy sir", gosh we laughed at that.  I followed this up with a lobster tagliatelle which included half a lobster tail (small), this was probably one of the most delicious dishes I have had on the trip. This was accompanied by a Rothschild viogner.  To finish off with I spoilt myself with an eton mess.  Eton mess is a traditional English dessert and is comprised of crushed meringue, cream, white chocolate, raspberry sauce and blackcurrents all mixed up together.  It is so delicious that you continue to eat it even after you start to feel sick.

Earlier in the day I drove to the small towns of Sutton Veny (SV) and Frome.  SV has an Anzac Day service there on Anzac day as well as a church service on the following Sunday.  The area was surrounded by military camps, base depots and military hospitals and played host to many Australian and New Zealand units.  My grandfather was in hospital in SV after he became seriously ill with peritonitis.  The churchyard has a civilian cemetery but also has 140 or so Australian soldiers buried there who died at the local military hospital.  Many of these soldiers died of the Spanish flu after the war was over.  The local community have been holding Anzac day services there since 1919.

Cemetery - Sutton Veny

St John's church - Sutton Veny

 Whilst I was there today there was a guy from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and some people from the parish tidying up the cemetery and the churchyard ready for the service tomorrow.

Frome is a larger town and is where some of my ancestors hailed from.  My great great grandparents on my mother's mother's side came from Frome.  Charles Burgess was born in 1850 in Frome, migrated to Australia in 1886 and died in Burnie in 1937.  I visited the churchyard and had a look at the graves but didn't find any dearly departed long lost ancestors. 

High Street - Frome

I drove back into Bath and being thirsty after my adventures I retired to The Volunteer Rifleman Arms for a couple of well earned pints.  Dinner followed, as has been described above.