The South of England Show, Ardingly

I forget just how massive the South of England Show is!  Nik and I went along on the Friday in June to explore the stands, displays and shows and found so much to see, eat and drink, it was epic!  There is so much going on with plenty to entertain little ones and grown ups alike. We happened to be there "on duty" without the kids in order to take photos and make notes but we kept seeing things the twins would love and had we not already had plans to be at Woodlands family festival that weekend, we would have gone back on the Saturday with them.

My personal favourites were the blacksmith competitions, the wine walk, the motocross stunt bikers, the WI displays and of course, the shopping!  I bagged myself a bargain waterproof coat in a gorgeous bright yellow with polka dot lining, it's come in handy already with our somewhat wet June so far.

The Young Artisans tent was so inspiring with some truly gorgeous designs by such talented young people, we spotted a few from Uckfield College!  The three crowned winners ranged in age from 17 to 21.

The blacksmiths made for some awesome photo opportunities with the sparks, fire and steam against the dark backgrounds, it looks like such hard work (and it really is, I tried it once helping make a spike for St. Marks' Church gate back in 2017, see my sparky photo I took back then).

There were some beautiful flowers and brightly coloured WI made crafts in the WI/flower tent, there were lots of categories with some amazing interpretations in each craft competition, of course I was drawn to the rainbow ones ;)

The Wine Walk was informative and fun, we really enjoyed learning more about some of our local vineyards, I never knew there were so many and we've now been inspired to plan a tour of some East Sussex vineyards this summer which will make a great feature so watch this space come Autumn time!  Of course, having a few tasters of the various offerings was fun too, the English sparkling wines we have locally are truly wonderful!

Of course, there's a lot more going on with lots of agricultural areas, various farm animal competitions and displays with sheep-shearing demos and the like.  There are lots of food stands with food to eat as well as plenty to take home such as local cheeses, meats, booze and sweet treats. We bought some Sussex Charmer to take home which is a mix of mature cheddar and Parmesan so has a lovely deep, tangy flavour and is almost gone already!

Despite the rather dingy weather with a few downpours, we had a brilliant day out!

Sunday roast at The White Hart - review

We've been to The White Hart in Buxted a few times yet I've never written a proper review about it.  In all honesty, I've had mixed experiences but the last time we went for a roast, it was amazing!

The White Hart recently won Best Place To Eat in the Uckfield Business Awards and I know it is a popular local place.  They have such a nice menu with interesting dishes for varied tastes, it can be expensive but I know their meat especially is top quality, the steaks are certainly worth the extra plus the staff are so friendly, it's a nice place to be and hang out.  The building is fantastic with a proper, traditional bar with real fire at the front with cosy sofas and solid wood tables and chairs.  The conservatory out the back is more modern and tastefully decorated, light and spacious, it would be ideal for a private party.

We went for Sunday roasts with Nik having the beef and I chose the pork belly.  The kids had chicken and chips this time.

The sides were lovely, well cooked veg and amazing cauliflower cheese.  Nik was very impressed with his beef and the Yorkshires were lovely and HUGE!  The roast potatoes were good too.

My pork was SO good!  It came with perfect crackling and was a really good chunk of meat, not fatty like pork belly can be, it was tasty, moist and tender, I loved it.



Overall, we had a brilliant experience.

They have a lovely, enclosed beer garden with picnic tables, a grassy area and patio.  It's sheltered but gets the sun all day.  It's ideal for families or people with dogs to enjoy in the summer.

They have a good range of wine and cocktails and will mix anything you like.  It's a fun pub for a girls' night with nibbles and drinks for an evening off mum duty.  Oh and my Dad loves the Harvey's on tap of course.

I've also found some of my old photos from our evening enjoying their steak night way back in August 2016 when we had an amazing meal there.  We sat in the conservatory where it was quiet and out of the way, we had a lovely evening and you can see the twins loved it (aged 21 months).

Itty bitty Kalyan doing cheers in 2016!

We were invited for our latest Sunday roast in return for this review.  All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Duddleswell Tearooms - review

During the Easter holidays we had some lovely play dates planned, one of which was a walk at Duddleswell on the Ashdown Forest followed by cake at Duddleswell Tearooms.  I can highly recommend both!

The Ivy, Tunbridge Wells - review

I was so excited to go for brunch at The Ivy in Tunbridge Wells, the photos I'd seen of inside looked beautiful and I am loving a bit of art deco style at the moment (keep an eye out for our living room re-decoration to see just how much)!

Nik booked brunch as a surprise for us as whenever we thought to go there before we struggled to get a table as we left it too late to book.  This time, we woke up and he told me we were going there that morning for brunch!  So exciting and such a lovely surprise :)

Dishoom - review

I'd been wanting to eat at Dishoom for a long time, Nik had been a few times with his parents and I was so jealous, I've heard great things!

Kitcho Sushi - review

This review is long overdue but I had to write it as we had a lovely meal at Kitcho for Mother's Day in Greenwich.  We hadn't booked anything in advance so were lucky to get a table with two hours' notice.  I'm so glad we did as it was a wonderful little find!

Oast Farm shop - picnic

Nik had a day off last week to do some admin work from home so we all ventured down to our local cafe, forgetting that it's closed on Tuesdays, oops!  Luckily Judith was in the shop and happily made us a cup of tea and coffee when we bought some things from the shop to have an impromptu picnic outside.

Sunday Roast review at the Abergavenny Arms near Lewes

Not to be confused with the one in Tunbridge Wells!  (Yep, we started driving in the wrong direction before a slightly heated discussion and a quick phone call to check before a swift turnaround!)

We met friends at the Abergavenny Arms near Lewes recently (not to be confused with the one in Frant where Nik started driving to, in the opposite direction), and had a lovely afternoon.  They're dog and child friendly so it was perfect for us and our friends with their fur baby.  The pub is traditional style with a lovely beer garden out the back.  It was a bit cold and windy the day we went so we sat inside where it was nice and cosy.

Up Country garden centre & cafe - review

We had a really fun day out at Up Country garden centre near Haywards Heath.  I've driven past it so many times but never ventured in until my friend suggested we meet there for the kids to play on the bus.  I had no idea they could play in the old bus in the back, I always thought that was the cafe as it has a big cafe sign on it, lol.  Turns out the cafe is inside the shop and the bus is just there for fun!

Sunday Roast at Framptons, Tunbridge Wells - review

I was struggling with a few deadlines last month so wasn't able to get this review written until now but our Sunday roast at Framptons in The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells was definitely one of the best I've had locally!  It's not a cheap option with roasts costing £16.50 - £19.50 but I honestly think it's worth it if you can splash out.

I went with the twins and my in-laws while Nik was working one weekend in February and we had the most amazing meal.  I've reviewed Framptons before and have always been impressed by their food and I love the surroundings with vintage touches around, a rustic look upstairs and lots of lovely wood in the bar area downstairs.  I also like that you can see openly into the kitchen where the chefs are working hard plating these delicious dishes.

We skipped starters and went straight for the roast, I had the salt marsh lamb with salsa verde, the twins opted for beef which came with a Marmite hollandaise sauce (I was a little dubious but it was actually very tasty!) and the in-laws had beef too.  All the meat was served pink, they did check I was happy with that for the twins.

It was all amazing and came with a drizzle of gravy over the meat but we were given a huge jug of extra gravy on the side (a big plus in my eyes).  The meat was so tender and flavourful and the Yorkshires had the perfect fresh texture.  I often find with pub roasts they seem like they've been reheated as they dry out but these were lovely.

We also received a massive bowl of vegetables including some amazing crispy roasties, parsnips, a carrot mash and kale.  Our server offered to bring us more which we initally declined as we thought we had plenty but after tasting the kale (and with Priya loving it too!), we asked for more of that and got a new fresh bowl of the buttery greens.

Of course, I couldn't resist dessert and the twins always get a scoop of ice-cream if they've behaved and eaten well when we go out.  Priya opted for "manilla" and K had mango sorbet.  They were thrilled with the little edible flowers on top!  I chose the chocolate delice which was heaven, served with clotted cream ice-cream!

Puddings range from £5 to £7.50.  There isn't a kids menu but they make smaller portions of some of the menu items so they had a kids roast (I'm not sure of the cost of this as my father-in-law kindly treated us).

Service is friendly and efficient, not overbearing but attentive.  We had a really good meal, it's such a great place to chill and enjoy eating.  I'd highly recommend it!

Carafe Cafe, Lewes - review

I'd been past this cafe a few times but never been in, it seemed like a good idea to check it out when we fancied going somewhere for lunch after a visit to Raystede one weekend.

Carafe is an independent coffee shop with a Turkish twist.  They serve the usual cafe fare but also have some Turkish delicacies and Turkish coffee.  Nik and I loved their Turkish pastries and breads (and the kids enjoyed their massive sausage rolls!)  The sweet treats were good too, Nik and the twins all had cookies and I had a lovely sticky chocolate orange cake which was too irresistible to photograph (I forgot before I wolfed it down!)  The staff were so friendly, the cafe was light and airy with cool photos of coffee on the walls and the food was beautifully laid out.  We'll definitely be back!