Friday, August 03, 2007

Dummy Run
Aside

Two of our quartet of friends have birthdays in August; I am in charge of the first – Jackie’s treat. I decided to do a recce to Cannington - near Bridgwater – to a pub I visited some years back. We had a little difficulty finding it and I had to double back at one time – reversing round a corner- all good practice - and after a gentle reminder, MTL remembered to ‘keep it buttoned.’ whilst I was driving. Thank goodness it was sunny, after days of torrential rain.

Cannington is a pleasant village at the foot of the Quantocks.
“The name first appears in Saxon Charters circa 880 as Cantuctun and two centuries later in The Domesday Book as Cantoctona and Cantetone. Place name endings -tun, -ton etc., invariably mean a setrtlement or village, so as Cantuc is the British word for a ridge or chain of hills we have Cannington meaning the Quantock Village. This is evidence that well over a millennium ago Cannington was accepted as the premier settlement of the Quantock region. It is a lively village with many amenities.”

The pub was as nice as I remembered it. It had an enormous menu – which always worries a little – and the most memorable dish was the local honeycomb ice-cream relished by me. Two boys playing by the brook told me that if we walked past the red telephone box we would see a public footpath that would take us to a lake and ‘a nice house’ so after a large lunch we went for a stroll.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks lke an ideal setting for a birthday treat. Hope the sun shines on the day.

Z said...

Advice from a fellow driver rarely helps and can annoy...

Bobkat said...

That sounds like a nice place for a Birthday treat. Large menu's always have me taking ages to choose as you are spoilt for choice, but I must admit I do like to have some choice :)

Michele sent me to say hello!

f:lux said...

And you had nice weather, hope it holds!

Pat said...

sablonneuse: et moi!

Z: absolutely!

bob-kat: the portions are enormous - I must warn the girls.

f:lux: it is quite a long drive so if it's sheeting down I'll go somewhere closer.

Anonymous said...

Lucky Jackie! You're really good at finding these great pubs.

Pat said...

Jack: years of practice:)

Kim Ayres said...

Sounds idyllic. Hope it goes well :)

Bobkat said...

Hello again! Michele sent me back. You must have posted a split second before me!

It was good of thos lads to tell you about the path. It might provide a nice after dinner stroll to help those big meals digest!

Pat said...

Kim: best laid plans...

Bob-kat: I certainly felt the need to burn a few calories!

Anonymous said...

Good morning! Michele sent me!

I've only had honeycomb ice cream at the State Fair, yum!

Carli N. Wendell said...

Honeycomb Ice Cream sounds really good. I believe that's what Fozzie Bear ordered in The Muppet Movie.

And I think Kermit the Frog had, like, fly-flavored. And Bob Hope was the ice cream man.

apprentice said...

I'm glad you got peace in the car, maybe he's staring to have more faith in you?

The first name for this place must have needed some careful saying.

Pat said...

Hi Indigo: and it had lovely crunchy bits in too!

Hi Carli: you are up! Fly flavoures doesn't grab me. I'd never heard of honey comb ice-cream before but it's even better than rum and raisin.

Pat said...

Anna you're wicked! Re the car - just in the first moment he momentarily forgot the rules so I reminded him.

Michael K. Althouse said...

I love places rich in history! In the states, one can only go back so far... unless one's family is native American - most are not, though many claim to be. Even then, there is no written language or lasting settlements... Nothing like the UK.

Michele sent me,

Mike

OldHorsetailSnake said...

Just think: If I had majored in English history I would already know all that and you could have saved yourself some time. Better luck next time.

Pat said...

Hi Mike! I suppose we just take it for granted.

carmilevy said...

Between the honeycomb ice cream and the rich way you describe the place, I'm tempted to get on a plane and fly over so I can have a look for myself.

Magical, Pat, as always.

Popped by from Michele's. Hope you're having a lovely eve.

Pat said...

Hoss: I like to think that if I read these facts often enough some of it will stick but I think I have a leak in my brain box.

Carmi: just been watching you on TV. Very well done! And thank you.

Catherine said...

It looks lovely. Glad you have sun, please save some for P and I when we visit England next month :)

Catherine said...

Oh, and Michele sent me

Pat said...

Catherine: I'll do my best. You stand a good chance in September. Where are you going?

Bernie said...

Going for walks after a big meal is always a good thing isn't it... Somewhat relaxing!

Here from Michele's this evening...

Pat said...

Hi b! MTL can no longer do serious walking so we do the first bit together and then I leave him sitting comfortably whilst I explore.

Paul Nichols said...

Hi. I just stopped in from Michele's. Good Saturday morning to you.

Pat said...

Hi Paul!

Anonymous said...

That sounds wonderful Pat!
The pictures are absolutely lovely. I think I would have chosen the terrace...but it was a close tie with the garden. BTW..what is a weir?

Pat said...

Hi Moogie: 'a weir is a dam across a river to raise level of water up stream or regulate flow;enclosure of stakes etc set in stream as a trap for fish.'
I have copied this from dictionary but as far a I am concerned that is a weir!:}

BreadBox said...

Love the little story here --- and the way the posts are constructed --- did you just insert them in reverse order, or is there a cleverer trick that I don't know about? (Perhaps fiddling with timestamps???)

Anyway, a lovely story and great photos --- makes me quite nostalgic for country pubs.....
Michele sent me.

N.

FOUR DINNERS said...

Spot on place for a birthday! My 50th in December. Told Caz I want to go to a rave. She appears deeply perplexed......

Pat said...

Breadbox: thank you! I have to concentrate like mad to remember to do them in reverse order but I've just about got the hand of it.
Famous last words:(

Pat said...

4d: all my boys are getting older!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Hi, Pat! Michele sent me today.

What a neat place this pub is in! I'd love to live somewhere with that sort of rich history. Yeah, Pittsburgh has some, and I drove #1 past some Civil War Battlefields last week, on our way to and from Cub Scout Camp, but nothing like that.

And honeycomb ice cream??? I want some!

Pat said...

Hi Susan: I suppose we take out surroundings for granted. I love your history - reminds me of Shaw's play 'The Devil's Disciple'

Thumper said...

Very nice place...Hey, my birthday s coming up, ya wanna take me there??? ;)

Seriously, I wish we had something like this here. Nothing even close.

here by way of Michele's today :)

Pat said...

Hi Thumper! It is a nice place. There are plenty of ugly places in the UK but we chose to retire in Somerset and have never regretted it.

Olyal said...

Sounds like a lovely day out! The ice cream sounds particularly delicious!

Michele sent me today.

Pat said...

Hi Yaeli! It was!

Laura McIntyre said...

Hello Michele sent me, looks like a fun place for a party

Pat said...

Hi Laura and welcome!