On Saturday evening we enjoyed another safari supper. Since 2006 three couples have met every few months to produce either a starter, main course or dessert, cheese and biscuits and all with the accompanying wine. Being good friends has ensured that there is never competitive pressure to try and out-perform so a good time is always had by all! We enjoy and heap praise on exceptional courses but can also commiserate when dishes let us down!
Last Saturday night we had a particularly pleasant evening. The weather was superb so we were able to sit outside on a beautiful, colourful patio filled with exotic flowers and shrubs and baskets overflowing with brightly coloured ‘busy lizzys’.
But it wasn’t only the al fresco dining without heaters or warm jackets, defying the usual English summer evenings, that made this safari supper so special. We have a friend who’s health has been a real concern over the last few years. He is currently awaiting open heart surgery, and this after months of rehabilitation after a bad fall. Yet he is so positive, always with a ready smile and, despite obvious discomfort, spent the evening the ‘life and soul’ of the party. His zest for life and determination to get well after every debilitating illness is very humbling.
Walking home on Saturday, still feeling warm and pleasantly replete, I decided to make a concerted effort to take a leaf out of his book. When niggling irritations surface, I’ll replace them with something positive, like not having to get up early for work on Monday!
Alas, not even a minute later, my husband asked if I had the house key. I hadn’t so there ensued half an hour of retracing our steps (Fitbit was in ‘his’ element) and finally and embarrassingly, finding the key buried under a tea towel on the tray I had carried home. Not saying a word, I slunk upstairs, had a bath and went to bed.
Tomorrow is another day 👠
Jenny Burrell 