TERRIFIC BILL

Went out for dinner in Guildford this evening.  Ate at Bill's.  If you don't yet know them, they have been in Brighton for some time, where the restaurant is in a fruit and veg shop.  The restaurants sell most of the products used in their food - Bill's sauce, Bill's marmalade, Bill's chutney, Bill's beer, etc, which are all delicious.

I'm a bit hard pushed to categorise Bill's; it's sort of simple, distressed chic.  The Guildford restaurant is in a 17th century inn - all beams and wooden floors, with an odd mix of lighting, plain wooden tables and chairs and a sort of ancient tavern feel to it.  It was packed to the gunnels and the noise level meant you had to shout.  It reminded me of what pubs used to be like.  I occasionally imagined I was in a party.  The food is straightforward British with little twists.  My fish cakes had a mango salsa; the grilled chicken was served with tsatsiki, chips are served in a bucket (not a very large one), etc.  All very wholesome and tasty.

We were surprised to notice a Bill's in Chichester the last time we were there and now one in Guildford.  Apparently there are now 19 of them and they hope to have opened 30 by the end of the year.  What recession?!

I managed to watch the end of Broadchurch the other night.  Make sure you watch it, if you haven't yet.  Absolutely stunning stuff.  The series has been compared with The Killing, which I guess provided inspiration, but the acting was extraordinary.  Not to mention the dramatic photography.  And somehow the culprit was not known until the last episode, ensuring we clung onto our seats with our fingernails until the end.  There was just a hint of criticism, amidst all the accolades, that the killer was revealed so early in the last episode, but I thought one of its great strengths was its treatment of the affected family, neighbours, community after the arrest.  We don't usually get to see that and I enjoyed it as much as some of the plot twists.  Anyway, get hold of it.

I am off on Sunday again this time to take a walking group from Marrakech to Madrid.  I shall use the train occasionally . . .  See you when I get back.