MAJOR PURCHASE: TAG Heuer 2000 Full Size Watch

Having conceded defeat on my previous purchase (mid-size was just too small for me) I decided to take the plunge and buy another eBay 2000, this time a full size version. Still quite a bargain at £299 complete with boxes and papers.

MEAL OUT: The Reservoir Inn (Thornton)

As Lee and Su are potentially moving to 'a very big house, a very big house in the country'... this could well be our last visit to the pub formerly known as The Steam Trumpet. It's a shame really because since the relaunch we've been two or three times and it's one of the better places we've been in that area.

On this visit we enjoyed a very nice beef pie, which was absolutely packed with chunks of tender steak in a lovely gravy and with a perfect puff pastry top. The Bull's Head could learn a lot about pies from this lot, that's for sure.

Pudding wasn't quite so exemplary, Rose had a sorbet with coconut ice cream while I tried the lemon tart... which was more like a lemon meringue pie without a meringue on top, and a strawberry syllabub, which is somewhere between yoghurt and Angel Delight.

A great night though, and if this is our last night out in and around Thornton, then we finished on a high.

MEAL OUT: The Bell (Gumley)

It had been a few years since we had been to The Bell, indeed the pub had been closed for a while last year and re-opened, but not, it seems redecorated. The seating has been improved somewhat, albeit the tables now seem a bit low down. The place could really do with a lick of paint, the skirting boards in particular seem a bit grubby.

But we didn't come here for a fancy meal, this was a Thursday night pub classic and we started with a Garlic Butter Ciabatta. Which was quickly consumed and not bad. We followed this up with a double scampi and chips which was lovely, with very nice chips (fashioned into a tower for no good reason, really... entertaining as it may be, it was somewhat incongruous given the state of the skirting boards). A huge slice of lemon and peas (and a side bowl of salad, again for no good reason) completed a perfectly nice pub meal.

Perhaps we should have left it there, but no we forged ahead with a double Chocolate Brownie and ice cream, which was indifferent verging on disappointing. The top was positively crunchy, like a biscuit, and at first this seemed to have some novelty value but by the end it was just wrong. Brownie's should be gooey and chewy and full of brazil nuts, this was neither.

I would certainly go back for the scampi and chips but the brownie was probably the worst I've ever had, can't fault the lady behind the bar though, as she was working double time doing everything and we left her a sizeable tip for her trouble.

MAJOR PURCHASE: Tag Heuer 2000 Series

Purchased from eBay for the very reasonable price of £180, a 2000 Series Mens Tag Heuer. Surprisingly small, given the fashion for watches these days to be big and bulky, and looks a little comical next to the Aquagraph, but nonetheless a great price for a watch in such good condition.

MEAL OUT: The White Lion (North Kilworth)

This was our first visit to The White Lion (other than a quick drink last December) and we were very pleasantly surprised. We knew the decor was nice from our first visit, and it was nice to see it was still looking fresh from it's refurbishment. On arrival we were seated in the bar and left to peruse the menu's and then our waitress (Carley) returned to take our order and we were escorted to our table.

We didn't want a starter, but we demolished the bread while we were waiting for our steaks. Rose had a sirloin steak and I had a fillet, both came with chunky chips and the usual accoutrements (grilled tomatoes and mushroom) and both were absolutely delicious! The chunky chips were perfect as well, while my pepper sauce was unusual but not unpleasant (more like an onion gravy).

For pudding I went with the chocolate brownie, but substituted the clotted cream with honeycomb ice cream, while Rose's first choice (Raspberry Baked Alaska) was taken off the menu and she then chose the deconstructed Strawberry Eton Mess. I was surprised that the brownie was cold, but it was very nice, if a little heavy. 

All in all it was a splendid meal and we would definitely go back there again. 

SHOPPING: Designer Outlet (East Midlands)

While it's true that this retail outlet isn't the best one we've been to, it does have the advantage of being just an hour away and still generally takes a couple of hours to take in. This trip was pretty successful, indeed our first purchases were made in the very first shop we entered 'The Cookshop', where we bought a new saucepan and a chopping board.

Other notable purchases included a Nike hoodie for Rose, six books from The Works (all for Rose) and four huge bags of muesli (once again...) and a selection of goodies from Thorntons, including two huge boxes of toffee, some Viennese bars and a couple of two for £1 boxes of mint chocs!

All in all it was a splendid way to spend a morning, and once again it was definitely worth getting there before the crowds as by the time we left it was rammed.

As we were leaving we spotted a creamy coloured Maserati Grand Turismo in the carpark (like the one below only not as white) and then bizarrely we saw a black one going down the motorway on the way home!

Despite having only two doors this is a huge car, that couldn't fit in the parking bays at the retail outlet. It does have back seats, but the look more than a bit cramped.

THEATRE: Charlie's Aunt (Market Harborough)

Jack Chesney loves Kitty Verdun and Charley loves Miss Amy Spettigue. They invite the ladies to meet Charley's wealthy aunt from Brazil, "where the nuts come from". Cancelling her visit at the last minute, the millionaire aunt sends the boys into cataclysmic confusion. What do they do now? The problem is solved by drafting their feckless Oxford undergrad pal into a black satin skirt, bloomers and wig. As "Charley's Aunt", this charming frump is introduced to the ladies, to Jack's father and to Stephen Spettigue, Amy's guardian. When the real aunt turns up, classic comic confusion ensues as Fancourt Babberley, posing as "Charley's Aunt", tricks Spettigue into agreeing to the marriage of his ward, the real aunt marries Jack's father, Jack gets Miss Verdun, and Fanny Babs regains the fortune he lost at gambling as well as the girl he loves.

GIG: NOFX (London)

Having made a conscious decision to arrive as late as possible (due to the gig being a sell out and the weather rather warm), we arrived about half way through Alkaline Trio's set. I have to say, they really were rather dull, though the crowd loved them. The only tune of theirs that really stays with me is 'I Wanna be a Warhol', everything else really is too bland and poptastic to care about. And Lame. Did I mention LAME!

I guess I've been waiting about fifteen years to see NOFX, ever since the days of Conscience and covering 'Dinosaurs Will Die'. As is the case with more than one punk band, they do like to waffle on and waste time when they could be playing more songs. NOFX waffled a lot, which was extra annoying as half the time we couldn't make out what the hell they were talking about. 

It was a shame really because when they were actually playing they were great. They started with a cracking trio of '60%', 'Dinosaurs will Die' and 'Louise' (which I definitely wasn't expecting). They were also playing all the tracks from 'Punk in Drublic' though thankfully they were interspersed throughout the evening rather than in a lump.

Other tracks they played included: 'I'm Telling Tim', 'Bottles to the Ground', 'Eat the Meek', 'Leaving Jesusland', 'Seeing Double at the Triple-Rock', '72 Virgins', 'Ronnie and Mags', 'I Believe in Goddess' and 'Creeping Out Sara'.

Unexpectedly, Fat Mike decided to perform wearing a pink dress, which was admittedly quite funny.

The band had a lot of energy when they got on with it, but the constant stopping to waffle really sapped the flow... but they were still a million times more exciting that Alkaline Trio.

DERREN BROWN: Miracle (Leicester)

Over the last few months we've watched a lot of Derren Brown videos, which in hindsight was probably not a good thing as a few things from tonight's show seemed to be recycled wholesale from his TV series.
It was very hot in the DeMontfort Hall tonight, though thankfully not as ridiculously hot as it must have been last night, and that didn't help matters. As with any show if you can't wait to get outside in the cooler air, it doesn't really put you in the most positive frame of mind to experience what's on offer.
It was still good, it just wasn't 'brilliant', although there were moments of brilliance... even then perhaps Derren has just pushed the bar for himself so high that even he finds it hard to impress, even when he does something incredible it all feels a bit like he's done it before and it's not that impressive any more.
I will be interested to see the show on DVD though.