Casual dining in Epsom

Day started with a spin around Jublilee Way to put on some appetite. A floral spin, with the first flora being a spectacular climbing rose across the front of a house in Hook Road (the one to the north of Hook that is), a climbing rose which I had mistaken for a clematis from the car, from the other side of the road, the day before. Plus sundry other roses. Then a fine display of dog roses (snapped above) in the other Hook Road, the one running out of Epsom.

Home in time to take delivery of wine from Majestic, which had only been ordered the day before.

And so off to ASK in Epsom, taking in the West Hill liriodendrum last noticed at reference 1. Now in flower, although the rain had knocked off the outer petals (or perhaps false petals or sepals or something). While the seeds at reference 1 never came to anything, perhaps because I had not attempted to prepare the seeds for germination, and the pot was dismantled a few weeks ago.

Also the new statue of Emily Davison, an eminent suffragette campaigner who died in a silly way on Epsom racecourse. She was also involved in action which came close to what we might regard as terrorism these days, be her cause ever so good. In any event, I don't much care for these memorial statues taking the form of a life sized figure sitting on a park bench, and this one looked particular silly in the middle of a carpet stall. If you are going to have a memorial, the Edith Cavell memorial off Trafalgar Square is much more dignified, albeit a bit large for the market place at Epsom. In her case, a hero to those on her side, a subversive to those who were not. Condemned for providing clandestine aid and succour to escaping British serviceman in an area occupied by the Germans.

ASK was fairly quiet. Maybe six staff and twenty customers, including the two of us, while we were there. We like the place in part because it is big and airy and so plague-friendly, but it was hard to see that they were making much money. Just keeping the place and its staff ticking over.

Meal and service entirely satisfactory, although my main course would have been improved if it had not come ready mixed, that is to say with the meat sauce mixed in with the pasta. I suppose it was served in this way because that meant one boil in the bag rather than two - although on this particular occasion bearing down on staff costs was hardly an issue. Tiramisu good, firm rather than soggy. All in all, a chain restaurant which delivers.

Only let down by the table having an oddly grubby appearance, despite having been freshly wiped down. Perhaps it needed the sort of hard-core scrub which was the subject of occasional lessons in domestic science at Teignmouth Grammar in the days when BH was there.

We ate inside, with my preferring to eat without draughts or sun, but they had rigged up some reasonably shady seating in the yard at the back. With a proper supply of rat control boxes around the perimeter.

Now ASK is housed in an oldish building which did time as a public house after it had been abandoned by Nat West. Far right in the snap above. And somehow they seemed to have pushed into what might otherwise have been the back yard of the new building to the left. With the brown and white building above the dustbins being part of ASK rather than part of the new building. While casual dining was behind the fence to the right of the dustbins. We wondered who got to use the parking slot.

PS: regarding the Catholic post at reference 4, I read this morning at reference 5 that the Catholics have got around 10% of school provision in this country, not so far from their share of the population. And the impression given is that they work quite hard at deprived areas and disadvantaged children. However, quite apart from not approving of faith schools generally, given that most areas do not run to 10 secondary schools, it is all too likely that, if you happen to live in an area where the Catholics have got a secondary school, you might wind up going to it when you had much rather not.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/02/liriodendrum.html.

Reference 2: http://www.villachiopris.it/eng/. Don't know if this is any relation to the wine we had.

Reference 3: http://www.livon.it/en/about-us/. Slightly more likely, but not sure about this one either. Our wine was quite drinkable, but it was also an economy wine, and one would not expect to find a dedicated website. Much more likely to be a brand pumped out by some mass production outfit.

Reference 4: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/06/supreme-court.html.

Reference 5: https://www.catholiceducation.org.uk/about-us/faqs.