Whitby

We decided to take the guest to Whitby on Saturday for fish and chips at the Magpie Cafe.  So just to make sure I was really starving and able to quaff a big portion of fish and chips - I started the day with a bacon and egg muffin - yum!  The plan was for a small bowl of cereal but somehow this transformed itself into a bacon and egg muffin.  Amazing!  I have no idea how that happened!

What to wear on a day to Whitby.  After much deliberation, I kept it simple and comfortable - it's a day with kids after all.  Not a day for pretty dresses which get blown up in the wind and for suede boots to get salt stains from the water on the beach.

CDG Play Tee

New Look Straight Jeans Rolled Up

White Converse (still clean)

I have learnt from previous excursions to Whitby - it is usually chilly on the seafront.  So best to layer up and I added a Gap cotton trench which I was grateful for when I arrived.  The white Converse got another outing in the hope that they would once again be "aged" possibly by the sand and small people stepping on my toes.  Somehow they remain white - still.  And though the sun was shining, the wind was blowing enough to warrant keeping the trench on first thing.

Whitby first thing in the morning was lovely and "quietish".

Whitby in the morning.  Before the hoards of tourists (oh! I forgot, I'm one).

Last year was the first time we managed to get in the Magpie Cafe, (previous times, we'd been put off by the long queues) and the fish and chips were so yum scrum, even Ben scoffed every last chip and declared it "the best fish and chips ever".  It has had many excellent write ups and Rick Stein has certainly served to put the place on the map through his Food Heroes series which I have endured many times due to Foodie Grumps.  I'm afraid I am one of those persons where food is a fuel rather than an out and out indulgence - sorry Grumps!

 

I don't know who they are either.  Just showing you the Magpie.

Cheap cups (hee hee).

I thought you had to be left handed to use these cups as they are only printed on one side and if you are right handed, you only get the blank side.  But then the Grumps put me right by saying the print was "facing" out so people opposite you could read the print.  I personally thought it was a bit cheap that they couldn't print all the way round .... what if the drinker had been a left hander?  I think it's good to cover all eventualities.  Strange what thoughts goes through a small mind.

Getting stuck in!

Yes - it was fab.

The fish and chips were to die for.  Look at the golden crispy batter on that fish!  Look at how white and fabulous the flesh is!  Look at those divine chips -  just the right amount of crunch on the outside and fluffy on the inside!  And when the plate was cleared ... no pools of grease left behind which is usually the case with most fish and chips.  Okay, enough is enough ... let's move on.

Out of the Magpie and on to the road and there were lots of strange pirates around raising money today for Whitby's Lifeboat Day.

 

I think the one on the right is the best.

And on to the Amusements.  We'd emptied the change box from the kitchen drawer before we set off - how clever were we?  But we hadn't reckoned with the speed with which 2p's could disappear courtesy of Ben and George.

This badge cost about £5 in 2p's.  Hmm.

And Ben lost his first tooth this week.

It must be hard to be this small.  Aww.

And then down to the beach where George decided to take his first donkey ride.  Ben declined.  I remember when I was small and I was taken to Blackpool and was asked if I wanted a donkey ride. No.  Because all I could think of was getting fleas in my knickers.  I thought the same when faced with a camel ride in Egypt many years ago. More strange thoughts for a small mind.

"Err ... might be having second thoughts, Dad!"

Yes - George does look like he's trying to get away.

White Converse - still white!

Sandy Converse.  He's getting there at least!

And then it all got a bit much for the guest. Children, noise, too much food, too many tourists, too many pirates and we headed home.  We didn't do the Abbey today and we didn't go across the bridge to browse the shops but I did sneak some cinder toffee on the way back.

Mine all mine!

A lovely day ... and surprise surprise ... lovely weather!  And an added bonus! Quiet child on the way home! Must be a reward for all the cleaning I've done this week!

Zzzzz Zzzzz