Seaside sauce

At Maisie's request. for her birthday weekend, we bundled ourselves into the car, dog and all, and took ourselves for a fun-filled time in Blackpool. We got there, we drove round aimlessly (thanks to the highly complicated one way system), we parked, we looked for food. We had a vast array of choice - as long as it was fish and chips or pizza! We chose chips at Harry Ramsden's. I'd never been to one so it seemed as good a time as any to give it a go. 

The service was….lacking? Lacklustre? A foreign concept? We were greeted at the door with a barked "Two adults, one child?" Yes we said, as we did the next two times we were asked. We got to the table, and the waitress was bustling about with the menus, placing them on the table, complaining we hadn't sat down as she would normally put them in our hands…we hadn't had a chance to sit down. Then I upset her by asking for adult menu for Maisie - she's far too old for the kid menu which comes with crayons. This caused a little controversy  - but you said two adults one child…ahh - now I get it, she was obviously referring to what menu we needed…how silly of us not to realise. She stalked off to complain about us to her colleagues, and we were left to contemplate the various ways your fish and chips could be served. With bread and butter? White or brown? Sauce? Red, brown or yellow. With peas - mushy or minted, without fish, without chips, with pie? All  good healthy options.

The waitress who took our order was a little more civil - it couldn't have been hard. The food arrived in good time, and was actually very enjoyable - even the fluorescent mushy peas. Leanne and Maisie turned up their noses up at the peas but they have undeveloped palettes for such fine dining.

We retrieved the dog from the car and set off  down the front on a quest to avoid donuts and sticks of rock. We ended up at the big wheel on the pier. Obviously they didn't allow dogs, so it was left to me and Maisie to brave the dizzy heights. There was no one else on the wheel and the bloke implied we were not in full possession of our marbles as we wanted to go on! When we were at the top, I could understand why - it was bloody freezing!

We celebrated Maisie's birthday with a trip to Sealife aquarium, lunch out, a walk in a park, and a great japanese meal in Lytham St Annes. The scottish, japanese teppanyaki chef called Jimmy was good value, juggling the pepper grinder, clanging his spatulas, a bit of chat, more juggling - eggs this time, and cooking up a wicked teppanyaki.

Sunday morning and a brisk walk on the sands was needed. The dog loved it - a chance to run and run. There were no donkeys, but the wind turned us all into hairy creatures with a tendency to bray. Hair by Blackpool, not suitable for all, but we enjoyed it.