burrito!

Check this bad boy out - San Franciscan Mission-style burritos in Bristol!

Mission Burrito has been open in Park Street for a few weeks and we finally got around to checking it out today.

I had the Fajita Burrito with carnitas (slow-cooked pork), guacamole, cheese, rice, peppers, sour cream and a hot spicy salsa.

Having sampled an actual Mission District burrito I can report that taste-wise this hit all the spots; though, to be fair, nothing could match our Mexican-dining experience in San Francisco: that was perfect!

But much as I'd love to go back across the Atlantic for more I'll happily settle for our own version again soon.

removed

At the request of a [albeit anonymous] commenter, I have removed yesterday's Big Picture post from the blog. In it I referred to a distressing image I'd seen on The Big Picture site.

While I didn't reproduce the image referred to in the post I did link to the series of photographs in which it appeared. The comment requested the post be removed out of respect for the family depicted and, on reflection, I asked myself if the photograph had been of me or members of my own family, would I want it published and blogged and tweeted about? No, I wouldn't. I don't know the people in the photograph; neither do I know whether they consented to the image being published. Moreover, I don't know who the anonymous commenter is - conceivably they could be a member of the family involved. Therefore, I've removed the post.

While I'd prefer it if readers would identify themselves when commenting on blog posts I'm not writing to upset anybody here. There's no agenda - it's just me reporting on stuff I've done, places I've been or things I've found interesting. In the main I tend to refrain from commenting on news stories or anything too political. I must admit in this case the post was written on the spur of the moment. With that in mind, and all the while acknowledging that some people would argue there are reasons not to delete the post, I thank 'Anonymous' for their comment and for making me stop to think about whether or not it was a good call to publish in the first instance.

Original post removed.

a week back home

Last week M and me travelled down to Eastbourne to spend the week with my folks. We'd felt a little bad at only spending a measly couple of days down there over Christmas so sought to remedy those feelings by returning soon and for a little longer.

The trouble is, by the time you've factored in the travelling (we went by train this time) we still only had three days to do anything. Tuesday was lost to rain, though we managed a lightning-quick trip to the Towner to see the Tomoaki Suzuki exhibition - a series of lifelike figures placed at floor level around the exhibition space. Well worth a visit if you're in the area.

On Wednesday the weather was back on track and we headed over to Brighton for the day. M fancied a spot of shopping and we enjoyed a sunny morning wandering around town before meeting up with Sarah in Bill's for lunch. Sadly, time wasn't on our side: after an all-too-brief grandad visit in Woodingdean we rushed back to the station, caught the train back to Eastbourne and spent a lovely evening in the company of Rowan and Ant - newly settled into a wonderful house in the Old Town (it's great to have some other people to visit there!).

My folks had taken Thursday off so we piled into the car, along with the three Border Collies, and drove east to Camber Sands. I have fond memories of paddling in the sea there as a child but unsurprisingly, on a cold and cloudy February day, the choppy sea was slightly on the uninviting side. But these days I'm happy to visit the sea wherever and whenever it is. And there's nothing like a bracing walk along a beach.

The week had whizzed by but I was encouraged by the fact that we almost halved the normal train fare by booking early and travelling via Paddington and Victoria, rather than the expensive and laborious trip via Salisbury that I've traditionally used... so hopefully I can fit in a few more trips before the end of the year.

Jason's

I was sad to hear Jason's pie and sandwich shop on Brighton's North Street has closed down.

I was an enthusiastic customer of that great little place back when I worked at Waterstone's in the late 90s/early 00s.

Some lovely baguettes were consumed from there over the years. But my favourite was their Spicy Jamaican Patty. When I was last in town back in October I was walking down North Street and, despite having eaten lunch, decided to treat myself to one just before they shut for the day. Just for old time's sake.

Now I'm glad I did.