Things to do when you actually turn 26...

So it was actually my (me as in Kimberley) 26th birthday last Thursday... Can't say I was particularly thrilled at the prospect of being the wrong side of 25 and (as Lee will verify) there were definitely tears before bedtime on Wednesday.

(These tears, however, I now think were more likely down to hormones rather than the emergence of any (additional – eeeks!) wrinkles, as by Thursday morning I was awake at silly o’clock, desperate to start my birthday celebrations as normal. Phew! Wrinkles I can handle a bout of depression I can’t).

In our household, a birthday pretty much equates to a national holiday and therefore work is a dirty word and time off is ALWAYS taken. So hurrah! I had Lee Bot all to myself for the day but what to do when you’re 26… on a Thursday… in the rain.

One thing we had loved whilst on Honeymoon in America was brunch and having being married over a year now this was something we had only truly experienced in the UK a handful of times. It wasn’t that we thought the prospect of sitting in decadent surroundings eating something that wasn’t quite brekkie and certainly not lunch was going to be hard to do this side of the pond; it was just a case of wrong postcode. We needed to travel. In this instance we opted for Harrogate due to my connection to the town through my mum (as well as my need to visit a certain hat shop) but more importantly (and more accurately) we needed to travel to Betty’s Tea Rooms to quench the thirst for brunch.

Having been to Betty’s before I was aware of the queue (as infamous as the Harrogate weather – “It’s always an overcoat colder over here” my great-grandad used to say as he got off the train from Batley), luckily enough and more than possibly due to the new extension we were able to avoid this and were quickly offered a lovely table for two next to the window overlooking the Montpellier Gardens – bliss! Note to those who plan to visit and don’t already know, the top café does offer a slightly different menu to the main Tea Rooms, so that queue will more than likely appear at very busy times, I’m not saying it’s gone for good – that just wouldn’t be Betty’s now would it!

Service, as always, was impeccable although the old school politeness and stiff upper lip vibe could be portrayed as aloofness, I think it just adds to the old world charm that both Betty’s and Harrogate have. We shared a pot of coffee and where I had the Special Croissant with Bacon and Gruyere cheese, Lee had Eggs Benedict. I had no complaints at all with my brunch and if there had been a pattern on the plate, I’m sure I’d have polished that off too. Unfortunately, and it’s not a criticism on the quality of the dish (although the poached eggs were slightly over cooked), the proportions of Lee’s dish were wrong – more muffin than egg obviously results in a dry muffin to finish. But otherwise we had a lovely, very relaxed and, of course, very civilised start to my birthday.

K x