Temptation Part Deux

My niece is over from Australia visiting her mum and dad for a few weeks so I badgered them into coming over to see us today and we've had a lovely day.  I suggested a dog walk but Laila and Hadi are not big outdoorsy people so we took he girls out for a leg stretched before they arrived and then left them at home (poor pooches).

There is not a huge selection of things to do in the Peak District if you exclude outdoor pursuits so we headed up to Castleton to mooch around and hoped for the best.  And the best was very good indeed.  It was a splendid, summery, spring day and the paragliders were out in force at Mam Tor so we drove up there and parked and walked (yes, actually walked!) a few hundred yards admiring the views and watching the paragliders.  At least we got some fresh air!

Then down into the village for a pleasant mooch ending up in our favourite Castleton pub, The Cheshire Cheese.  We know the Geordie barman, Neil who is a funny guy, full of banter and piss taking even with customers (if he judges they will appreciate it).  He set the tone by having my indecisive niece taste test about 6 different bitters before allowing her to choose one and then instructing my sister in law to "follow me" through to the restaurant and promptly (almost) walking her into the Gents!

Then came the temptation.  The four of them ordered their meals - fajitas, spicy burger, steak and ale pie and Innkeeper's pie.  All 4 dishes looked lovely and very tasty.  Drinking sparkling water and nibbling on a bar was HARD!

But I was inspired by the fact that Hadi and Laila (who are both very slim) ate heartily but left reasonable portions of their meals despite obviously enjoying them.  Laila left most of her chips and Hadi did not eat most of her tortillas, sticking to the meat and veggies.  They both clearly understand that moderation has to be maintained whereas I have not in the past and am now having to put that right.  I WILL learn to walk the walk!!

(They can't shop in moderation though - as we were on our way back to the car they nipped into a jeweler (pleasingly one where several of our friends work) just as it was closing and managed to buy Blue John earrings and pendants!!  I'm MUCH better at resisting that sort of temptation.)

Tonight I'm off to our last league quiz match of the season.  It's all to play for as we are in poll position to win.  Big pressure.  Wish us luck!  More temptation in the form of drink and sandwiches and chips just when you're hungry at around 9.30/10pm.  I will stand firm - I really want a good meaty drop on Tuesday!