Winchester weekend part 2

Done the rest of Vitamin E, Vitamin K done too - that's a complicated one, but the end is in sight, so here's part 2 of the weekend's excitement.

Part 1 of the narrative ended with the concert in the cathedral, from where we hastened to a pizza restaurant. It was one we'd seen on the city tour, because the building it occupies has a magnificent hammerbeam roof. We talked about this and that, while D ate a pizza that had so much chilli in it that after one bite my mouth was tingling. She finished the lot without so much as a bead of sweat or a trace of a runny nose. I have just invented the "HOT!! OW! OW!!!" award, and she is the first recipient.

With it being Lola II's birthday, I had somehow managed to get her some presents. This is unusual, I don't always manage it, and even when I do find something suitable, I usually hand it over as it comes, in the plastic bag from the shop. This time there were no less than two presents, wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper, in a little decorative bag inside a sports bag I was giving her as well. Trouble was, I'd bought them so long ago that I'd completely forgotten what the presents were, except that they were ipod-related. It was as much of a surprise for me as for her when she unwrapped them - a device that allows you to play the ipod through the car cassette player, and an in-car charger.

On Sunday there was still much to do, starting with Winchester's Farmers' Market. Leamington has a Farmers' Market once a month, but the range of produce is pretty limited. Winchester's is absolutely huge, and Lola II bought Jerusalem artichokes because she's never cooked them before, and local cider for a friend, and D splashed out on herbs for the garden, and more cider. I bought some Hampshire biltong for Mr A (he likes that sort of thing). It reminded me of Giles Wemmbly Hogg (two m's, two g's) who complained that the biltong was a bit tough, only to be told by his South African tour guide that he was chewing the guide's belt. Mr A scoffed the lot yesterday.

We went for a nice walk down the water meadows to St Cross Hospital, which was closed, but it was a nice walk anyway, and then had lunch at another good pub, The Old Vine. [Note to D: the beer was Timothy Taylor's Landlord.] After lunch, our final activity was a tour of Winchester College, which was founded in 1382 and has been operating on the same site ever since. In the dining room we were told that the benches weren't original, they're 'only' from the 1600s. It was an impressive place, and must be quite a privilege to study there (plus you have to have quite a lot of money).

That was pretty much it, and one of the best birthday weekend trips we've done, in my opinion. Now I must get on with writing up my biochemistry practical.