Day 42

Day 42 of lockdown passed in a blur of meaninglessness. The weather has improved from the storms of the beginning of the week, although it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of the days.

The day started with what is now the normal Wednesday morning activity of tuning in to Lenny Beige (broadcast on Facebook on Tuesday evening in the UK) with my coffee and toast. This week’s edition was slightly different from previous weeks’…it included a large segment of the show in a pre-recorded chat between Lenny and impressionist Lewis MacLeod. TBH I prefer the “standard” Lenny Beige show where he includes songs, chat, shout-outs, facts from Max Factor, and the like. It was noticeable that the production quality of the broadcast has been seriously upped, though, which is good. This Friday’s show is the London Show, with songs about, or made in, London.

The Covid news was that there were two new cases, breaking the previous two days’ run of no new cases. However, it is looking increasingly likely that the announcement next Monday will be for a return to Level Two by Wednesday 13^th May.

The sharp-eyed among you may notice that we're reporting negative numbers of new cases on some days. This happens when suspected cases, included in the new daily total, are subsequently reclassified as not Covid-19 related. These are deducted from the current day's total and, on some days, outnumber the new cases.

We continue to support our local businesses, heading down to Scorch-o-rama for coffee (weather permitting) as part of our daily routine. We’ve also ordered out to Gorilla Burger, so were able to have burger and fries immediately before our Tuesday Night Quiz.

Gorilla Burger: have only just opened up in Miramar, on the site vacated by La Boca Loca. I had the OG Single with fries, while Nicola opted for the Congo – halloumi and mushroom. It’s probable that under Level Three they’re not operating under optimum conditions, but I suspect that it had been cooked and ready for some time before my chosen pick-up time specified on their web ordering system, as it was all a bit cool by the time we ate them. Nevertheless, it was a tasty burger, and we’ll definitely be back for more. It’s nice to have a decent burger place in Miramar. Total cost: $39.00 (no delivery charge as I picked up). Overall score: 8/10.

Logan Brown: Logan Brown are offering Logan Brown At Yours, which, rather than delivering a ready-cooked meal, is more like a Woop deal – they provide you with prepared ingredients and sauces (rather than just the raw ingredients like My Food Bag), and you simply have to do the final cook and assembly. We ordered the venison noisettes with pumpkin risotto cake. Delivery was specified as a vague “between 12 and 5pm”, but we must have been near the top of the list as we received it at 12:45. I followed the cooking instructions on the Logan Brown website, and served it with a bottle of Fromm 2014 pinot noir – I felt it deserved something a bit special! This is by far the best restaurant meal we’ve had on our forays into the Wellington hospo scene’s Level Three service. We’ll be back next week. Total cost: $60.00 including $10.00 delivery. Overall score: 10/10.

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