Our meal at Frankie and Benny's

So we went for a meal Wednesday afternoon at Frankie and Benny's after we went and saw a movie. Frankie and Benny's is a largely 50's themed restaurant serving Italian-American food. There are booths with  red and white striped leather and 50's classics such as 'Shakin' all over' by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates and 'Blue moon' by the Marcels. It's probably an idea to pick a quiet time to go as if you get a noisy group near you the music is barely audible, which is a problem we had for about the first 15 minutes or so until the noisy group of girls finally left!
We arrived a tad early which wasn't a problem, we were seated and served straightaway, with our food taking less than 10 minutes to reach us. The menu is so vast, there's just so much to choose from and it all sounds delicious! We went for the specials menu where you can get two courses for £10.95, which is a huge saving compared to some of things from the main menu. The downside is that the specials menu doesn't have an overly large selection but we both managed to find something we wanted.
I opted for the Chicken Caesar burger with fries and relish, then the hot chocolate waffle for after. My other half picked the philly chicken and bacon wrap and had the same desert.
I would probably go again as the food was quite good, the service was excellent and the price reasonable. I would as I said go at a quieter time though as the atmosphere was ruined slightly at the beginning by noisy girls but what can you do? Next time I'll order from the main menu too, though I'd better start deciding what I want now! To visit the Frankie and Benny's website please click here.

Thetford forest, one of my favourite places.

Our picnic spot on the Queen's Diamond Jubliee weekend.

Greens and reds...From our November 2011 visit.

Winter sun...From our November 2011 visit.

Grey squirrel...From our November 2011 visit.

Thetford forest consists of pine, heathland and broadleaves, and is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain. It was created after the first world war for timber, as we had lost quite a few slow growing oaks and such due to the war demands. There is a huge variety of animals here, from rabbits, hares, Muntjac, Roe and Red deer to birds such as the Woodlark, Goshawk and Siskin.

The High Lodge visitors centre is the main destination if you're after something extra. They have a restaurant and gift shop, you can hire bicycles and have fun on the Go Ape high wire course. It's also the venue for many events such as concerts, theatre performances and the weird and wonderful, like the 'Electric forest' event that we went to in December 2011. It was basically a performance using lights, sounds, interactive objects and of course the forest, with a stargazer for those wanting to have a go and marshmallows to toast on bonfires. Here are a few piccies!

Lantern arch...At the electric forest event in December 2011

Magical...At the electric forest event in December 2011

Colour changing trees...At the electric forest event in December 2011

Whatever the season I just love Thetford forest, particularly the more peaceful and less trodden areas away from High lodge. The chances of actually seeing some wildlife is far greater without little children screaming and people bringing their dogs! There is just a really calm, soothing feel about the forest, I can feel really at home and at peace here. I'm often inspired to write when I'm at the forest, so maybe next time I'll take a venture down there with a pad and pen and see what happens....

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