Curiously Charis

As a Yorkshire lass and a lad from the North Norfolk coast, we're both big fish and chip fans. Whereas I love cod, Jono is partial to a battered sausage, though we both do love a Hull pattie . When we saw that a nearby fish and chip shop had been voted as the best in the UK, we knew we had to go try it for ourselves! Whiteheads in Hornsea , East Yorkshire, was rated Best Fish and Chip Shop 2023 at the National Fish and Chip Shop awards in London in February, hosted by the National Federation of Fish Friers. The judges were impressed by the shop's sustainability credentials and gluten free options, as well as the taste of course! One stormy Friday night, feeling those first hunger pangs at the end of a long week, we made the 40 minute drive up the coast to find out for ourselves. Whiteheads is a bit away from the promenade and town centre, in a small row of shops in a residential area. Not only does it have a takeaway, but also a restaurant. Since we'd made the drive, we de...

The premise: I have been to the Netherlands before by ferry - but it was for a friend’s 18th birthday and we only got as far as Rotterdam - and it was half-day closing day! Everyone was hungover and it was really rainy and all we really did was go in H&M. It wasn’t really my cup of tea! A few years ago I did the Bruges dash - which I really enjoyed. Apart from getting a really basic cabin and some rough seas, Bruges was a nice compact city, perfect for spending the day there, and my gosh the chocolate is good! Me and Jono had been saying we wanted to visit Amsterdam for a while, and we looked at short breaks flying from Humberside, but they were a bit out of our price range while we’re renovating our house, so we decided to try the ferry. Our trip: Having learnt from my previous trips, we booked a slightly nicer cabin with a double bed! It was only £80 each, and it even had a kettle and a slightly bigger bathroom. It was a good choice - I got lots more sleep than I normally do on ...

Me and Jono recently moved into our first home together, and one of the things we've most been looking forward to when becoming home owners was being able to have pets! We both grew up with cats and we knew we definitely wanted to adopt a kitten, but having to do lots of renovation work in the house meant we'd put our plans to adopt on hold for now. We'd seen a cute girl cat around, she'd wandered into our house when we'd just moved in! But a month later, when we were home with covid, she came meowing to us for food and looked incredibly skinny. We let her in and gave her some dreamies and let her sleep but she kept coming back. We figured she had a home nearby but wasn't sure why she was so skinny.  Poor kitties had been sheltering here  A few days later, as we were getting some fresh air in the garden, she popped under our neighbour's shed and brought out a kitten! She led the kitten, a girl about 8 weeks old, into the house! We were so surprised. We gave ...

A mouse came out from under the fireplace. I screamed and it ran back under, hopefully down the chimney. But still, it was the latest in a number of unfortunate reasons why I am dying to move out of my tiny flat and into the house me and my boyfriend had an offer accepted on in November, seven months ago. In my tiny flat, the TV aerial is no longer working, the oven isn't good for baking, the toilet chain is on the blink and there's just not enough space for both of us when Jono is staying with me. The last thing I need is a rodent infestation.  An admittedly huge part of the problem was I hadn't planned on staying in this flat long, and I certainly hadn't envisaged someone else spending so much time here with me! When I first moved in I was decidedly moving on soon, and moving on solo. I'd taken it on without looking at many other places as I needed to leave the house I'd shared with my ex-boyfriend quickly. It needed to be cheap enough so I could afford the bi...

HU5 is home to plenty of neighbourhood restaurants - small, friendly, family run places loved by locals and less well know among people from outside the postcode. The latest of these eateries is Mancia on Newland Avenue. I first noticed Mancia pop up in a couple of local Facebook groups and thought the food looked amazing. I love Southern Italian cooking and this restaurant specialises in Sicilian cuisine, so I knew I had to try it.  We booked in at 7pm on Saturday and weren't really sure what to expect! The restaurant is in a former cafe and looks pretty small from the outside.  Ready for food! On first appearances, the restaurant looked fresh and modern, it was tiled white and decorated with lovely shelves of pots. The dining room is pretty small, so it's no wonder they're always fully booked, with the chef cooking in an open area at the back of the room. When we arrived we gave our name to the waitress, who was a lovely, motherly Italian woman. She showed us to our table...

J Johnsons is somewhere I’ve been for lunch and drinks but I’ve never been for a proper meal there, despite the main menu looking really inviting. The setting of the restaurant is really nice too - and I thought it looked like a really romantic location for Valentine’s Day, so we decided to book a table. Last year was our first Valentine's Day as a couple, but as we were locked down we ended up having a lovely afternoon tea delivered from Artisan on Newland Avenue. So going out was really nice for us this year! The restaurant is normally closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so they opened specially to welcome us loved-up couples on Valentine’s Day last Monday. The upstairs restaurant    First impressions were good, the restaurant was lit with candles and had roses and red napkins on the tables, creating a lovely romantic setting, which looked great in the rustic venue. We were eating upstairs, and were guided to our table before being given a menu. There was a little bit of a ...