Earlier this week, on one of the slightly cooler days, the New Islington marina had some unmistakable ‘on holiday’ energy about it. Folks reclined on the canal-side, feet dangling over the edge, glasses - or cans of G&T - in hand, enjoying the last rays.
“We could push everyone in,” said my lad, 14, and with a mischievous streak. We could. "You'd only get a couple really, before the rest work out what's going on,” I say, raining on the parade a bit with boring dad logic. We don’t in the end, though it’s obviously really tempting. Instead, we pull up a Scandinavian-looking picnic bench outside Flawd, the bar and restaurant on Keepers Quay run by Joe Otway, Richard Cossins and Dan Martin. Joe and Richard have some pretty brilliant stuff on their CV.
Joe was the head chef at the Michelin-star tipped Where The Light Gets In in Stockport, and Richard has managed renowned restaurants for renowned chefs in New York and London. He's worked with the likes of Marcus Wareing and Simon Rogan, who owns L’Enclume in the Lakes and which happens to have three Michelin stars.
