Last December, we lost our dear friend Polly (left in the photo above). Polly was someone we saw almost every day. She was our neighbour, confidante and resident adviser on all things plants. Polly had the greenest fingers of all. She created a veritable oasis the other side of our fence, one that attracted bees, birds and the envious eyes of both our kids and our cats.
Poor Polly – our garden must have been a sight for sore eyes from her windows. Occasionally she would come over with her own shears, but mostly she gave discreet instructions to Yeshi that when he had a moment (and there aren’t many) he’d do his best to fulfil.
In 2021, Oxford City Council awarded Taste Tibet a grant to help create a safe outdoor dining space for our customers. RAW Workshop built us these amazing planters, and OCC covered the cost. Polly immediately wanted to be involved. She had a vision for our corner of Magdalen Road, and got totally stuck into our project.
A friend of Polly’s remarked at her funeral how botanical plant names tripped from her tongue. This is true! Polly and her lifelong friend Eva (pictured right) gave careful consideration to what flowers would work best in our planters (knowing how remiss we were likely to be with their care), and Latin words and much enthusiasm spilled. Many of you took great pleasure in what Polly and Ewa created. Some of you took rather too much – believe it or not, plants have been stolen from our boxes over the course time.
Our planters are looking a little sparse and sad right now. They – like us – miss our friend. We wondered whether anyone in our community would like to step into Polly’s most prestigious shoes? We need a little ongoing advice about what will work well in the space and where to source new plants (with Silvester’s Stores all but closed, we will now need to travel further afield). We also need stern reminders to water our flowery friends – Polly was good at those…
Please do reach out if you are a keen gardener with some time to spare. We’d love to bring our planters back to their best, and know that spring is the best time to get our hands grubby. Drop by with your enthusiasm or ideas – we’re open as usual this week, as follows:
Wednesday: 5-9.30pm (dinner only)
Thursday – Saturday: 12-3 (lunch) / 5-9.30pm (dinner)
Otherwise, just send us a DM!
This week’s menu is out now – check the website for full details. Those of you who don’t follow us on social media may not know that we now have more specials on the menu than ever! Nyima’s biryanis were a massive hit last week, and by the weekend we had also introduced Chicken 65 to the line-up. Chicken 65 – follow us on Instagram for more details – is, simply put, your new favourite fried chicken dish. Do not hang about.
Finally! Don’t forget to come along to the the performance at the Oxford Town Hall this Thursday evening by monks from the Tashi Lhunpo monastery in India. If you can’t make their show, you’ll find them dining with us at the restaurant on Thursday lunchtime. Join us for a unique experience!
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Julie and Yeshi
Opening hours this week:
Weds: 5-9.30pm
Thurs – Sat: 12-3pm 🥢 5-9.30pm
☏ 01865 499318
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