Friends

Despite the weather that was affecting much of the country, it was only chilly and grey down here in the South. We headed off across the rolling hills of West Sussex and through the eastern limits of Hampshire in order to spend the day with Betty and Barney Rubble.

As usual we had a lovely day, and popped out for lunch. We, again, visited the Hoddington Arms in Upton Grey but were greeted by a full car park. This posed a problem as the overflow car park was a sea of mud and was consequently unused. The Gorse Fox dropped his passengers and, picking his spot, ventured into the quagmire. The only question was whether he would get out after the meal.

The menu was similar to that seen on our last visit - the pub, however, was much busier. This may account for why the meal didn't quite reach the levels of excellence we experienced last time. Don't misunderstand - it was fine, just not quite excellent.

Back in the car park the car had settled and the first attempt to move saw wheel spin. Some judicious rocking back and fort, however, and GF manoeuvred the vehicle out of the field and onto solid tarmac to pick up his companions and head back.