Old Gits

What wonderful weather today! Temperature was in the mid 20s and it made for a hot morning on the football pitch. That game was very close, ending 2-2, but it really was a joy to play.

The Gorse Fox headed home, showered, grabbed a bite to eat and headed back out. He was attending the first consecutive VMUG Old Gits dinner. This was to be held in Warwick so he headed north. Driving through the early afternoon was an absolute pleasure - traffic was light and he was able to set cruise-control to 70 and leave it alone for most of the journey.

Arriving at the venue, The Old Fourpenny Shop Hotel, he checked in and treated himself to pint of fine ale (just to hydrate, you understand, after all yo cannot take chances in such hot weather).

The Gorse Fox headed back out on foot. It was time to explore.

Though he has been to Warwick many hundreds of times during his career, he has never explored the town. He always lived close enough that he could drive home in a couple of hors or so, so rarely stayed. It turns out that it really is a a very charming little town. There are lots of ancient buildings, little alleyways, and inviting side streets. He took a number of photos as he made his way round, finishing off down by the Castle.

Considering what a small pub/hotel The Old Fourpenny is - it's certainly incredibly popular. This, it turns out, is no just because of the good food, but also it is used by race-goers. Warwick racecourse is quite literally at the bottom of the road... and tomorrow there is a race meeting. The Gorse Fox sat with another beer and watched as the race crowd filed in and settled down for the evening.

It was a good job he had booked as the place was filling up. Merlin and Blambo arrived first. As it was so busy in the bar we went straight through to the restaurant where it was a bit quieter. Stuart was next to arrive, having come up by train and then, finally MFC wandered in. We had a full house.

The meal was really excellent. Certainly it was much better than you would expect from a small pub tucked away in a side street. The menu was varied, the service was cheerful and attentive, and the quality was very good. Conversation varied - Starfleet, marriage (Blambo had just got married again), retirement, cameras, drones, children, travel, and of course, VM and Rexx. It was probably not a conversation that would have interested or excited our nearest and dearest - but it was a great catch-up.

As Stuart and Blambo were both on duty at Starfleet first thing tomorrow they had to get back. So it was that after a couple of hours or so, Stuart headed for the train and Merlin and Blambo headed for the motorway. MFC made his way home and the Gorse Fox headed to his room. We resolved to meet up again - and hopefully expand the group in time for the next "do".

A super day.