Friends

It was a glorious day. The Gorse Fox suspects people were heading for the coast in their droves. We had different plans. We headed up to the wilds of Hampshire to spend the day with Betty and Barney Rubble.

Driving against the flow, we had a wonderful journey up and had soon settled down for a cup of coffee and biscuit in their back garden. We caught up on all their domestic and family news. They too have ordered a new car. This was forced upon them by their impending house move. The new house has a single-car garage and a single parking spot. Their Prius wouldn't fit in the garage, nor would the Mondeo, so they have decided to sell the Prius and have ordered a Fiesta Active. This is small enough to fit in the garage. The Gorse Fox suspects that by the time we see them next, they will be ensconced in their new home.

At lunchtime, we headed off to the Hoddington Arms at Upton Grey. We had been there once before, several years ago, and liked it. It was time to revisit. We weren't disappointed. The staff were very friendly and the service was good. The menu was fairly extensive for a small out-of-the-way pub, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the food. We all started with some cod goujons, but then diverged over the main course. The Gorse Fox had some beer-battered haddock and it was really delicious. We were so full that we all skipped the desserts and headed back to Odiham.

We had a lovely afternoon drinking tea and chatting before bidding our farewells and getting back on the road home. Again we had an excellent trip back, clearly choosing a time when nobody else fancied being on the roads.