Out visiting

We had plans to go out for the day. Before that, however, I had the regular cousins' call. The highlight this week was a discussion on the start of meteorological Autumn on 1st September. This, I asserted, was only begun because some people are too stupid to understand the significance of the equinox (around 22nd September). Cousin Chris chirped in from Turkey "Do you know why there are so many villages in England?" - it seemed like a non sequitur - until he replied, "Because you have so many idiots to go around".

After the call, we set up the cat feeder to keep Jasper happy and headed out across the South Downs, through Lavant, South Harting, Petersfield, Selbourn, and Alton, to Odiham. It was time to visit Jan and John. I commented to Diane when we arrived what a pleasant and relaxing drive it had been. 

We settled down with a coffee and some biscuits and caught up on news from both families. At lunchtime, we drove across to "The Leather Bottle" at Mattingley. It is a long time since we have eaten there and they have clearly made some changes to accommodate more covers. A wedding party was taking up much of the garden, but we had a table reserved inside. The menu provided a good selection. Diane chose the sea bass and I plumped for the BBQ chicken. Both turned out to be good choices and in my case a huge portion. As we were winding down, I excused myself to visit the bathroom. On entry, I did a double-take. All of the chaps were in full wedding attire and I was wondering if there was a dress code for the toilets!

Back at Jan and John's we sat and chatted some more and enjoyed a cup of tea and some cheesecake. Time slipped by and before we knew it, it was 18:30 and time we got on the road. We had a good run back and settled down for a quiet evening.