I waited until I heard Ellie switch on the iPad before getting up. It was just before 07:00 and was a further 20-30 minutes before Ellie and Diane came down to join me. Ellie had slept well, was in a chirpy mood, and was eager to get to school. I walked her around to the classroom and then set off for my pre-breakfast walk. The weather was mild and dry, but quite overcast.
The usual domestic chores followed breakfast, and then we prepared to head out and meet with Jane and Trevor for lunch. We drove up through Duncton, Petworth, Northchapel, Chiddingfold, and Milford and pulled into the car park of The Refectory. The restaurant had not yet opened so we sat by the open fire and had a quiet coffee while waiting for Jane and Trevor. Soon after they arrived we went through to our table. I was amazed by how busy it became in the restaurant, considering it was a Monday lunchtime. They only seemed to have a skeleton staff on duty so service was particularly slow... even if the food was very good. Jane had a delicious-looking shoulder of lamb while the rest of us chose pork and leek sausages on mashed potatoes with onion gravy. It was a simple dish, but quite delicious.
We chatted over all the recent news and discussed various forthcoming trips that we have planned. We were going to discuss excursions for our 2025 cruise but hadn't had time to review them in advance. That will have to be an exercise for another day. We had to bid adieu at 14:30 so that we could be home in time to collect Ellie from after-school drama club. We had an excellent run back but were surprised by the amount of rain that we drove into en route. By the time we got home, it was quite foul.
We collected Ellie from school and took her straight home to Zoe (who had come home early with a stinking cold).
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