New Years resolutions

We were welcomed into our luncheon  venue with the familiar refrain ” Oh shit, it’s burnt” so nothing changes. Ann, our host and the lady in charge of my old mate Barry, to whom I will be utterly charming and very gentle, at least until after he has signed up for Currencies Direct as he promised , was on top culinary form, managing to reduce the cranberry flavoured appetizers from Yorkshire pudding size to something resembling a burnt polo mint, but probably even more tasty nonetheless.

It was a wonderful lunch of pate and salad, followed by an excellent home-made fish pie, and all the better for being the first invitation received in the 6 months we have resided in Arundel. There would be no complaints coming from us. Personally I believe that charcoal can be a great taste enhancer, not fully appreciated by the culinary chattering classes. The taxi brought us back to Arundel a little before 10pm, and after that Nice Lady Decorator had rediscovered her composure after falling out if it, we popped in to the White Hart to witness a very rare occasion, Sprog 2 working. She had another shift as a barmaid in the pub. The only down side to this is that when one
orders a drink, the cost of her drink is immediately added to the bill.

Lunch was not Pulborough as I had suggested yesterday but nearby  Storrington, but the niceties  of the distinction between the two were obscured by another day of appalling weather. When it is dark, cloudy, misty and damp one could be anywhere in England.  One more day of this and the Canary Islands will be calling to me next week. I have a meeting in London on 4th January, but from the 5th onwards, I am free to make the best of the possibilities.

I have a picture today of one of the many fields around Arundel that have been entertaining the local duck and seagull population.

The parched fields around Arundel

Today being Sunday, I doubt anything firm is arranged, merely  because there is but one day of quiet living available prior to the arrival of The Savins for New Years Eve, and even that Nice Lady Decorator must surely need to recharge her formidable batteries before that onslaught.

Talking of the New Year, it is the time to consider New Years resolutions. I have one; I will resolve not to make any. There, I have failed already. One area where I could perhaps consider is to promise myself that I will not become involved in any scheme hatched by old pal John Otway, as it has nearly always cost me money in the past, but that is a forlorn hope as he has decided to enter Otway The Movie into the Cannes Film Festival next May, and I suspect he knows I have a house in the area (having stayed in it more than once). I am certain that this is the reason I have several missed calls from him over the Christmas period. I also have reason to believe that he is planning to bring several hundred of his fans to Cannes to support the promotion of his film, and that he has me in mind to sort out some of the logistics. I wonder if I should suggest payment for my services this time? That would be a departure. Anyway, if anyone down there in the Valbonne/Cannes area has any ideas about where to house several hundred Otway fans for a weekend in May and a venue where the John Otway Big Band can play, please get in touch.

Chris France