A sunny day in England!

There are very a few places in the world that surpass a day like that experienced in Sussex yesterday. When the sun shines in England, it is warm and English country pubs are available to be patronised, there is no better place to be in the world. The problem is that it seems so good as it so rare. Exercise is so much less tedious with the sun on your back and these two elements, when combined, create a thirst. Thus we decided to go in search of a Decent pub with a nice garden. I may have looked like an idiot as the only one of the customers in shorts but nothing was going to spoil my day. I even wore sunglasses for the first time in England this year. With the top down on the Merc, we set of for a wonderful pub, inside and out, The Fox Goes Free at Charlton, pictured today, and then moving on to the nearby Partridge whose garden was more sheltered.

Two pints and two pubs down, and the ridiculous drink driving limit reached, we headed back to Arundel, still with the top down and a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius, almost balmy by UK standards. On the way out we had seen Nearly Hairless Nick washing his car again, ready to go to the Goodwood Members Meeting, to which he had invited us at £75 a pop. We had politely declined. One of the really good things about living next door to a pub is that one can buy a pint of proper beer and then drink it in ones garden. It was too much of a temptation and one that I certainly had no qualms about giving in to. Once That Nice Lady Decorator had donned her swimsuit and a bottle of wine, I realised that the afternoon was going to disappear in a haze, and so it did.

The garden of The Fox Goes Free

Today is Mothers Day and so the only mother in my family is going to get even more pampered than normal. Her first treat will be me explaining the benefits of opening an account with Currencies Direct for all her foreign currency needs and then I shall be taking her to lunch at the George at Burpham. There is a curious dichotomy here. Fathers Day appears to pass me by without and discernible change in routine, whereas Mothers Day is heralded for a week or so before and is milked for all it is worth. How can this be?

Anyway, it gives me a chance to see if the menu has improved after my comments a few weeks back. I have been told that my recommendations have been brought to the attention of the chef, and a long meeting of the staff followed to discuss what could be done. The power of the blog! Unless there has been no change…

After today, I have just three days left and two more nets before the gathering at Gatwick for the Sussex Seniors cricket tour to Cyprus. It is an island that I have never previously visited and I expect it to be warm and inviting. On the contrary, when I get back early next week, I shall then have just three days to prepare for a visit to another island, the Isle If Wight which I expect to be cold, damp and uninviting. It is as if I must face one more interlude of cold and damp English weather before catching the ferry down to Santander and subsequent local exploration before driving across Spain and France eventually to arrive in Valbonne on 25th April, quite simply the most wonderful town in the whole world.

Chris France