A family day today, as Ann and I blew the dust of the XKR and drove down to Roger, Jane and Oliver’s for lunch and to catch-up with Denis, who had been staying over. A very reasonable 28.8mpg on the way down including some lead-footed ‘magic moments’ to check that the car still accelerated as fast as I remember it did.
It did!
Lunch was at the nearby hostelry – The Feathers – as every film buff knows featured in the 1980 Film, Hopscotch, starring Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson. The Pub/Restaurant was walkable - it was only half-a-mile away – so whilst Jane and Ann walked, Roger and Denis drove whilst Oliver and I took the Jaguar for a belt up (and back down) the A10, before parking in the Pub’s car-park! Lazy or what!
Alas, no stars in the Restaurant, and no stars for the food either – it was at best, mediocre, but that wasn’t the point, as we had a great time catching-up with family news! Denis was in fine form, as was Oliver. And, to make it even more enjoyable, R, J and O settled the bill!
After heading back to theirs, we settled down for tea and Oliver brought us up to date with is mastery of the flute – he’s getting better and better, and we’re always amazed every time we hear him play.
It’s always a good sign, as the next time we looked at our watches, it was gone 5. So, we said our farewells and headed north to home. By now, it was p****** down, and we had a few sluggish moments before joining the A1. From then on, it was plain sailing, and we arrived home just before 7. That early sluggishness, hit the mpg and we only managed low 20s on the return journey.
It’s been a great day, and good to catch-up with the Gambles!
