Grand evening out

OH, THE PLEASURE of clear, cold days and sharp, frosty nights - what I think of as real Christmas weather!

After all that rain, rain, rain - such a joy... at least for the time being.

Even worth the minor inconvenience of having to pour a kettle full of warm water over the car's windows to melt the ice before we can set off.

There are seven of us at the Christmas dinner in the end - maybe not as many as we hoped for, but more than we feared. And an enjoyable time, I think, was had by all - certainly by My Good Lady and I.

As for the food, the Pub did us very well - although, I must say, portion control is not exactly their strong suit. By the time I'd got through the butternut squash soup I was almost too full for the main course - an excellent steamed venison pudding with mushrooms, button onions and red wine gravy.

And even if numbers were somewhat down on previous years, the warmth and conviviality of the company was no less boisterous than in previous times.

Yes, a grand evening out.