Catching up...

Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote this blog! On Wednesday evening, and carrying on with the "out and about" theme, Keith and I went off on a mooch to three different pubs. The children were more than happy to stay at home so we seized the opportunity and went back to a small area where there are some good pubs.

The first was The Vane Arms at Sudborough which used to be the place to go for real ales in Northamptonshire. It's undergone a few changes over the years but now it seems to have bounced back and was lovely and welcoming when we visited. It's a traditional village pub with low beams, log fires and stoneflagged floors and Keith was quite impressed with the beers on offer. The food looked good and smelt good, too! We stayed for a couple of drinks and chatted to a man who used to frequent our local but had moved to Sudborough, so there was a lot of reminiscing about people we used to know.

From The Vane Arms we drove the short distance to The Snooty Fox at Lowick, a pub well-known for its food, and the fish in particular. We've been visiting The Snooty Fox for many years and it's a lovely pub with, again, lots of exposed wooden beams, stone-flagged floors and big log fires. The menu looked extremely tempting and I intend to return for a meal in the near future!

Our third and last pub of the evening was The Samuel Pepys at Slipton which had undergone a refurbishment since we visited last. I wasn't too sure I liked it, as I felt it had made this lovely old pub too bland and hotel-like. There were lots of cosy tables with little candles and the lighting was very subtle but I hated the venetian blinds at the windows! Just me, but some nice thick curtains would have looked more authentic for a pub of this age!

So, we had an enjoyable evening but on Thursday morning I felt terrible. My throat was raw and I had a horrible hacking cough and no energy whatsoever. The best thing, I decided, was to succumb to the inevitable and stay at home. I took some night-time cough medicine and slept soundly from 9am until 2pm! I was amazed but I did feel slightly better when I woke up. The rest of the day was spent doing very little and another good night's sleep followed!