A little mooch

Thankfully, Sophie felt better today, although she still had a cough. Our plan today was to go on a mooch to three pubs in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, recommended by my work colleague, Sheila. They are all CAMRA pubs, so I hoped the beer would be good for Keith.

We had a lazyish morning and set out at 11:30am, calling to see Mum and Dad first to take some foot cream she needed. I found her trying on the outfit I bought her for Mother's Day, but the trousers were too large, so I'll have to return them and buy a smaller pair. We stayed for a little while and then joined Keith, who had been waiting in the car for us.

We set out for Stamford, which wasn't far from our first pub in Market Deeping. The journey was going well until we reached the outskirts of Stamford, where the traffic ground to a halt. We crawled slowly into the town, but there was no reason for the hold-up at all! We continued to crawl through the town, but once through, we changed the order we were going to visit the pubs and went to The Five Horseshoes in Barholm, Lincolnshire first.

We were lucky it was a gorgeous day again with clear blue skies and sunshine. In the sun it felt warm! We parked behind the pub and went inside to order our drinks. Sophie and I had a half pint of Coffin Stout, while I ordered a pint of Excelsius for Keith, who had popped to the loo. The beer was 5.2%, so perfect for him as he loves a stronger beer.

With a couple of bags of Frazzles, we sat outside in the sunshine and enjoyed our drinks. Keith loved his beer, so that was a relief. We have been so disappointed in the past with pubs, it was lovely to find a good one for a change! There was a lovely atmosphere in the pub, which seemed to be frequented by locals.

We stayed just for one drink, and then headed to the village of Maxey in Cambridgeshire to visit The Blue Bell. Again, this looked like a hangout for the local villagers, and there was another good atmosphere in the pub, with a friendly landlady. Keith was delighted to see Fullers ESB behind the bar, Sophie had a half pint of Neck Oil, and I settled for half of Guinness. We sat outside in the sunshine and it was very warm!

Our third pub was in the large village of Market Deeping, again in Cambridgeshire, and called The Vine. Inside, people were chatting animatedly, and Sophie was asked for ID... she was 29 yesterday! She was delighted!

Keith chose a pint of Exmoor Beast, while Sophie and I enjoyed a half-pint of a Cappuccino Stout, which was delicious. We sat outside in the pleasant garden and soaked up some more sunshine. For me, it felt like an Easter weekend!

Keith wasn't keen on returning home via Stamford, so he directed me to Peterborough and then along the A605 until we reached the A14. Back home, Sophie and I sat in the garden with a sandwich and a glass of Leffe (the bottle we'd bought last year in Vaison-la-Romaine!) and Mooney emerged from the bushes to come and see us. It was bliss!

We had a lazy evening and the leftover Chinese for dinner. We sat and watched the BBC2 music programmes after we'd eaten. A lovely end to a great day!