Wachlin hame fae the Hurdlemakers
I knew something was up when I arrived at the Hurdlemakers and found that it was covered in Union Flags and Saltires rather than the ubiquitous flag of St George.
At last, I thought, I am being welcomed in the style to which I wish to become accustomed. That thought didn't last long, "Ted's brought a beach ball in his cycling jersey" was the mocking cry that greeted me as I dismounted.
The kilted secret service men with their earpieces standing at the door confirmed it was nothing to do with me, we had Scottish royalty on the premises.
Hotblack, the Hustler, NSFW, Huggy and Tomsk were sitting in the beer garden waiting for security clearance but we were soon allowed into the pub itself where we found Jem, Figgis, Mrs Figgis, Chris and the aforementioned royal personages. Jem soon had us organised onto one table to allow the usual intellectual discourse to begin.
Somehow we managed to cover topics ranging from the Dutch Trip (which is a real thing not an urban dictionary term) through to how undernourished Figgis and me must have been as youths growing up north of the Watford Gap. The Hustler and I tried to stage an intervention with Huggy but we think he is losing himself to square bashing - subscribing to Veloviewer is just the first step in the process of that particular addiction, thank goodness for Tomsk and his low tech ways. We also took time to marvel at the sizing of the latest ACME clobber - race fit doesn't quite cover it but it is amusing to watch people trying on sizes that normally fit.
Along the way, we sampled Runner by Trumans, American Red Eye by Oakham and McConnel's by Thornbridge. McConnels, a delicious vanilla stout, was the clear winner of the Quaffers' Choice award - we co-opted Figgis onto the committee to cover Oaky's long term absence in the US.
The other sandal wearers, Tomsk and Hotblack, didn't seem too impressed when I put on a pair of socks but then they weren't going offshore. As it happened, it was such a mild ride home that they were probably unnecessary. At least, with Figgis on the recovery trail, we didn't have to go to Chelmsford again - although he does want to go back there next week