Biffing up to the Badger

Off today to Mill Hill to see Mum and Mas. The journey from Ashford on the high speed train into St Pancras -- around 35 minutes -- is revolutionary compared to the journey of over an hour and a half from Brighton to St Pancras on Thameslink. Mooched to The Jolly Badger in good time. 

Lovely to see Mum and Mas, although the Jolly Badger has slipped a bit. Where once it was deeply average it is now nudging dire.  An irritating manager type running about when I arrived. Have you booked? he said as we asked for a table. Literally three other people in the restaurant of about 80 covers. Our server the familiar silent one, who speaks  only with deep reluctance. Meanwhile some kind of power tool carpentry project going on around the corner in the restaurant. Mason, quite chatty, however, about a plan he has for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Ukraine, and the Waggon and Horses, before wondering off to chat with other Jolly Badger patrons.  

Mum and Mas kindly gave me a hedge strimmer as a birthday present, something which will come in immensely handy. Fond farewells with those two, me promising to come up again shortly. I fairly zoomed back to Ashford, where Mrs Kenny picked me up from the station and sped back to Pat and Maureen's house.