Fairweather friends...

We have a couple of friends we visit, but usually only when the weather is clement... It just has to be dry, and not too cold, for us to visit them on the bike, otherwise they come to us by car. This time it was damp, and very cold, so they came to us, and we headed out to Boxford to find somewhere for a pub lunch.

We visited Boxford for their open gardens event last year. In comparison to then, when it was filled with little groups of people wandering up and down merrily ticking off one garden after another, it felt deserted - perhaps everyone had gone away for the weekend! We went to the Fleece, which was packed out during the open gardens. This time we had one of their rooms all to ourselves for a while.

It was originally a 15thC coaching inn and, although it was renovated a couple of years ago, it still retains its old wooden panels, and beams, and so forth. The light slanting low through the windows made for some atmospheric shots.

A really delicious lunch - I felt a little envious as three (non-veggie) meals were brought out for the others. My vegetarian choice of brie and roasted vegetables on ciabatta didn't sound hugely promising, being 'just a sandwich', but Mr Drookit agreed that it was even better than his!

We only had a quick walk round the village - it was bitterly cold - and headed home as the clouds gathered again.