Hats off.

And so to Bourne End, and the Bounty. Which is a great pub, and one of my favourite venues. It is only accessible by boat, or by ferry. Or you can walk across the nearby railway bridge, but where’s the fun in that? I think that it used to be the club house for an aerodrome that used to be in the fields behind. It certainly has that club house feel. And the landlord is great. But I mustn’t get ahead of myself, without mentioning the the Adventure of Adrian’s Hat, an epic of wind, water and strong currents, involving our hero, Adrian, swimming off into the distance in a pair of very attractive pants, and, not wanting to fight his way back against the flow, dripping his way back along the road before swimming back to the boat, which couldn’t get in to the bank, much to the astonishment of the local residents, who were not just swans.

As we arrived at the Bounty, they were busy setting up a small stage – complete with carpet, and a gazebo – as the heavens were being a bit contrary, and every so often ditching a load of heavy rain on the proceedings. I took a walk across the fields and up the hill behind the Bounty, and watched bands of rain sweep across the valley from the safety of the trees.

Considering the weather, we had a very decent turnout. And a great fun show. Somehow, we avoided the rain for the performance, mostly. Perhaps it was Adrian’s suggestion that the more raffle tickets people bought, the drier it would be… Afterwards, we chatted to some of the friends that had come to see the show, and I caught up with people I hadn’t seen for a year. Which was great, and just the way that the tours should be.