George was away collecting John from his recent surgery in Cambridge but the rest of us felt that Fermoy’s would be an excellent destination at this time of year. We rode out through Broadhempston for a change, arriving by 12:30 to find a café packed with Christmas gardeners. We had some reasonably tasty food, although prices seem to have jumped sky high without a proportionate improvement in quality. There was then time to look around the store: it seemed that the Furry Animals pet section has been removed now, but there were plenty of other things to browse.

For the return journey Michael wanted to take us along the lane past Newhouse Barton. This turned out to be muddier than the last time he rode it, which was frustrating for Jude as he was wearing his brand new Adidas trainers. We continued home via the usual route through Staverton and Caddaford.