The black specs in the sky were Hawks and at one point counted over 20 flying above the trees. Don't believe me check this out.
Never seen so many Hawks congregated in one area like this before. They seemed to be hunting riding the thermals, but could not see what exactly they were hunting. Many Hawks were sitting on the branches in the trees.
This afternoon for lunch we revisited the Royal Standard Of England Free House/pub near Beaconsfield. The free house dates back over 1000 years and is the oldest in England so this is worth experiencing. This is roughly 40 miles from Reading which is just over 60km and took a good hour to drive. Driving even short distances in the UK takes time unlike South Africa where we don't have many country lanes to navigate. Driving to this free house is in the middle of the country side with nothing close by. One has to remember back in the days there would have been a track running to London and very few towns around.
The last time I was here was back in February and we were really impressed and required another visit. This time I was taking my brother as well as it was his suggestion and recommendation last time. If I was staying closer I could easily work my way through the entire menu, but being a Sunday the carvery of lamb, beef and pork has to be the main course.
In February granny had the prawns and realised the French Onion soup was the top choice so not surprisingly we ordered 3 of those today. We had a few pints of cider as I am not a big beer drinker and would normally prefer some type of spirit if I am drinking. Being the driver today two pints would be the max as I have no clue exactly where the limit is these days.
Thatcher's Cloudy Cider is a semi sweet cider and is actually very good.Today I had the Royal roast which is Beef, Lamb and Pork whilst the other 2 had the Lamb roast. The food was exceptional once again and matched the setting and atmosphere of this ancient free house.
Nearly forgot to get a photograph and had only got rid of Parsnips plus the mashed Suede and Carrots which is called Neeps and resembles baby food. There are certain vegetables I do not eat and Parsnips and Suede are on that list.
Once again the place was packed out and one needs to book ahead to guarantee a table. This time we got a window alcove table close to one of the 4 fire places. Today was not really that cold and it was quite warm inside and even though we were not directly in front of the fire we could feel the heat.
We all finished off with desserts and only managed to photo my Trifle as the other 2 forgot as they had ice cream and apple pie. The trifle was ok but definitely not boozy enough and was definitely lacking Sherry. The apple pie looked like the sure bet and when I return know what I will be having.
The meal was finished off with Irish Coffee's and I was literally stuffed after this. Normally I do not do 3 courses, but how can you not when the food is this good.
The bill for this meal was 183 GBP which is actually quite expensive, but you cannot really compare to this type of experience. I could take 12 people out in SA for this price and why you cannot convert. All you can do is have a good time and forget the price because I will be back in a few months when I am visiting the UK again in the New Year. You only live once so treating yourself every now and then is great fun.
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