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Saying our goodbyes to the sleepy village of Shipton, we took the scenic route to my Mum's through Northampton and Melton Mowbray, stopping for a pint at the Griffin in Plumtree.

This is probably the first pub I ever visited - it was the one my Uncle Ken used to take us to occasionally on Sunday lunchtimes when my Dad and I visited my Nan. At the age of 8 the journey from the Meadows (where my Nan lived) to Plumtree seemed to be a trek worthy of Amundsen but in reality it's only about 10 miles.

In those days, too, the presence of an 8-year-old meant the adults were forced to drink their drinks sitting in the car park. There was no beer garden and no adventure playground like there is now, nor any "relaxed" policy about kids sitting inside the pub during daylight hours.

Social mores have changed out of all recognition in the last 40 years.