The Blue Ship, Sussex

Our supper date with The Cuz and The Great Armondo is another victim of the pandemic!

As Dinner Parties go, this is one that we are genuinely sorry to have had to postpone. Just as we readied ourselves for an evening of Cuz grub (the finest cheferie in Castle Avenue by a country mile), banter, cocktails, fizz, rosé, and more banter, the unhappy couple have been felled by Covid !

They will live no doubt. But once again the little-c has put pay to one of the most enjoyable experiences available to man - close up magic with our host.

Extraordinarily, this man can perform the most delicate, most dexterous, most awe inspiring tricks even after enough alcohol to befuddle any normal heavy social drinker!! To be rebooked very soon I hope!!

All of which explains, I admit, in a rather long winded way, why we are at a loose end for the night!

I was keen to get away in Nessa chiefly because she's had her solar system repaired today and it's a long time since we had a night of fire pit, and chat.

Also, as I somewhat indelicately explained to Louise, I didn't want to spend the evening in front of gogglebox with her having fallen asleep again on Saturday night! (Which is the general pattern of our evenings since she had Covid in Mallorca 2 weeks ago, poor thing.)

After she had finished chasing me with scissors, she agreed that a country pub, a sunny evening and a fire pit did have some merit!

Our favorite App for finding such a venue is Pitch-Up which in Louise's hands always seems to provide endless fabulous options.

This one, in Billingshurst was exactly an hours drive, left at 4 pm and happily parked up and lying in the sun by 5.15 !

Proudly faunting itself as the third best pub in West Sussex!

The Blue Ship seemed too good to be true! Third best eh! The tale of the tallest dwarf sprang to mind! But no, indeed it is pretty good! I have no reference point in West Sussex but in general it's a good 8.9 out of 10 ! Unless you don't like a field of campers, in which case I imaging The Dogs Breath in Horsham, the fourth best in West Sussex is much more your cuppa tea.

A pint of Olde Ferrets Wee and we were back to Nessa for bbq steak and salad.

Lou made friends with The Sober Couple. In the VW T bollocks next door. This is noteworthy! Louise doesn't EVER speak to people. She needs no more friends. So why did she choose the traffic cop and his missus for us to slur at? I'm not sure. Perhaps I was being a little dull?? It seems unlikely, doesn't it?

They did give us a great tip for our upcoming France trip in Nessa. There is a website and Facebook page for Les Castels where Château campsites are advertised. Useful and clearly are a great way to see France. We will let you know!

Meanwhile, Reggie made the most incredible self sacrifice by not eating our rib-eyes!!

Followed by lovely fire pit chat, and star gazing. And cheese! Black Sticks Blue, say no more.

Aluado is Portuguese red, (click to see at Laithwaites £9.99) brambles, dark red fruit, blackberry spice and with some leathery notes. And raspberry I can still taste. Big, succulent and hearty. With steak and salad there is nothing better! The Alicante grape variety, apparently, is common in blended Portuguese wines, but rarely used alone, here it works incredibly well.

Overall , without a doubt, not the best pub or even the third best pub we've been to. But certainly one of the the best pubs with the best camping within an hour of home!

Try it - nhsontherun is seldom completely wrong !!! What a lovely, spontaneous night. Safe to say we slept well back in Nessa.