with Mark Davison
The Fox Revived, Norwood Hill
A FTER motoring around the drenched Surrey countryside late on Sunday afternoon with my nephew, who is staying with me for a few days, it was time to stop off somewhere for a bite to eat.
We tried the Grumpy Mole at Brockham, but learned from a rather stern barman that the afternoon teas stopped at five o'clock and now it was 5.30pm so we had missed out.
"There are no roasts left," he advised us.
It was very busy inside with families sitting at smartly laid tables with serviettes and wine glasses so we decided to try somewhere else where bar snacks were served.
We headed off in the twilight in the direction of Leigh and ended up at the Fox Revived, Norwood Hill.
There was a real warm welcome when we approached the bar and enquired about food.
"Are you still serving?" I enquired.
"Yes, of course," said a smiley bar lady. "We have food available throughout the day and evening."
"Oh good," I replied.
We said we were looking for some bar snacks and she suggested we select something from the starters and share-a-platter section on the menu.
We took the menu to a table in this pleasant country pub and perused the list.
My nephew opted for the Fox Revived burger and chips. Well, he's a typical growing teenager.
I knew that if I watched him munching on a burger my appetite would grow, so I picked the baked macaroni cheese which came with garlic bread and a small portion of "leaves" as they call it these days. And not bad value at £5.25. It was cooked in one of those enamel baking dishes.
My nephew truly enjoyed the burger, washed down with a cola.
A middle-aged couple arrived and took a seat nearby.
The helpful lady at the bar arrived and enquired if she could help them and was surprised to learn they had already made a choice from the menu.
"Yes, two veggie burgers, please. Yes, the veggie burgers with mozzarella, mushrooms and onion rings."
The waitress took the order and returned to the bar.
The pair began talking about computers.
She enquired how she could print out documents from her i-pad.
"I'm off technology at the moment," she told her companion.
In the next room, there was a children's party. The youngsters were lively, but quite well behaved. They were being served garlic bread slices and juice, while they played and drew pictures.
I gazed up at the stylish timber shelves containing various jars of goodies which were for sale.
One contained pure English honey "nature's finest sweet", sourced from Hassocks, Sussex. There were jars of pickled onions and some decorated pots. A few inches away was a leaflet giving details of the Pixham Artists comprising Morna Case, Julienne Knight, Jean Purnell, Mary Wardlow and Elizabeth Watson.
It seemed that the pots came from Willo Heesom Ceramics.
My eyes honed in on a jar of all-butter mango and lime curd.
It was certainly very relaxing in this place and we were in no hurry to leave.
The little children in the next room were served bacon, egg and chips, or fish and chips. As the youngsters tucked into their meal, and sipped lemonade from plastic cups, they quietened down.
The couple on the next table were served their veggie burgers and were silent during the consumption of the meal.
Some 1940s jazz numbers played softly in the background followed by some folky 1960s songs. One reminded me of the singer Joan Baez and I started to think about "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." You never seem to hear it on the radio. I wonder if anyone else remembered it.
A boy on the next table was asked by a relative if he had enjoyed his trip out earlier that day.
"Well, I slept in the car all the way there and all the way back," he said.
The waitress appeared and asked whether we would like a pudding.
"Oh! Another time, I think," I replied.
Later, I was asked why the pub was called the Fox Revived and recalled being told a story that many, many years ago there was a pub on the same site called The Fox but it suffered a bad fire and closed. It remained closed for many years but eventually was rebuilt and re-opened. The Fox had been revived.
We settled the bill, bade farewell and headed home. By now, the countryside was cold and moonlit.
