Hamish and I had our drink at the excellent Royal Oak in Swallowcliffe in Wiltshire, which attracts a lot of petrol heads because it is partly owned by James May. Although Hamish did have a pint of Peroni, he switched to white wine because he was about to go onto Channel 4 News. I stuck to English Lore from Gritchie. The noises in the background are people playing pétanque – my favourite sport! – which I’m delighted to see is getting more popular in Britain.

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