As we hadn’t visited the woods for a while, we decided to go there. Sam raced ahead of us and played hide and seek, but he was so excited, constantly giggling, he was too easy to find. Not that this bothered him in the least. After Mark and I had walked far enough—Sam must have covered at least three times the distance with his constant running around—we headed towards the Mucky Duck.
Sam made a half-hearted attempt at wanting a beer, but we told him he couldn’t.
“Have you actually tasted it?” I asked.
“No, but Mum and Dad let me have shandy,” he grinned.
“Would you like a shandy this time?” Mark patted his pocket, probably to check to see he had his wallet.
“Please,” Sam said.
When Mark had left the children’s room for the public bar, I asked Sam if he would like to take a small si
