‘I wonder what it’s going to be?’ mused the lad. ‘It would great to have a night out in the village. It’s a drag having to drive further afield. It always means someone can’t have a drink . . .’

His excitement tailed off as his mum looked at him sharply, but she didn’t say anything. He hastily turned his attention back to the queue which now almost reached the door. I got the impression that he’d said something out of turn, but I wasn’t about to find out what.

‘So, you think it sounds like a good idea then?’ I asked them both. ‘You’d go, would you?’

‘Absolutely,’ said the lad. ‘And I wouldn’t be the only one. As I said before, a night out on our home turf would be great.’

I paid for my purchases and then moved on to the grocery store next door where I stocked up on fresh salad, local fruit and large speckled eggs laid by the shop owner’s very own hens. It was amazing to think that everything I had in my bag had been either caught, harvested or produced practically within walking distance from where I stood.

There were no plastic-wrapped beans or strawberries bearing the usual ‘produce of Kenya’ or ‘imported from Spain’ labels. Granted, the range of food on offer was a little limited and nowhere near as exotic as I would find in the supermarket, but it was incredibly fresh and I couldn’t wait to try it all.

Even the meat in the butcher’s was Norfolk born and bred.

‘So, you’re as keen as the chap in the fishmonger’s,’ I said, aiming for definite clarification as I added some sausages, bacon and chicken to my rapidly filling bag. ‘You think an evening of entertainment in the pub’s a good idea too?’

‘Absolutely,’ agreed the woman who served me. ‘People around here have been crying out for something. We all support the pub of course. It’s a great place to meet, but it would be even better if there was a reason to go there other than to have a drink or play Scrabble.’

I mulled over what everyone had told me as I walked back to the cottage, greedily picking at the cockles as I went. When I had broached the subject with the grocery store staff even a couple of the customers had joined in and they were all enthusiastic.