Ron wasn’t so bright himself after being roughly woken with a cold flannel and then ordered to help Frank clear up the mess they’d made the previous night. Rosie had provided them both with strong tea but refused to cook breakfast as she had more important things to do, so he was feeling very hard done by.

Finding bread, sausages, bacon and eggs in the larder, he set about making tea and cooking a hearty fry-up, which in his experience was the only cure for a hangover, and they sat down in companionable silence to polish it off as Harvey watched every mouthful in the hope of scraps.

With them both feeling a lot brighter, they went out into the pocket handkerchief back garden to get some fresh air and clear their heads of the last vestiges of alcohol before they had to face the women.

Harvey watered the few plants and nosed about the weeds in search of enticing smells before slumping onto the grass with a deep sigh of disappointment. He’d had no scraps and there was nothing to chase.

‘It’s a nice day for it,’ Ron said, packing his pipe with the good tobacco Mike had given him, and looking up at the almost cloudless sky.

Mike lit a cigarette and chuckled. ‘I’ve learnt not to trust the English weather. It can be like this one minute and pouring down in a howling gale the next. It’s even worse in the Highlands of Scotland, and I can’t recall ever feeling really warm – even in the height of summer.’

‘I imagine it would be cold that far north,’ muttered Ron around the stem of his pipe. ‘But you must be used to it after living in Canada.’

‘The cold back home is crisp and dry, not like the damp cold here that gets into your bones.’

‘Well, I don’t think it’ll change much today,’ said Ron, who prided himself on being able to forecast the weather. ‘The sky’s too blue and what clouds there are don’t promise rain.’

Mike nodded distractedly and looked at his watch. ‘I guess we ought to start making our way down,’ he said. ‘I know it’s still a little early, but we’ll need to park the car outside the Anchor and walk up the hill – and I want to be inside waiting for her when she comes down the aisle.’

Ron recognised a nervous groom when he saw one, and reassuringly patted Mike on the shoulder. ‘If we arrive too early we’ll get caught up in the wedding already going on, so best to enjoy our smokes and then take our time getting down there.’

‘Okay, if you say so,’ Mike replied doubtfully. ‘But I think I’ll just go to the bathroom again and then check the car starts and that there’s enough petrol, oil and water in it.’