Horror of horrors! Going into Home & Colonial in Berkhamsted recently we were told that our favourite Sunday lunch haunt, the Attic Cafe, had closed. Apparently the owner, James Hannaway of Rex fame, had come in a few days earlier and laid off the staff, just like that. What to do? Where would we go for our smoked salmon and scrambled egg? For a couple of weeks we tried a few other places but there is something homely about the Attic. Its informality and wooden tables and chairs remind you of your mum’s kitchen when you were growing up! However we needn’t have worried. Within a couple of weeks the Attic was back up and running under new management, and smoked salmon and scrambled eggs were still on the menu. Unsurprisingly James Hannaway, who was always a regular, has not been seen since. Such a tragedy would normally be the subject of an item in his Rex program but there hasn’t been a word. Anyway, welcome back the Attic! You were too good to go under.

Speaking of the Rex we saw an unspeakable film there last month. How James Hannaway could have allowed Welcome to New York is beyond me. After an opening 20 minutes of relentless depravity (it wasn’t the depravity that offended me, just the relentlessness of it!) there was a shuffling of feet next to me. My wife and one of our guests were heading for the exit. A few minutes later they returned to summon their spouses. Our departure was the cue for several more to rise from their seats and follow us out.