On my way, texted Andy at 11:49. Change of plan, I texted back at 11:52: please pick me up from Currys Copdock. Then, waiting at the retail park with my Tommee Tippee Travel Bottle & Food Warmer (bought for the accompanying Apple TV deal), I get the following verbatim text: "Lots of traffic arriving for the football match I presume see you in a few minutes talking to Boris Boris talking to a hobnob" -- sent with Siri. It must have heard The Now Show, claimed Andy on arrival, but he's secretly one of the last great beat poets.

Like Strong Beans at Claydon and Flourish & Bean at Bramford, this is the latest in a series of Saturday outings prior to PDTT. Quarter of an hour later and we're parking in recently flooded Needham Market, home to Needham Lake -- that body of water over there -- and the snazzy building that's home to the Duck & Teapot, here since May 2022. Place is absolutely abuzz with families. Cleverly, we've hit it at Amazon prime time: within a week of opening, they had to adjust their hours due to the overwhelming demand. Huge place for kids to run around, swings right outside, conditions ideal. Queue's reasonable today and I'm sprinting to grab that vacated table.

Very much like that easy-to-read white-on-black wall board. Son-of-Sheffield Andy's straight for a banana milkshake and the hot baps section, all the meats, please, while Suffolk's own YT stays classy with a Fruit Burst and a tuna & sweetcorn ciabatta. Served with a tiny tower of tortilla chips, too. Functional fuelling food should foster our forehands and bolster our backhands later this afternoon.

Around me I spy dogs, colouring books, tiaras, knitting, and even one or two kids reading. The D&T is one of two places run by The Mix people, the other being Cabbages & Kings at Stowmarket where I spent a happy couple of hours working and lunching this time last year. And all the profits go back to supporting young people, which is nice: they're the future, I hear. Shame that we've run out of time for cake so best we take away some hot-hot-hot drinks.

If it was a car -- DUKW.
If they were passing by -- Rob Mallard.