Our friend Kevin turned thirty on Friday, and to celebrate he invited a group of friends to spend a weekend with him and his wife, Caroline in a cottage near Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds.

The Old School House was in the small hamlet of Lower Swell, with nothing but a well and a pub to its name, the Golden Ball Inn, where we all met late on Friday night for drinks and introductions.

Next day we set off for a bracing 3 1/2 hour round walk from Lowe Swell to Condicote and back via Stow. Some of us mistakenly read the directions as 3 1/2 miles, not hours, but there was no turning back! The weather stayed bright for most of the hike, but we did all get soaked in a heavy shower and as unprepared townies we set off without food or drink, so two hours in, I began pining for a pint of lager.

My thirst was finally quenched in the Queens Head Inn where I closed down two pints and refuelled on the most gorgeous steak and kidney pudding EVER! Highly recommended.

In the evening Kevin cooked us a chilli, and we amused ourselves until the early hours with an old fashioned game of wink murder (instructions below) followed by a rude version of charades. It was great!

Happy Birthday Kev!

How to Play Wink Murder

This game can be played as an evening party game or as a background game e.g., over dinner. Take enough cards from a pack for each player. Include in these cards one King, one Queen and one Ace. Shuffle and deal the cards to each player. The player with the King is the Cop, the player with the Ace is the Killer, and the player with the Queen is the Bitch. Each player keeps their cards and identity secret. The Killer has to try and kill the other players by discreetly winking at them. The other players feign death (dramatic style is good) and turn their cards face up to reveal their identity. The Bitch can bring the dead back to life by blowing a discreet kiss at the dead player. The Cop has to watch what is going on then take his guess and arrest the Killer. The game is over when either the Killer has won by killing all the other players without being caught or the Cop has won by correctly guessing who the Killer is. The Bitch adds an extra dimension to the game by making the Killer's task more difficult. The Killer would help himself to kill the Bitch and stopping her from bringing people back to life.

There are other ways of playing this game, but this worked for us. Enjoy!

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