Arriving back in Phoenix I find my destination relatively easily. Lissie is the daughter of some friends of my mother back home in Byfield, and you may remember her and her husband John coming to my assistance when I suffered my detached retina in Albuquerque two years ago.

I immediately receive warm greetings and a cold marguerita, and we sit in the garden exchanging news, and letting Louie, their pet bulldog, get to know me. Then it’s off to a local establishment for lunch, where I decide to be very disciplined and go for salad. The Savannah chicken salad consists of cold chicken chopped up and mixed with chopped fruit and nuts in mayonnaise, on a bed of green leaves, melon, strawberries, grapes and almonds. It’s absolutely delicious – kind of like main course and dessert all in one.

Next I get the guided tour of downtown Phoenix, which goes past my main reason for the visit, the ballpark. We drive around the scenic areas of the city, and there are lots, before stopping at a Mexican bar for a refreshing beer. Today is opening day of the baseball season, and the television is preparing people for the game that is imminent.

Back to the house, and we watch the first few innings of the Philadelphia Phillies, last year’s World Series winners, against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are no respecters of reputation, and take a four run lead before we have to move on to higher things, such as dinner.

We want to meet up with my friends Steve and Liz, as it is their last night in Phoenix, so having made contact and established the whereabouts of their hotel, we decide to rendezvous at the Four Peaks brewpub.

It’s a twenty minute drive, but well worth it, as the place offers a good choice of both food and beer. John and I both start with a peach ale, which is as refreshing as it is interesting. Steve and Liz arrive, introductions are effected, and a fine evening is had by all. I try their cod and chips, which is first rate, and a glass of oatmeal stout, which is wonderfully mellow.

The stout is one of the mainstays of their menu. The dessert section includes stout ice cream, and a new take on the old Italian favourite, stoutamisu!! We decide on two portions of the latter, one for each side of the table. It is, of course, one and a half portions too many, even though all five of us give it our best shot.

Thoroughly sated, we bid farewell to Steve and Liz and drive home. The television is showing the Pretenders, one of my favourite bands, playing at Cornbury, only a few miles from where I live back home. It’s a small world!