Chingford is at the end of the line - in this case a compact London Overground service which departs Liverpool Street every quarter hour. By this means, associates of the Pie and Mash Club arrived at the forest-side settlement one fine spring day in early April.

As with so many of London’s villages post-Covid, there was a sense of better times passed as Alan and I ambled up Station Road in search of cashpoint, mashpoint and other associates.

They materialised in the form of newbie Neil Baker PD [seen here] and James Edward Tanner PD, who have carved out a decorative niche in this manor with their exquisite brush strokes and lovingly applied emulsion. No surprise really, as both are ace tennis players with advantageous club contacts.

[Far right] Me.

Close ups of the fare. Portions are modest, but quality and consistency is unwavering – at a price you can afford – across all branches of Robins’ Eastern Empire.

Here are doubles partners Tanner and Baker – at ‘mash’ point. I detected in Baker a taste for high octane thrills, so it came as little surprise to learn he once burnt rubber as an oval racer. If you find yourself in the passenger seat of the company van, expect a white knuckle ride as Neil jockeys for pole position at traffic lights and has a tendency to take roundabouts full throttle anticlockwise.

Robins’ modest yet palatial interior – a bit of a shame the styros feature so prominently.

Greenwich Mean Time was being observed.

Michelle and Zoe [pictured] were our dinner ladies this Friday lunchtime. Crisp, clean, efficient service with a smile seem to be the values which form a vital part of June Robbins’ legacy. It’s definitely a shop to be proud of.

As the assembled crew prepared to flux outwards, two fellows hale, hearty and well met hove into view. Incognito shades and a slimming black cap caused delayed recognition of ‘the Gobfather’ Len Wilcock. Silly me – the ref’s shirt was a giveaway, and there’s probably a red card tucked into that top pocket. Quite by chance, Len had come into London to have a scoff with his old mucker Dave Henderson of nearby Highams Park.

Our other table was manned by Alan Smith, whose reluctant overwintering in London has caused consistent appearances in Pie and Mash shops, and East London correspondent Colin Price.

[Far right] Colin's discerning spoon takes in the full range of the menu.

Pavement obstructors.

Chingford’s broad boulevard lends itself to relaxed scoff’n’quaff in clement weather. We repaired to the former Station House, now rebranded ‘The Rusty Bike, Chingford’. I wondered if Dave was sporting a check shirt designed for the Hammers fan about town, as the banter spun from small furry rubber to large shiny leather – with a claret and blue bias.

London Overground at Hackney Central – and a view west of the long intersection with Hackney Downs. But longing for Hackney I was not.

St@