Had a visit from my friends Beth and James who popped up from Bas Armagnac where they live

They love food and are great cooks so I took them to my favourite butchers in Castillon. As you step inside the doorway it is like going back in time 80 years – all the furniture including the chopping tables and the till is from the 1920s!

There were a few people in front of us but no one seemed to mind the wait as watching the jolly butcher tell stories of old, carve and prepare every order – from fillet of beef wrapped in fat to our sublime rabbit – right there and then in front of you was truly an experience.

Visit laithwaites.co.uk