HOW naughty can you be and still get a present?

He only works one day a year – and subcontracts most of his work to the elves.

Plus, it’s a monopoly.

All in all, he’s got a cushy number.

As you can see, I’m not a huge fan of the festive season but do enjoy the food on offer.

On that topic, we dropped in on The Bulls Head on a Tuesday night.

The pub has stripped floors, tasteful decorations and a roaring fire when you step through the door.

It really is welcoming and warming.

We sat down and had a look through the menu – all the standards such as lasagne, steak etc for between about £5 and £7 – not bad value.

But, in an early Christmas present, the pub was doing a special festive deal – £8.95 for one course, £12.95 for two or, for those especially hungry, a three-courser for £14.95.

Two courses we chorused. Pumpkin and chestnut soup, prawn cocktail and deep fried brie were all cast aside on course one for a choice of a homemade pate and poached egg on asparagus topped with Hollandaise.

Our friendly waitress delivered the plates to the table.

Mine had three large quinnels of creamy homemade pate, a good-sized side salad (freshly cut with more than iceberg in it) and some toast.

My festive friend had four spears, a poached egg (more of this later) and plenty of sauce.

The pate had a sweet, meaty taste and spread like a dream – but I’m a fan of chunky pate and this was smooth, but that’s churlish of me. It was a nice dish. My one real complaint would be that there wasn’t enough toast – don’t cut the amount of pate, just add an extra slice next time.

My companion was disappointed. Whether the asparagus were over-boiled or from a jar they went stringy when a knife neared them. Top marks (including an ooh) when the perfectly cooked egg split and the sauce was rich and thick.

Plates cleared, a good start (bar the asparagus) we decided.

Gasps from my companion greeted the arrival of the main course.

I’d plumped (definitely the right word) for a slow roast belly pork on wholegrain mustard mash with sage and apple gravy. It was as delicious as it sounds.

Three big rounds of the pork, cooked nice and soft, sat atop a mound of the mustard mash.

The smooth mash had enough mustard in to give a lovely, mouth-warming flavour without bringing heat.

Red cabbage, swede mash and baby corns completed the dish which was covered with the thick, glossy and tasty gravy. The flavours of the pork, apple and mustard worked perfectly together.

Fillet steak Rossini was the order from my companion. A nice medium-rare wodge of steak with a pate topping came out.

It was flanked by four crispy huge onion rings and a battalion of home made chips.

Bringing up the rear were some peas and a tomato. This was served with a creamy peppercorn sauce described as ‘delicious’.

I pinched a bit and can confirm the onion ring was crispy, the chips were ‘proper’ chips and the steak was beautiful – it melted in the mouth.

On Mondays the pub serves a meal for just £1 – and in winter these are dishes like beef stew. There is a choice of two dishes on Mondays. Only the lunchtime £1 meal will be on next Monday, not the evening one.

The food at the Bull’s Head was lovely. It was warming, tasty and good value. I may even give myself a little present before Christmas and head up there again!