Was it undercooked? Was it overcooked? Eventually, I concluded that the reason the white flesh of my fillet of baked cod was rather dry and wouldn't part easily from the dark grey skin was probably that the fish had been cooked from frozen. But this couldn't be, surely, since the Fox on Boars Hill boasts on its menu that "fresh fish is the house speciality". One thing was certain: the cod (tail end, folded back on itself) was not very good, and not worth a price tag of £11.95, even with the excellent tomato-ey red wine sauce, the crunchy celeriac pure and a dish of first-class vegetables - cauliflower, carrots and red cabbage that had been poached (I think) in cider.

Rosemarie viewed her fillets of trout (two halves of the same fish) with scarcely more enthusiasm, for these had also been cooked too much. They were not spoiled totally, but dried out rather than juicy, even with the lemon butter she had been offered shortly after the ordering stage as a substitute for unavailable shallot and artichoke butter.

But then a thought struck. That order had been made a whole hour earlier - and it was more than 30 minutes since we'd all three (Rosemarie's mum, Olive, was with us) finished our starters. Could it be that as this large and popular country pub had steadily filled, and the cheery waiting staff had gadded about at increasing speed, our dishes had simply been left awaiting their delivery, kept warm, and thereby spoiling, the while?

The rather dry state of Olive's 8oz gammon steak suggested that this, too, had been applied rather too long to heat, though the fried egg on top of it - the yolk still runny - didn't appear to have been kept hanging about. The chips were mass-catering jobs, some with sharp edges that required eating with care. In the event, Olive didn't eat very many, preferring some of the new potatoes with which Rosemarie and I were well supplied.

Mass catering, of course, is what the Chef & Brewer chain, of which the Fox is part, specialises in. Its menu is very large, like that of the Barley Mow at Clifton Hampden, a sister pub I wrote about last year. Besides jacket potatoes, ploughman's lunches, sandwiches, salads, and 'hot hobs' (filled baguettes) listed on a printed menu, there are literally dozens of other dishes written up on blackboards in the various interlinking rooms - tricked out with baskets, tack and other rustic relics - that make up this appealing pub which was created at the beginning of the 20th century from a row of three cottages.

The wide range of its dishes is suggested by such offerings as confit of duck leg with olive mash and savoy cabbage, saut of lamb's liver with cheddar mash, and four vegetarian specials. Besides fish already mentioned, there was whole roasted bass, salmon supreme, seared tuna and mullet.

To begin lunch on this Tuesday visit, just before Easter, I chose remoulade of crab, celeriac and mayonnaise (£4.85). Ginger was said to be another ingredient, but was only obvious in slices of sweet preserved ginger served as a garnish. It was much enjoyed - despite the presence of a couple of pieces of shell that, but for careful chewing, might have been a danger to the teeth (or, rather, the fillings in them).

While Rosemarie much enjoyed her half pint of shell on prawns with Marie Rose dip and chunky bread (£3.85) and Olive her chicken liver pat with apple chutney and splendid hot toast (£3.95), there was a major problem with the latter - it wasn't chicken liver pat but pork and chicken pat.

At the ordering stage at the bar, I had been asked whether we had wanted the pork and chicken pat and I had said we wanted the chicken liver pat listed on the board.

As she ate it, Olive thought its rough texture unlike that usually found with the chicken liver variety. Only when the bill arrived, clearly listing pork and chicken, did we realise what had happened. For Olive this was a matter of no great moment -- but what if she had been among the many people whose religion specifically excludes the consumption of pork?

A splendid home-made summer fruit crumble with ice cream (£3.95), which Rosemarie and I shared, and Olive's apple and almond tart with cream (£3.95) helped compensate for other deficiencies. My huge cafetire of strong coffee (£1.80) was also a plus point. So, too, was a delicious Aussie chardonnay at a very reasonable £10.25.