Just two things on my to-do list today:
1) Have pneumonia vaccination;
2) Have a haggis supper
But which is better? There's only one way to find out...
Status report Page 6,182
Did you find out 
As a boy, my friend's mother used to make haggis for tea.
I thought it was horrible. Like a bag of budgie seed.
It put me off for life.
Well, short-term, the haggis supper was the more pleasurable and less painful experience. But, long-term, I shouldn't die of pneumonia but could still die from an under-cooked haggis.
Woke up this morning. It's still January! How long is it going to last for goodness sake?
I'm supposed to be a parsimonious Yorkshireman but not really.
I took the family out for Sunday lunch to a lovely country pub - and they were seriously taking the piss.
£12 for a 'single gin and tonic. £8.50 for a pint of Birra Morreti.
To be fair, the dinner was fabulous - first class.
But fatha had open wallet surgery.
The bill was over £400. I'm still getting over it.
Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 6th February 2024, 10:45 AMThe bill was over £400. I'm still getting over it.
How many people was that for?
4 adults, 2 children.
I would expect a week's holiday for that.
A hefty tab but sometimes it's nice to relax somewhere with prices that put off your average riff-raff as Basil would say. Nice surroundings and clientele all soaking up the ambiance. The food needs to be nice and agreeable but the staff can make all the difference like the ones who are chatty and get to know you so every time you visit and they're working you have a catch up and they share positive news like a graduation or engagement. Then one day you visit for dinner and discover they've moved away to start a new management training course and the cycle continues with their replacement. They have to be good at the job though. Chatty and personable but not hapless and dense getting food orders mixed up every time.
That's the nail on the head Tarby. The place oozes class and friendliness. Plus, no snotty kids running around and muscle-men fathers with ripped T shirts and shorts.
Quote: Definitely Tarby @ 13th February 2024, 10:29 PM...the staff can make all the difference like the ones who are chatty..
I hate that (what an old curmudgeon!).
Unobtrusive and efficient are the qualities I look for.
Don't even mind slightly sneering.
It's a good job I don't serve tables round your way as I literally can't shut up.
At the airport to start a six-day trip to Florida. My layover is in Denver, which is a thousand miles further away from Florida than I am now, but I'm meeting my daughter and grandkids there, so it's worth the hassle. We're all going to Florida to meet a Canadian couple and their daughter for the first time. My daughter donated embryos to them, and they had a girl about 18 months ago. She's technically my biological granddaughter. Science is amazing.
Quote: DaButt @ 15th February 2024, 3:25 PMAt the airport to start a six-day trip to Florida. My layover is in Denver, which is a thousand miles further away from Florida than I am now, but I'm meeting my daughter and grandkids there, so it's worth the hassle. We're all going to Florida to meet a Canadian couple and their daughter for the first time. My daughter donated embryos to them, and they had a girl about 18 months ago. She's technically my biological granddaughter. Science is amazing.
That's incredible, what a kind and selfless act and enjoyable trip that's going to be. Humans are amazing.
Quote: Lazzard @ 14th February 2024, 10:54 AMI hate that (what an old curmudgeon!).
Unobtrusive and efficient are the qualities I look for.
Don't even mind slightly sneering.
It depends where I am. If it's somewhere I'm unlikely to return to that's far from home I prefer a quick in and out without any small talk but closer to home and somewhere I might visit more often it can be handy to get to know the staff if they are good at the job and efficient. A good example is you're dining with a group and need to leave the dining area to get a round of drinks but the bar is busy so you're looking at a wait at the bar to secure your place in the queue and get served. Someone behind the bar you've got to know looks at you as you approach the bar and does the drinky drinky sign at you quizzically, you give a thumbs up back and they reply with a thumbs up. You can return to your seat and when they are less busy they will prepare your drinks from memory and bring them over to the table all done without queuing or saying a word. Assuming they actually do that it can give them a big tick against efficiency and customer service but if they forget the drinks and you have to go back to the bar 15 minutes later all bets are off they are forever a dumbass.