I went to the Women's Institute Christmas lunch yesterday and a good time was had by all. I had opted for the traditional turkey dinner followed by a chocolate swiss roll which was a bit like chocolate Artic Roll. Everything was perfect and the portions were not stupidly large and I noticed when the plates were collected they were all empty and there was little, if any, wastage. Service was excellent and the kitchen staff of three plus two waitresses and the proprietor came out at the end of the meal and we gave them a vote of thanks for the splendid meal and a round of applause.
We were split on two tables of 30 each and this was still a large group even without all members attending. I know very few people as I am the newbie trying out the W.I. but had been kindly invited to their annual lunch. They are a very friendly crowd of women of mixed ages and I was soon chatting to the ladies around me. When I arrived one table was almost full so I boldly started the second table on my own knowing that I would soon be joined by others. This was a good way of having people come to me rather than me having to fit into those who were already seated with their friends. It turned out to be a good idea on my part. The first table were the drinkers and extremely, noisy and my table were mostly the non-drinkers and although quite rowdy but not being stupidly so.
I arrived at 12.00 and left at 3pm leaving many still there. 3 hours was quite enough for me. I have my third meeting in January which is my final one before having to make the decision of whether to join or not. I am glad to have had this introduction to the group and expect to join up with them and become a regular. It is nothing like I imagined it to be and much, much larger membership than I had originally envisaged. There are pros and cons as with everything but on balance I think a meeting once a month will suit me fine to get me out of the house and talking to people.
The venue was perfect with lots of airy space and nice surroundings. I did not feel overwhelmed, airless or cramped. The place perfectly seated all of us. And the car park is massive. Always a bonus.
Today I am going for a deep tissue Thai massage. The weather is dull and wet but not cold. I will leave early and go for coffee and a read of the papers in the café nearby beforehand.
I have just returned from my last massage for this year, with my current favourite Tongjuan, a Chinese lady about 15 years younger than I am. She knows where to do what on my back and shoulders; we always chat (her German has greatly improved over the last year) and we even exchanged Christmas gifts.
ReplyDeleteThe W.I. lunch sounds good! I like it that they didn't serve ridiculously huge portions, and that the service was excellent - a rarity these days in many restaurants here. Once they have delivered the first round of drinks and then the main course, nobody shows up anymore until you go searching for them.
Like you, I would have had well enough after 3 hours. More often than not, such drawn-out meals like a breakfast/brunch/lunch meeting with friends go on too long for my taste; I get fidgety when I have been sitting on the same chair all the time and want to get up and go for a walk. Your idea to start the second table really paid off!
I hope you'll enjoy the monthly meetings, too.
My Thai lady still struggles with English; words that she knows but cannot pronounce is one of her major problems in making herself understood. She finds both our vowels and consonants very difficult and word endings just dissolve. I feel quite sorry for her because she is often misunderstood by people in authority who do not have the patience to work out what she is saying. Yesterday's deep Thai massage was one of the best I have had so that is what matters but I do worry about her and English bureacracy.
DeleteThe lunch was very good but at 3pm they started a long drawn out Christmas raffle draw and as I didn't have any tickets for it because the sale of which had been unknown to me I decided to leave.
Lunch with a group of friendly people is always a good idea in my book. I enjoy joining in all the various conversations even though I often struggle to hear. I hope you enjoy the WI experience if you decide to join.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy a lunch out every now and again and to have an organised affair like this one gives that extra push to do it and not sit at home. I think I will join the group for a year at least and see how it goes.
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