Excalibur
02-01-2012, 11:03 AM
A little background first. It has becomee traditional for Twinspin and I to indulge in our Gear Wars Karaoke Extravaganza at one of his regular venues on New Year's Day. Rumblings of discontent had surfaced earlier when John rang up to finalise details for me to cover Xmas Eve there for him, and was informed that even though the gig had been arranged for ages, they had decided to have a band, not a disco. Saturday night is live music night, you know. Ah well, worse thing happen at sea.
So, in a break with tradition, John informs me well in advance that our services are not required on the Sunday, but rather the Monday holiday. Jeanette is happy, cos that allows me to head off to Sheffield on Sunday for a family meal and deferred Xmas with Daughter. On NYE however, John is asked if we can revert to type, and play the Sunday!! :eek: :eek: Answer, no. Not at this short notice, so the venue bend over backwards to accomodate their faithful entertainers. They book someone else!! :mad: ( I bet he didn't bring eight meters of truss, six plasma screens, and a vanload of Class D's. Serves them right. :p :D :D :D :D ) So, another booking gone South, and John informs them that he is shall we say "Unimpressed " with them. Still, at least no rush for me now, so I can enjoy a leisurely family day out. Well that was the cunning plan, Baldrick. Was.
So, I am woken at some unearthly hour by Jeanette, and check tyres and fluid levels on the car. All sorted, so Me, wife, son and my Dad set off to Sheffield for the day. No traffic on the motorway, and the journey is an absolute pleasure. Apart from the fact that my shiny new sat nav, which is the new improved model of my old one, has had new software fitted, and can't be set up in the logical manner which I've done thousands of miles with. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. :mad:
We arrive early, and have a coffee before setting off to the picturesque venue here
http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thefoxhouselongshaw/
on the edges of the Peak District for our fully prebooked and arranged meal.
The venue is splendid, impressive in every way, and perfect for what we wanted. The area is overrun with walkers and ramblers everywhere you look. We booked for 12.30, as all later slots were full. Obviously, the place is going to be packed. We are seated at our table, drinks arrive, and we tell them we've already specified our choices of food as per their set menu. Ten minutes later, we are told that the kitchen has lost this vital info, but no worries, as my efficient daughter hands him an A4 sheet with it all printed out neatly. Sorted. Obviously, food is now a tad later, so more drinks. I'm getting stuck into the J2O, and waking up a bit after last night. Starters arrive, and are superb. Things are looking up. We eagerly anticipate our main course Turkey Dinners.
Then the lights dip, flicker, and go out. Emergency lighting comes in promptly, and the staff assure us that matters are in hand to rectify the problem. WQe are a tad put out, as surely our main courses must have been seconds away from being brought out. To cut a long story short, the electricity company have been summoned to the fault, and have promised to have a man there to view the situation with all haste. Three hours!! :eek: :eek: :mad: :mad: And even then, he's only going to look at it, he's not going to try and fix it. :( The sister venue just down the road has no spare capacity, so we are told we can finish our drinks, and they'll close the pub. They can't charge us, as the tills have gone off with the power, so we head back to Daughter's home with the prospect of the cold buffet planned for tea becoming Dinner and Tea. Halfway back, the fallback of Wetherspoons is mooted, and our little convoy which got separated in traffic is reunited outside said hostelry.
By now, our meal is more than an hour overdue, and we bag a table, eager for sustenance. More bad news, they've been so busy ( and probably manned with a skeleton staff ) that meals are taking an hour!!! :eek: :eek: Never mind, time isn't of the essence, so more drinks, and we wait for the allotted time. Our food arrives on the promised hour, and we dine gratefully. Hot food at last. :D :D :D The rest of our day thus runs at least four hours late,we get home round midnight, and we can now sit here and :D :D :D :D :D :D about it.
So, in a break with tradition, John informs me well in advance that our services are not required on the Sunday, but rather the Monday holiday. Jeanette is happy, cos that allows me to head off to Sheffield on Sunday for a family meal and deferred Xmas with Daughter. On NYE however, John is asked if we can revert to type, and play the Sunday!! :eek: :eek: Answer, no. Not at this short notice, so the venue bend over backwards to accomodate their faithful entertainers. They book someone else!! :mad: ( I bet he didn't bring eight meters of truss, six plasma screens, and a vanload of Class D's. Serves them right. :p :D :D :D :D ) So, another booking gone South, and John informs them that he is shall we say "Unimpressed " with them. Still, at least no rush for me now, so I can enjoy a leisurely family day out. Well that was the cunning plan, Baldrick. Was.
So, I am woken at some unearthly hour by Jeanette, and check tyres and fluid levels on the car. All sorted, so Me, wife, son and my Dad set off to Sheffield for the day. No traffic on the motorway, and the journey is an absolute pleasure. Apart from the fact that my shiny new sat nav, which is the new improved model of my old one, has had new software fitted, and can't be set up in the logical manner which I've done thousands of miles with. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. :mad:
We arrive early, and have a coffee before setting off to the picturesque venue here
http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thefoxhouselongshaw/
on the edges of the Peak District for our fully prebooked and arranged meal.
The venue is splendid, impressive in every way, and perfect for what we wanted. The area is overrun with walkers and ramblers everywhere you look. We booked for 12.30, as all later slots were full. Obviously, the place is going to be packed. We are seated at our table, drinks arrive, and we tell them we've already specified our choices of food as per their set menu. Ten minutes later, we are told that the kitchen has lost this vital info, but no worries, as my efficient daughter hands him an A4 sheet with it all printed out neatly. Sorted. Obviously, food is now a tad later, so more drinks. I'm getting stuck into the J2O, and waking up a bit after last night. Starters arrive, and are superb. Things are looking up. We eagerly anticipate our main course Turkey Dinners.
Then the lights dip, flicker, and go out. Emergency lighting comes in promptly, and the staff assure us that matters are in hand to rectify the problem. WQe are a tad put out, as surely our main courses must have been seconds away from being brought out. To cut a long story short, the electricity company have been summoned to the fault, and have promised to have a man there to view the situation with all haste. Three hours!! :eek: :eek: :mad: :mad: And even then, he's only going to look at it, he's not going to try and fix it. :( The sister venue just down the road has no spare capacity, so we are told we can finish our drinks, and they'll close the pub. They can't charge us, as the tills have gone off with the power, so we head back to Daughter's home with the prospect of the cold buffet planned for tea becoming Dinner and Tea. Halfway back, the fallback of Wetherspoons is mooted, and our little convoy which got separated in traffic is reunited outside said hostelry.
By now, our meal is more than an hour overdue, and we bag a table, eager for sustenance. More bad news, they've been so busy ( and probably manned with a skeleton staff ) that meals are taking an hour!!! :eek: :eek: Never mind, time isn't of the essence, so more drinks, and we wait for the allotted time. Our food arrives on the promised hour, and we dine gratefully. Hot food at last. :D :D :D The rest of our day thus runs at least four hours late,we get home round midnight, and we can now sit here and :D :D :D :D :D :D about it.