Once we were all seated we ordered drinks and were asked if we wanted poppadoms. Now those that have read earlier blogs will know that we rarely order poppadoms because we have found that these are not a good value for money order. However, we were pleasantly surprised when the management sent some over for free! During our poppadoms we were asked if we wanted a mixed starter, which most declined and hence we all declined. Extra dishes mean longer stays and later getting back, so we rarely have starters. We are simple people, just a main course and a couple of beers suits us just fine. However, imagine our surprise when the management came around with the starters for free!! Now I must state that I'm sure the guys at Shaad don't do this every visit, but it shows you the kind of welcome you get. Of course some might say that the MCC's reputation is spreading :-)
Early conversation was quite intellectual and I must state that I am writing this blog nearly a month late. Politics was on the menu and we discussed the fact that we are talking ourselves into a recession. A bit of small talk reported on TV and then a few oddballs in the stock market and suddenly everyone is panicking. Now of course we really are in a mess and people are struggling because the "credit crunch" is affecting peoples income, which affects their spending and so it snowballs. Anyway, then we discussed the euro versus the pound, and it started to get quite serious until Jim came back from the toilet after his usual checks (of the toilet that is) and said they were excellent. This brought us back to more lighthearted conversation. A newspaper article was shared about how Britain will in time be waking up to a breakfast of curry. Honey Nut Madras, Weetadoms, Kellogs Pilau Rice Crispies ... can't wait!
Then we had a round of quiz questions like, "What was the horse called in the song - Ernie, he drove the fastest milk cart in the west? There was also a long conversation about dogs and Brian G told us all about his Jack Russell's and how they could in fact eat a much larger dog or person if they wanted to!
So to the really important marking piece. For Quality the score was a very good 4.45, for Quantity a harsh 4.45 (Free food guys come on!), for Price 3.63 (again harsh with free food, but to be fair we looked at the prices that are charged for a main course), Staff got a good 4.63 and finally ambiance (Jim's notes included) 4.45. Total was 21.61. A respectable score putting this establishment 3rd under the new scoring scheme. Note the opinions expressed here are entirely personal and represent our experience on the day.
The bill came and we totalled up and all was well. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Another great MCC outing.
By the way, the answer was Trigger ...
Until next time and the visit to a new venue in Thrapston!!