Date: 7th March
Present: Gill, Jen, Nic.
Strictly speaking this wasn't a book group meeting as Nathalie, whose choice this book was, and many others could not make it. Undeterred, Jen, Gill and I met for dinner and a fleeting mention of the book.
The Old Express was ominously quiet when we arrived. I found Jen sat in an empty restaurant, the staff outside having a chat and a cigarette. One of them quickly came in to take an order from me and, when that order was for a gin and tonic, disappeared to get it from somewhere outside the restaurant. Gill arrived shortly after and went straight for the wine, which it appeared they could provide "in-house". Were things looking up? Not entirely. The menus were oddly entitled Main Courses and were presented with apologies as they were missing the pies for which Old Express is, apparently, famous. However, the smiling waitress graciously offered to provide pies, off menu, if required, as they were the reason Jen had opted to return to our 2008 Mr Y venue. The pie, duly received, seemed to more than satisfy Jen and was eaten with big smiles and chips. My burger was acceptable; the onions rings excellent. Gill's fish and chips went down pretty well, if memory serves. Then we were offered coffee and / or the bill. Thus it transpired there was no "Starter" menu and no "Dessert" menu. So the "Main Course" menu was, in fact, "The Menu".
The chat was more plentiful than the food options, however, especially after we'd reviewed the book with a few short sentences such as:
"It wasn't funny."
"They were just dysfunctional."
"It was uncomfortable, like The Office."
"I just don't understand why people think it is hilarious."
And thus, glowing reviews are reserved only for the company this evening: food and book were mediocre. The calvados at The Only Running Footman was warming and enjoyable though, so warming, in fact, that Jen and I sat at an outdoor table for several, necessitating Jen taking a later train. That's unusual, I hear you say.
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