Why On Earth Do People Go Out For a Meal?

[Richard Barrett]

I'm never quite sure why anybody who comes to France to enjoy France should expect the French not to be French.

I certainly didn't expect the French to be anything but French, there's just a day on every trip there when I unaccountably forget how French they are. As I said, this Frenchness makes me happy (eventually). But for most of the summer I was in a different country every week and it's hard for a musician of little brain to keep track of what's open when and where.

[french frank]

Ohhhhh! Thank you, ff, I can smell it from here. Reading the carte, it looks very Lyonnais to me. So many bistrots, so little time left - it will be on my list for the next visit. Is there an icon for "drools immoderately"? (Have not yet dined this evening, hence the enthusiasm).

http://www.restaurant-perraudin.com/

Unfortunately the ready-made emojis are too big for forum use and making them smaller just makes them less distinct. I think the nerd is smaller than it was I will keep experimenting.

I think I would go for a starter from the carte, cheese and pudding, and skip the main because if I have main I don't want anything else (can't remember how hearty they are). Or starter and cheese only.

[Serial_Apologist]

Unfortunately the ready-made emojis are too big for forum use and making them smaller just makes them less distinct. I think the nerd is smaller than it was I will keep experimenting.

I think I would go for a starter from the carte, cheese and pudding, and skip the main because if I have main I don't want anything else (can't remember how hearty they are). Or starter and cheese only.

With the cost of eating out as it nowadays is, I can't blame you: I often do the same thing myself. If one is not alone it can potentially be embarrassing for ones companions, who maybe ask themselves, "Can't he afford a main course?!" or "Are we being greedy/taking up too much time?", or even "Is he showing us up?"

[Dave2002]

I see now that La Poste is to commence Sunday parcel deliveries soon; Royal Fail / Parcelfarce don't even do that over here yet!

A few years ago, before the closures and move of the small local post office, I asked the man in the post office why Sunday collections had been abandoned. He replied that the volume of letters had dropped to very low, so not worth it - which surprised me. I used to do a lot of catching up on Saturday, and put the letters in the box on Sunday for delivery by Monday morning. Now if one misses the Saturday collections then nothing happens until Monday, so post is then delayed another day.

Since than I have noticed some unexpected deliveries from companies such as Amazon on Sundays.

[Stanfordian]

A few years ago, before the closures and move of the small local post office, I asked the man in the post office why Sunday collections had been abandoned. He replied that the volume of letters had dropped to very low, so not worth it - which surprised me. I used to do a lot of catching up on Saturday, and put the letters in the box on Sunday for delivery by Monday morning. Now if one misses the Saturday collections then nothing happens until Monday, so post is then delayed another day.

Since than I have noticed some unexpected deliveries from companies such as Amazon on Sundays.

Hiya Dave,

I get a second post, but sadly not a first. My mail arrives about 2.15pm.

[ahinton]

A few years ago, before the closures and move of the small local post office, I asked the man in the post office why Sunday collections had been abandoned. He replied that the volume of letters had dropped to very low, so not worth it - which surprised me. I used to do a lot of catching up on Saturday, and put the letters in the box on Sunday for delivery by Monday morning. Now if one misses the Saturday collections then nothing happens until Monday, so post is then delayed another day.

Since than I have noticed some unexpected deliveries from companies such as Amazon on Sundays.

Some courier companies will deliver on a Sunday but Royal Mail and Parcelforce don't - for now, anyway (or at least not officially!). Whilst there might well have been falls in the use of Royal Mail and Parcelforce on account of email in the former case and other couriers in the latter one, I would be very surprised if they'd be sufficient to justify cutting out Sunday collections.

[ahinton]

I get a second post, but sadly not a first. My mail arrives about 2.15pm.

Well, you do live in "The back of beyond"! So, sadly, do I for the time being and my mail often doesn't arrive until mid-afternoon and some of it regularly gets misdelivered anyway; soince I've been where I am now, five Special Delivery items have gone AWOL and three of those have never been seen since.

[Dave2002]

Some courier companies will deliver on a Sunday but Royal Mail and Parcelforce don't - for now, anyway (or at least not officially!). Whilst there might well have been falls in the use of Royal Mail and Parcelforce on account of email in the former case and other couriers in the latter one, I would be very surprised if they'd be sufficient to justify cutting out Sunday collections.

You don't get Sunday collections, do you? I thought they'd gone completely?

[Dave2002]

I get a second post, but sadly not a first. My mail arrives about 2.15pm.

So surely that is the first!

Sometimes ours comes around 3pm. Also, we believe that in some areas there may be no deliveries one day each week - or that was a policy some while ago - which someone in business who expected mail every day spotted in the area we lived in previously. He used to phone the delivery office to ask what had happened to his mail, and then they sent a van round specially. He noticed this over an extended period, so it did seem to be deliberate.

[ahinton]

You don't get Sunday collections, do you? I thought they'd gone completely?

No. What I meant was that, in a very few areas, some staff will on occasion deliver mail on a Sunday even though they're not technically supposed to do so; not here, though, alas!

[french frank]

With the cost of eating out as it nowadays is, I can't blame you: I often do the same thing myself. If one is not alone it can potentially be embarrassing for ones companions, who maybe ask themselves, "Can't he afford a main course?!" or "Are we being greedy/taking up too much time?", or even "Is he showing us up?"

The kind of eateries I have locally don't tend to be the kind that offers a cheese course at all (or even cheese as an alternative to pudding), so I more often have either main and pudding, or just main (and coffee). But going further afield, if there's a cheese course I fit the rest round it according to how I feel (though I don't think I've ever had just pudding and cheese …).

It is one aspect of eating alone that you don't need to fit in with what others are doing whereas, like you, I try not to be out of step with others. But I do go out to eat, not read a book or chat to friends, which reminds me …

Last time (I think) I was at Le Perraudin my table was next to what looked like a family of four - a couple and two parents, perhaps. And it was interesting how they discussed the food and wine - and not just deciding what they would choose for themselves.

Over here 'discussion' is usually, "White for me as long as it's not cabernet sauvignon. Don't like that"; or, "If you're having red, could I have a glass of white because red gives me a headache." But not for me even to have an opinion about that

[cloughie]

I was beginning to wonder if I was on the wrong thread - last time I looked I was enjoying reminiscing about the joys of French Sunday lunches and return to find out about the inadequacies of the Royal Mail, which incidentally dowm here provides an excellent service, but I would not expect it to make Sunday deliveries, particularly of Sunday lunches!

[BBMmk2]

Me and MrsBBM had one of the best Sunday lunches, at our local Best Western hotel/restaurant. With a rather good couple of pints of Fuller's London Pride!

[Serial_Apologist]

Me and MrsBBM had one of the best Sunday lunches, at our local Best Western hotel/restaurant. With a rather good couple of pints of Fuller's London Pride!

One of the breweries of which is still cited by the Hogarth Roundabout off the A4 a mile west of the Hammersmith Flyover, as I re-discovered a month ago whenI cycled the river towpath.I don't know if they still deliver locally by horse & cart, however.

[vinteuil]

One of the breweries of which is still cited by the Hogarth Roundabout off the A4 a mile west of the Hammersmith Flyover, as I re-discovered a month ago whenI cycled the river towpath.I don't know if they still deliver locally by horse & cart, however.

.

https://www.fullers.co.uk/brewery

And Hogarth himself buried in the church of St Nicholas just nearby -

https://cemeteryclub.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/william-hogarth-and-his-neighbours-in-a-chiswick-churchyard/

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