General Chat

Every year there was a ‘works’ do, hosted by one or other sites. One year we were to the back of the buffet queue with ‘our’ boss some places behind us. There was very little choice left. That didn’t happen the next time ;-)

Not anything anyone paid for, but I went to a cousin's wedding many years ago and they had a (very nice) buffet. Mum, an auntie and I 'hung back' in the queue, to our detriment as there wasn't much left, and we saw people with piled high plates of stuff they could never have eaten. Same with the sweets, people with 3 pieces of gateau balanced on a small plate. Just greed :-P

Going out in groups is always a recipe for trouble with the bill. Normally going with family or friends we have always split the bill equally and that is no problem we more or less all eat and drink the same. However when meeting up with OH's ex RN friends we have always (in the past) opted out of the equal bill for drinks rounds. The others were quite happy for us to do this as, when younger they all knocked back pints and we would just have a couple of drinks each. I think if you can have that agreement from the start it works. Now we are older none of us drinks much anyway.

OH is like that, shirley.
On his hobby weekend trips, he was usually the driver, so had 1 soft drink whilst others were knocking back the pints. Not that he was a huge drinker anyway, hated getting involved in 'rounds'.

Re the work 'girls', many of us are retired now so I cook for us, they bring their own assorted drinks, and leave a couple of pounds each on the table to chip in for the food. Not that I expect that though.

Same thing happened to me in the 60’s

I went out to dinner with some workmates. Don’t have a big appetite so only had a main course and a coffee, the others had starter ,main course and desert and various drinks

At the end someone said let’s split the bill equally and everyone was Yes !

I was noooo I,m not paying for what others had when I had very little so I will only pay for what I had

Somehow I was the nasty one and was never included again on any evening outs

Suited me TBH

:-D :-(

When I was working, us girls used to go out to celebrate birthdays etc. One such outing we had some new staff join us at a local restaurant, where the meals were much of a price, but the drinks were quite expensive, like a fiver each. We all had a meal and 1 drink, then the new staff decided to have second drinks. One girl had to leave early, so left me the cash for her meal and drink. Then the new staff decided to split the bill equally, so I would have ended up paying for the extra drinks, not just my share, but the share for the girl who had left. I did protest about this, I think the new staff thought we were being petty, but I refused to join in, so I think they did have to pay for their own drinks in the end. It wasn't a well paid job, and one of the new staff was the manager.

Jacqueline ..........

how embarrassing.

And how well you dealt with it.

Hi Ann

We were late thirties, two siblings were older, one younger. Some time later older brother
came over, apologised and paid his share. The other two are best ignored.

How embarrassing did they just expect you to pay for all their drinks etc? Was that the way they had always behaved? what sort of ages are you talking about. I don't blame you not going out with them again.

Many years ago, mid eighties, we went for a meal with OH's family, his three siblings and partners and his mother. We were celebrating his mother's birthday and OH had booked the table. OH took more than sufficient cash to pay for us and also for his mother.

When the bill was given to him the siblings did not want to pay for their drinks nor any of the extras they had ordered, nor did they want to put in anything towards their mother's meal. The waiter came back twice for the money but there was insufficient despite OH putting in everything he had taken. It was very embarrasing. At that point I asked for the bill and paid it with my credit card. I then told them in quiet but pointed terms that I considered their behaviour to be both mean and disgraceful and we would not be going out with them again.

We haven't.

:-D :-D :-D

There's always some malingerers (sp?) and "takers". Always makes me wish them terrible indigestion and "the trots" next day. Wicked old woman that I am !!!!!!!! ;-)

Sylvia, that reminded me of the RC priest who conducted the cremation service for my mother in law. Fil was then in his late 80s and with Parkinsons so he went straight back to his house after the service while OH did the necessary talking to people at the crematorium, accepting condolences etc. Being a courteous sort of man he invited the priest to join close family and friends back at the house for food and drink.

Well, the priest ate twice as much as everyone else and then started on the drink. Fil wasn't a drinker and didn't keep alcohol in the house so we had just provided some wine for guests. Quite a bit ended up inside the priest as did a considerable amount of whisky that someone had bought fil one Christmas and that had never been opened. He was still sitting there long after everyone else had left and in the end OH had to politely ask him to go.

What I found odd was that my in-laws weren't church goers so this wasn't a parish priest that they knew well. He had a quick chat with fil a few days before the cremation and apart from that was a complete stranger to us all.

I'm glad we're not quite alone!!


JustGinny ............... your comment reminded me of 2 ocacsions when we came across that.

On our very first trip back to England for a holiday in 1973 we had to fly from Vancouver to Toronto, then change planes for Manchester.

The plane took off from Toronto, then the pilot announced that we had to land in Montreal because a cargo door was not closed and it "had to be fixed before we flew over the ocean".

We were not allowed to get off in Montreal, but were offered free drinks "as compensation" I was in the middle seat, and next to me in the window seat was a man from South Africa. He ordered a double brandy in the first round offered, then another double when she came round later.

Not only that, but I later noticed that the magazine he was reading was actually hiding ................ a copy of Playbgy :-D :-D :-D


Many years later we went to the wedding of one of OH's students. It was a big celebratory Chinese wedding, and at the meal afterwards we were seated with other "non-relatives and not-close friends" in the outer circle of tables, including the RC priest who had married them. All drinks were free, and the Father had a double brandy every time.

By the time the meal was over, he was almost falling on my shoulder!

He was a lovely Irishman, but still ..................

I can't understand why people pile food on their plates in all you can eat for a fiver places etc, to me no matter how hungry you are there is no need to have that much food.

Not in our family but we do know someone who did similar but with drinks , always had a double when it wasn't their round.

Thankfully, I don't have a close relative like that!
If he's gulping and burping, did he really enjoy the meal, or is it a case of eating as much as he can at your expense?! :-(

......... who takes advantage of you buying the meal to order much more than normally would??

All but gorges on it, then gets a doggy bag to take home, and suffers from bad indigestion all the way home ....... and is very obviously uncomfortable???

My son-i-l does it with us, don't know whether he does it if his own parents take them out for dinner ..... not even sure that they do do that. Any time we've eaten in a restaurant with his parents, sister and niece it's been at least 3 separate checks. That does make a lot of sense at those times!

We take daughter, OH and grandson out for at least one meal when we go over there, even though we no longer stay with them. We do eat a lot of meals at their house, and this has been our way of saying thank you.

The last time we did that, back in December 2019, he ordered a huge meal ........ including adding a 3rd lamb souvlaki, plus some side dishes.

The 3rd souvlaki went home in the doggie bag, along with the roast potatoes (for his wife to eat), and some of the dips, etc. But also added to the doggie bag was the meat that OH and I had not touched (we both have pretty small appetites!).

He sat in the back seat of the car gulping and burping.

I think I did find a way to get round it .......... they suggested going to a Japanese restaurant on another evening, it was strange to us because it was really fusion" Japanese, and everything had to be ordered by an app. But I didn't say that I would pay as my treat until the bill came :-D

He seemed to order a normal amount, no take-out doggie bag.

But what makes someone behave like that??

Even the normal order at the Greek place is about twice what he would eat at home.