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It was my parents' Diamond Wedding today. 60 years of marriage and a good 8 or 9 years of courting before that and they're still together and in love. Even though one of them is my father. So congrulations to them both and particularly my mother (or maybe particularly my father for managing to persuade someone as great as her to stay with him for so long). They're on a cruise round the UK, but my sister surprised them by turning up at Dublin to give them a card from the fucking queen. Top drawer, Jill.
Can't wait to see what my kids do for my Diamond wedding in 2072.
We bought Phoebe’s first school uniform today. Again another mildly emotional milestone. I am going to collapse on the day she actually goes to school.
It was a long and hungry journey to Glasgow tonight. I had been given lounge access by the production company making the show I’m doing and was surprised to discover the lounge I got in to had waiter service and a menu of hot food. I was pretty hungry and ordered some eggs Benedict and was feeling quite the ooo laa la.
But the lounge was very busy and there was a table of lairy middle-aged men right next to me who were making the most of the “free†alcohol and keeping the waiters occupied. My food hadn’t arrived in 45 minutes, but I am British and so would rather sit quietly and not complain, even though I’d have had to leave by now had my plane not been delayed. At about 50 minutes I went up and asked if my food would be coming soon and the harassed staff (and none of this was their fault - they were battling manfully and womanfully, there were just too many customers) apologised for the delay. At about 75 minutes I asked another of the waiting staff whether a wait of over an hour was to be expected, still pretty politely given how hungry I was. She said that it was to be expected unfortunately, but then the original waiter came and told me that she’d forgotten to put my order through but could get my food to me in 5 minutes if I had time. It seemed my flight was still not ready, so I said that was fine. She offered me a complimentary glass of champagne for the inconvenience, but I told her I didn’t drink. It was all a bit tragic.
Fifteen minutes later my food still hadn’t arrived, but my flight was suddenly boarding so I had to make my excuses and leave. The men had had their tenth round since I’d arrived and eaten foodl - I guess the squeaky wheel gets the meal.
I know that not getting food in your paid for posh lounge is not the worst of the world’s troubles and aside from feeling a bit slighted that I had been so easy to not notice, I didn’t mind. Apart from the fact that it was now 8 pm and I hadn’t had any dinner. I might have been more annoyed if I’d paid I suppose, but I was wishing I’d just cut my losses and stopped thinking I was special and just gone to Pret a Manger.
But now I was stuck on an Easyjet flight (how the mighty have fallen) and was not about to pay through the nose for an unpleasant sky sandwich. I had to hope that I could get to the hotel in time for last orders at the restaurant. Or just give up on food and embrace my opportunity to have a sleep.
Luckily the stars aligned and I had a nice unhealthy beef burger at 9.45pm alongside historian Kate Williams who is one of the contestants on tomorrow’s show and who had just arrived at the hotel too.
The moral of the story is don’t pay for the lounge access, unless you drink alcohol and that maybe even if someone else pays for you it’s not really worth it unless you want to get wasted.
Still, I have a big fun day of playing games ahead of me tomorrow and am being paid to play the games and all it has cost me is some mild hunger and the disappointment of not eating some eggs.
