11 Dinners
About twice a year my company calls all of the field staff in for a conference somewhere in the Midlands. As that is quite a distance for most of us hotels are always arranged for the night before. These are usually Travel Inn types with Brewers Fayre attached.

As part of the deal the company pays an extra £25 for each person to the hotel and they provide us with a £25 voucher to use in the attached restaurant and bar.

About a year ago I arrived quite late to the hotel and the reception told me that my colleagues hadn't bothered taking the vouchers because they had headed into town instead. That left me with £275 to spend on my own on dinner.

£275 goes a long way in these places where the top menu item is less than £15. The place was pretty empty and I like to think I gave the waitress some entertainment ordering a mountain of food - every starter they did, 3 types of steak, mixed grills, pies, fish and chips and half a dozen puddings. On top of this a pint of lager, biter, stout and cider. Red wine, White wine and a few obscure spirits I hadn't ever tasted before.

I didn't really manage to eat much and spent less than £200 in the end

I still think about those poor starving children in Africa.
(zaidin, Fri 29 Jul 2011, 8:20, 1 reply)

Ha ha
That is excellent. A friend of mine claims he got into an eating competition with the fat kid in school. Basically, revisit the canteen together, first one to drop out pays.

After the fourth piled plate of turkey twizzlers, the portly adversary calls it a day. So Steve figures, since it's free, he'll have fifth. Legend.
( pineapplecharm D d M Y, H:i, Fri 29 Jul 2011, 9:38, closed)