"Christmas Lunch"

This annual "festivity" has just been completed. Oh good grief, that counts as nearly the worst I've ever been too (it even runs close the one with the boss who'd just given me a dire performance review (almost completely unjustified) and stopped my payrise for the year).

Usually these are fairly entertaining, if only because Jim, the boss, is a good guy to go out and have a decent meal and a few drinks with. This year of course Jim is no longer with us, having departed for parts Home Counties. The venue had been arranged by our new colleague, who (no fault of hers) called in this morning with flu. This left three of us. The "restaurant" proved to be a trendy wine/cocktail bar (without a non-smoking area) that did a little bit of food. One somewhat small mozarella and bacon salad and a glass of red later and I popped off to do a last bit of present shopping, which included raiding Sainsburys for a ham roll. No more booze than that as I have to drive later to pick up Penny from her impossible to park close to work and head home. I foresee asking my beloved to drive us to the pub this evening so that I can imbibe a little.