Disappointment (nearly) all round

Disappointment 1

We should probably have known better than to go out for dinner on Valentine’s Day. It’s asking for trouble. Our main plan was to watch a film about a pregnant serial killer* and take part in a Q&A session with the very talented writer / director / star** so we thought to make an evening of it and have something to eat first. The thing is, Valentine’s Day is a bit like New Year’s Eve or the week before Christmas; the kitchen is never likely to be displayed at its best. Still, when I first went to Oranaise (years ago now) I really enjoyed it and the menu has had me humming with anticipatory pleasure all week, so the fact that it was all a bit meh was a blow.

We shared a mezze platter to start – which was fine if generally a tad underseasoned. Main courses, though, were verging on the not fine. D had the Royal Couscous – he fished out the chunks of chicken, lamb and kofte (because he likes meat) but left most of the rest finding it not so much bad as profoundly uninspiring. I ordered vegetable brochettes which the menu claimed came with halloumi and baba ganoush. Neither appeared on the plate. The vegetables themselves were nice, (if a tad oily) but when you’re expecting halloumi and baba ganoush, the lack thereof is hard to take. I should have said something, but assumed I’d ordered the wrong dish until I checked the menu afterwards and saw that this was not so.

Romantic lighting...but where is the halloumi?

I hate to write negatively about places, and I am conscious that in choosing to go out on this particular evening I was positivly asking for mediocrity but, equally, no halloumi? That’s almost unforgivable.

Disappointment 2

The scales are showing a definite slowdown this week. Since the beginning of January, I have weighed daily and the direction of numerical travel has been almost exclusively downwards. This week, the drops are smaller and the bounce backs…less small.

Yes, I have been happy to blether that slow and steady wins the race, that I am fine with the idea of the rate of loss declining…and yet it still bloody stings. I’m a baby, I know. But it’s my blog so I’m allowed to stamp my feet and blow raspberries for a little bit. I think that the best thing to do is not to daily weigh for the rest of the week, which should avoid me getting even more petulant (that way madness and potential binges lie) and then reassess the position after the Official Result on Monday.

Not a Disappointment

*”Prevenge” which was very funny and very dark. If you have a stomach for gore and a sense of humour that tends towards the black, then I would thoroughly recommend it. **Alice Lowe, who you may know if you are a fan of “Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace” (AWESOME) or the film “Sightseers” (also vg) was a charming and engaging speaker and clearly, given the difference between her character and off-screen persona, a very talented actress.

Enjoyment at the film almost, almost made up for the lack of halloumi.