I mostly agree, but...
One - I do this already. I'm 31. Although I have done it for years anyway. Well - to a certain extent. I don't *panic* but I do get confused :)

Five - Oooh I dunno, sometimes they can be interesting!

Ten - Fuck that, if it's not got a quiet area, I ain't going!

I especially agree with point nine though - I don't think I could ever be relaxed at a Dinner Party, I'd feel too working class, I hate wine (and hardly drink any alcohol anyway), my wife is a very fussy eater so probably wouldn't like whatever was on offer (unless it was a big slab o' meat, a baked spud and/or raw veg).

If I'm dicking around and relaxing with friends I couldn't be arsed leafing through Delia "Oh she's so versatile, don't-you-know?" Smith's cookery bibles and stressing in the kitchen creating out of the ordinary concoctions. I enjoy cooking for my family, because I don't feel embarassed if it goes a bit strange, but for relaxing with friends, either slam a few pizzas in the oven or call out for a take-away, and scoff it all in the lounge/front room/living room/whateveryoucallit. I just can't be arsed with the stress of trying to create something 'perfect'.

I think my dislike of Dinner Parties (seriously, typing that is nearly making me shudder) stems from visiting my gran every week and having nothing to do except read her Daily Mail supplement magazines, which contained, without fail, some pampered upper-middle class cretin with evidently no experience of the real world, worrying about her soufflé not rising properly or her local deli running out of locally-sourced smoked ham, and wondering how the hell she was going to even continue LIVING if she couldn't slam some pompous over-priced crap into her Le Creuset cookware and gently slide it into her Aga.

I have no idea what the point of this post was, considering not many people will probably read it, but it's been cathartic for me.

Thankyou.
( Mike Fishcake teamfishcake.co.uk - better than your mum's face, Wed 6 May 2009, 13:23, Reply)