Comments on: not the same place

By: Poochner

Poochner — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:11:29 +0000

At a previous job, I had to travel a good bit, so I got used to eating alone, in unfamiliar towns. At the time, 10-20 years ago, it was out of the ordinary, in most situations. The exception was eating in the hotel restaurant. Often the food wasn’t the best, and it would be over-priced, but they were used to single travelers. These days, I don’t travel much at all, but I still eat out alone. Ordinary places do seem to treat single diners better, you’re right.

As for the cinema, I’d rather go on my own, in any case. I don’t have to compromise on what to see, and I don’t have to deal with someone from my party trying to converse in the middle of it. There would be an exception made for shriek-inducing horror films; you have to have someone you can grab, after all

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By: wendy

wendy — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:55:46 +0000

clearly I mainly(though not exclusively) mix with the pluckier of special ladies, which partly explains why I didnt realise that this isn’t a common experience. Hoorah for pluckiness!

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By: Scarlet

Scarlet — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:07:13 +0000

I always thought I was really cool – buying a drink in a pub on my own and reading a book. I was and you are.
Sx

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By: Happy Frog and I

Happy Frog and I — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:32:40 +0000

Hi Wendy, as soon as I saw MLS has written that post I thought of you! I love eating out in restaurants on my own, but I do vaguely remember a time when I was not supposed to like it, when it was supposed to be something you didn’t do as a woman on your own. I did it anyway! But you have reminded me that in the 1990s they put me in the back of the restaurant too. Maybe we were sitting near each other at one point and never even knew!

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By: wendy

wendy — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:26:06 +0000

Without a ‘prop’, a really interesting view or conversation to eavesdrop on nearby I can get bored.
If I dont have a prop to hand I normally ask the establishment ‘have you got today’s paper I can read?’. If they don’t, I do a good disappointed ‘Oh’ and look as if they’ve let me down rather than me feeling silly for not bringing my own pocket entertainment… …sometimes someone at another table hears and offers me a paper. Sometimes read ‘The Sun’.

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By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:20:06 +0000

Things have definitely changed in the past ten years. It’s very uncommon these days to find yourself stuck on the “afterthought” table next to the staff toilets.

I still find it uncomfortable sitting in a restaurant without a prop such as a book or a notebook, but that’s more to do with me than anything else.

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By: wendy

wendy — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:46:05 +0000

welcome back Bux, and on star form with a poem. I class myself as having a different sensitivity bar to others which has its advantages (walk into a restaurant and order a meal for one without a second thought) and disadvantages (expect others to be able to do the same things – be insensitive)

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By: Bux

Bux — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:01:11 +0000

Wendy my dear, this is why we love you. You are definitely NOT A4.

It took me years before I would even have a coffee alone, now I do it all the time but I still feel ill at ease and don’t always savour my favourite treat – a wonderful cafe latte!

As for dining alone, I’m not quite brave enough and I always have great admiration for folk who do not need the company of others to go out and enjoy themselves!

PS: As you can see….I’m open for business again.

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