2018 September Dining Out Group

from an organisers' perspective...

September Dining Out Group from an organisers’ perspective.

We took over as group leaders during the summer break; John celebrated with a new computer, and compiled a new group membership data base which now has more than 250 members.
Nevertheless there were 3 couples who were surprised not to have received the dining out information for September. The reason? They had forgotten to re-register.

John and I chose Maxim’s restaurant for the first venue of this season, (a) because it is one of our favourite restaurants, and ( b) because Maxim could accommodate more than the 40 diners we have as a minimum number for dining out nights. As it happened there were 55 diners on 4 September, and 62 on 11 September, including 9 new couples. So, a warm welcome to them. The restaurant provided us with a delicious meal together with very efficient and friendly service. As we were taking names and sorting out tables for our diners I was particularly pleased to see Maxim by the entrance with glasses of cava, ready to welcome our guests.

Organising a meal for 60+ people does not come without the occasional hiccough.. On the day of the second meal we woke up to grey skies, and a weather forecast which said a likelihood of rain in the evening with 0.1 mm of rain per hour. Not much but who wants raindrops in their cava? So the decision was made to eat inside …. then outside …. then, we’ll make a decision at 6 pm. Outside.

Fortunately we had a lovely evening with a welcome breeze. The other difficulty is learning all the names, or should I say, fitting the faces to the names on our lists. We are slowly getting better, and guests are kindly helping us and being very patient.

The feel good factor of such organisation comes when everyone is seated, enjoying an excellent meal and the good company of fellow diners, then later listening to positive comments from members as they leave.

Thank you all for coming; please join us again soon.

Meri Snell