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Etiquetteer

Encouraging Perfect Propriety in an Imperfect World since 2001
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THIS IS ROBERT TALKING . . . Or, the Dark Side of Etiquetteer :-)

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Why did the server put the soup spoon on the left?

Sunday, 18 May: Summer Abroad, Day 16: Mostly Lunch

May 19, 2025

1) My hosts are very fond of the Telegraph Hotel and its wonderful restaurant, Forme and Chase, housed in an old newspaper headquarters. Its midcentury interiors have been lovingly maintained and adapted to be elegant and unassuming. Before going in to lunch we sat at a large low table of dark green marble and I had my first Pimm’s of the season.

2) I started with the celeriac soup, which was served in gray crockery edged in tan, with a bit of bread. The whole thing reminded me of the Non-Extremists for Moderate Social Change from Finland, the group of Ignitaries that appeared at the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony back in the 1990s, all wearing neutral colors.

3) We three had a genuinely nice time together, and that included banter with the staff, who they know well.

4) In the evening, continuing with the Eurovision theme, we tuned into Doctor Who, which was an episode that took place at a very similar song festival. This is quite possibly the first Doctor Who episode I have ever seen in its entirety.

5) And after that and an episode of Treasures of the National Trust, it was off to bed for me! I’d had barely any sleep at all the night before, and I would have to be prepared for packing and other travel plans on the next day.

← Monday, 19 May, Summer Abroad, Day 17: Coventry to LondonSaturday, 17 May: Summer Abroad, Day 15: Pubs, Death, and Song →
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