When Geoff advertised the date for the Northern Mid Winter dinner we saw it as a great opportunity to meet with our northern friends and to get some necessary repairs done to some trim defects on the convertible, so it was without hesitation that we accepted the dinner invitation and booked the car in with Mike Thomas.
We had a pretty uneventful trip north making sure we missed the Bridgewater Bridge repairs and the Brighton detour before arriving in Norwood at Geoff and Tony's. After a welcome cuppa we headed to Mike's with Geoff, as he wanted to collect his car after having a new headlining fitted. It was great to see Mike and Ronnie again and with the convertible safely tucked up in Mike's workshop we headed to our accommodation, the Great Northern - oops sorry the Mercure Hotel - to book in.
We arrived at Steve's Grill at the appointed time to join the other 38 Jaguar members including prospective new members, Brian and Julie Poole, new members Peter and Barbara Beddow, and Noel and Marilyn Dodderidge along with Mike and Ronnie Thomas. Geoff and Tony had added a nice touch by presenting the 3-course menu of two choices of soup, 3 choices of mains and 2 choices of deserts on suitably Club-monikered paper.
Once our orders were taken it wasn't long before the first course appeared and I think everyone there would agree that the service and the quality of the meals that followed could not be faulted. We would certainly recommend the venue for those looking for a reasonably priced good meal. However the highlight of our meal was no doubt Hazel Wheatley's excellent plum pudding and brandy sauce, which was traditionally piped in by Rod Swan, much to the delight of all diners including those who were not in our party. Unfortunately Rod was recovering from a dose of the usual winter ailments and was unable to take requests, perhaps next time Rod.
After some more socialising, and with everyone's appetites suitably satisfied it wasn't long before the evening drew to a close and we all started to make tracks for home. On behalf of the other southerners, Rod and Anne Force, and Bill and Annette Alexander who made the journey north Diane and I would like to thank Geoff and Tony for organising a wonderful evening, Hazel for her wonderful pudding and the northern members for their hospitality. This is one event on the Club calendar I would recommend all members to try and attend.
- Brian Spencer