IKEA

Tip for grumpy old men (and women) everywhere. Eat at IKEA. Breakfast is a staggering 95p. Yes before you rub your eyes that's 95p. You get at least 6 breakfasty type things on your plate.

Lunch is just as good but a tad more expensive. Moroccan roasted vegetables on spicy cous cous plus red pepper lasagne and a can of swedish cider between us cost just £8-50. There's all sorts of interesting and good value meals. If you feel really decadent you can take alcohol as well. Those with good digestion can go for the meatballs with gravy and berries.

And on the way out you can buy a useful kitchen utensil! Mega.

Holme

Parked at Yateholme, Walked past the reservoir and up to Holme. The Fleece for dinner. Brilliant menu; brilliant beer. 2 pints of Marstons old empire (5.7%) . Hot baguettes one bacon and brie - the other camembert and roasted peppers. Sat in the sun and talked for hours. Brilliant. I'll say that again Brilliant.

Premier travel Inn Kings Cross

Nice hotel. Good rooms but the resto is stalinesque in its methodology (did I just write that? apparently yes). You have to queue up to wait to be seated. No matter that there are many empty tables and other restos just let you sit down. 5 people ahead of us in the queue and several minutes pass. What's the big idea - why can't we sit where we want? Even then when we hit the front of the queue the receptionist wants a room number. Why I ask? So people don't run off without paying.... Frigging Nora - what about the rest of the universe where they trust a person with a reasonable smile to pay the bill after 2 hours of epicurean delight... What makes your place different? Eventually we are seated and the waiter promises he'll return within 1 minute to take orders.

5 minutes later he does.

Warm goat cheese tart with plenty of salad and balsamic is very good. Son eats many mushrooms with 2 dips. Also good. Expensive wine but what the f***. I only see him a few times a year so time to push the boat out. Pepperoni Pizza is a disaster area. Soggy, no tang, no crisp, no nothing. Several generic round purple things on a sea of mediocre mozzarella (or it could be cheddar). Absolutely no fire or punch. Only good for filling a gap. Left much of it. At least at Pizza Express you get something of value even though it's small.

Second bottle of wine.

No dessert or coffee. Another resto killing time ( and slashing at its own neck). Why do they spend so much time keeping you out of the place with pointless admin then deliver such generic stodgy, mindless food.

Quality of bedroom excellent.