No chips!

Enjoying time with our London family has led to several adventures, especially at meal times.  Planning for seven of us to find the right equation of child friendly accommodation/food/expense requires effort.  Carol organized for everyone to come to Porlock and have meal in the pub restaurant next door but, sadly, our 4 year old was unwell and we had to cancel it.  However, the next day dawned more hopefully.  The family arrived and at the mealtime (having stoked up a good appetite at the play park) we tried to repeat the meal at the next door pub.  But a coach party was booked in and they turned us away!
 
So we drove to the nearby sea at Porlock Weir.  The fish and chip shop was doing good business with families eating on picnic benches overlooking the harbor.  We joined the queue and shuffled slowly forward. 'It will be half an hour', said one of the servers.  By now we had already invested too much time not to stay the course.  We got within five people from the counter when the news rang out: 'We've run out of chips!'   What?  A chip shop that runs out of chips?

Now, very hungry, we drove the 8 miles back into Minehead where the family is staying.  A large family restaurant (holding 350 customers) now seemed the likely target.  But, yes you've guessed, they also were so full the wait would be interminable!

Dropping with fatigue and hunger we walked down the main street to find another fish and chip shop. I said to the girl behind the counter: 'Here are 7 very hungry people" and she said: 'Have you come from Porlock Weir?  We've already had one couple here!'   We sat on the High Street munching our fare with immense gratitude.  We used paper plates but nothing edible was left!


Just to cap the experience, our friend (who owns the flat) is also Chair of Somerset County Council and she was planting a tree in the nearby park at 7:45 pm.  As soon as we had finished our fish we dashed round to meet her coming away from the ceremony.   It completed a somewhat frustrating day!  I am sure you have had days like that....but running out of chips?!