Is your glass half full?

I think I'm a half full glass kind of nan, but like so many folks will plummit rapidly after a call to my mother - aged 90. Picked her up the other day to take her on a visit to see her recently admitted to a nursing home 93 year old brother ,who managed to out-moan her.
On arriving at her bungalow she proceeded to play hockey with her shoes around her bedroom, which she had warming on a sunny windowsill whilst hurling obscenities at her always cold feet. She had a furious time phoning to place a guarantee for her new TV( "Is it alright ,it sort of talks at you ?"), bemoaning the fact that they are always Chinese! It's only the grandkids that keep me laughing, and we did a lot of that from the top of a double-decker bus the other evening.

Gracesmum...during this visit to Glasgow, we'll be in the new-ish Prem Inn George Street. When we were both working and earning, we stayed a few nights [never a full week in nearly 25 years] in some beautiful hotels in lovely settings. Our favourite is situated near Invergordan. Very happy memories of times spent there.

notso and ariadne brilliant news for you with your GC exam results,how proud you must be feeling.,and apologies to anyone who I have missed who is celebrating exam results for their GC and I haven't mentioned you.
nfk sorry about your ankle ...hope it soon heals and not too painful....put more water with it next time

My sister and I have found some 'interesting' hotels when we've been on our jaunts on the Continent. The one in Seville was 'characterful'. The breakfast room was tiled with ceramic representations of all aspects of Sevillan life. It was irresistible, even if the breakfast wasn't. In Paris, the Grand Hotel Jeanne d'Arc was a barefaced misnomer! A strange B&B in Venice had terrible breakfasts but was within a hop and a skip of St Marks Square. In Spain, having gone for the cheapest in Granada and Seville, I decided that we would at least have some luxury on our last night and got us a good deal at the Malaga Parador - lovely!

When Mr absent and I were having a bad time with each other because we were stressed out of our minds looking after my elderly Mum, we decamped a couple of times to the Kensington Hilton (which is in Shepherds Bush, not Kensington – ho! ho!). A night of pretending our lives were trouble-free and a bit of affection, followed by smoked salmon sandwiches and Champagne at two o'clock in the morning made us laugh and put everything back into perspective. But it cost … Loved it though. Started out glass completely empty and went home glass bubbling over it was so full, so worth it for us and my Mum.

French non-chain hotels are interesting. When I was driving up from Perpignan to Calais I use to stop in different historic towns and look for an ancient looking hotel. The best I found was in Troyes - it was an original 15C building. The floorboards creaked and the lavatory appeared to be part of the original plumbing. The owner made Basil Fawlty look like the Dalai Lama.
Another time I crossed from Spain into France in a blizzard and ended up in Pau at 9 p.m., exhausted, cold, hungry and red-eyed. I saw a sign for the Hotel Bristol and found the last place in the car park. The man on duty said they had only a very small room, but I was desperate. It had a shower cubicle in the middle of the floor and a macerator lavatory that made a very loud noise when flushed. The restaurant had stopped serving, but he brought me a baguette and lots of ham and cheese and a mug of hot chocolate. It was like nectar and ambrosia.
When I am in a hurry, I sometimes use chain hotels that are so impersonal you never see a member of staff - you book in with your credit card and you help yourself to a continental breakfast. The rooms are OK but they have a very small 'pod' shower room. They are cheap and convenient but nowhere near as much fun.

I have never stayed at a Premier Inn. For this weekend's Glasgow meet I thought it would be nicer to stay somewhere that is not part of a chain so I get a little bit more feel for the city. I love hotels too – if only I had the money, I'd live in them forever. My glass is now completely empty, so I must abandon my computer and hit the fridge. You see, if I lived in a hotel, I'd just have to summon a waiter. Where is Mr absent when you need him?

I was a half full person until I retired but now I have downsized my aspirations 'my cup runneth over' (to mix a metaphor!)

I really like Premier Inns - my daughter and I used to stay at the one near Lytham St. Annes when I took her over for meetings with her solicitor.
The food was excellent and not overpriced and the rooms are very comfortable. I like staying in hotels anyway. Have a lovely time.

jeni

Actually I only half filled it to start with, so it's not that bad.

The glass of wine I poured 10 mins ago!

What glass?

3/4 empty after a horrible day in the tribunals!

Great news kitty! You won't need a metaphorical top up but you can have a real one

kitty Very pleased for your son

Kittylester that is something to be rightly proud of - well done him!

Which Premier Inn are you staying at Soop? We have 3 particular favourites:We like the one in Kendal which is right in the town and yet quiet with a view out on to the hills. I was also impressed with the one in Dundee next to Scott's "Discovery" and facing out on to the Tay. There's another lovely one north of Alnwick (Ashington?) which is close to a bird reserve with swans and geese etc- again you could pay a lot more money for a much less pleasant location!
Trying out the Stratford Waterways hotel next week when we go to see DD's production of King John at The Swan. Just call me "Tripadvisor"!!

Lovely news kitty Hope everyone is having at least a half-full day

So much good news! Well done to the clever GC with their excellent exam results and also to kitty's son who is a great flag bearer for stroke sufferers. Brilliant!

kitty That's fantastic! Have another glass if you like

kitty Well done your son. Of course you're proud and rightly so.

kitty That's so positive and worthwhile! No wonder you are proud!

glass Have a great time and hope the sun shines for all that hard work you're going to be doing!

Since I started this thread my glass has got quite a bit fuller. The local radio station is going to interview our eldest son about his life in Japan before and after his stroke.

Despite having concerns about how his voice works since his stroke, he called a phone in programme to give them his views on stroke provision here as opposed to abroad (or in his case - Japan)

They called him back this week to ask his opinion on something else and his opportunist mother took them a copy of his book. They rang him this morning and invited him in to talk about his experiences. [veryproudemoticon]

Thanks glass Although it's nothing "posh", a night at the Premier Inn is a big treat for us. I do wish that the music could be soft and classical [in the evenings] but I suppose the majority of people prefer otherwise.

Thanks soop enjoy Sunday and your romantic time with Mr S and soft music