Bad Chinese

I guess the clue was when our dinner was delivered by a Schumanian instead of the usual Chinese chap. Of course, by then, it was too late. It’s a bit sad but the Colony Chinese restaurant delivered what would have to be the worst Chinese meal we’ve ever had.

Originally we’d intended to go to Bel and the Dragon but they were booked out. The late afternoon was so awful that we opted for takeaway instead. We won’t be doing that again. The Colony used to make great Chinese – it’s where Nicktor and I used to order our dinner on Nicktor Nights before we started going to the Albion. Sadly their food is now awful.

Equally awful were most of the Tripadvisor reviews of the Turkey trip that Nicktor and I were going on in February. Reviews describe everything awful about coach trips. Long hours spent in coaches between spots (6 hours in one case), long days of walking, cramming in as much as possible, boring food with hotels too far away from any restaurants…the list goes on. I decided I’d hate it and told Nicktor it was a no go.

However, I didn’t want to spoil his excitement at an impending holiday so started looking elsewhere. After a few false starts (mostly to do with cost and interest) we finally decided to go to Marrakech.

Mirinda had a lot to do with it as a final choice, based on the fact that Sophie and Tom have just been there and she reckoned it would be a great adventure.

By dinner time, I’d booked flights and somewhere to stay…all for under £300 each. This is actually cheaper than the Turkey trip. I prepared Nicktor for the hotel being a bit basic but, who cares?

So, trip booked and our food ready for us to (not) enjoy, we sat down to watch a movie called Over/Under.

It’s very trendy looking but, sadly, doesn’t really go anywhere. There is far too much jargon, meaning that unless you understand every little bit of illegal gambling and general trading, you’re not going to really understand what’s going on. I still have no idea how he managed to win $500,000.

The basics are: A trader loses a lot of money and is sacked. He starts dealing with his own money, making a lot then losing everything. He starts gambling, betting on the outcome of events like Croatian women’s boxing. He goes to Gambler’s Anonymous. He then moves to Brooklyn with his photographer wife. The movie then rests entirely on the outcome of a football game.

It was a lot like the pilot episode of a new series. If this was the case, we wouldn’t bother watching any other episodes. On a scale of one to ten, I’d give it two…and that’s only because it looked quite stylish and featured the wonderful New York skyline.

The weather continues to be horrid.