Little Chef

You know the kind of day when it's pouring with rain, I mean really hammering it down, and you have exhausted all indoor activities but don't quite want to resort to screen time yet? Yes, like all of last week at half term, in fact. I thought, I know, lets go to Little Chef! What a brilliant idea Mummy! Little Chef to my little ones has connotations of sunny days travelling down the A303 to Somerset on holiday, passing Stonehenge on the right and the free range pigs on the left. Lots of shouting, giggling, singing to inappropriate rap songs, eating Smarties and colouring in pictures in their car seats - and then turning into one of the many Little Chef's, along with all the other tourists smiling, on their way to the West Country. The food is irrelevant, the holiday is everything.

Oh yeah, don't say I don't know how to have a good time.

Little Chef on the A21 however, on a Thursday lunch time, in the rain, is something to behold. As if the rain isn't enough to dampen the soul try ordering some children's food that isn't yellow. We were 3 out of the 5 people sat in the dirty cafe. The other two were single men, looking so desperately sad in their ill-fitting suits and gaudy ties. They must be selling something, windows and the like. My heart sank just a little further when the soup I ordered was straight from the tin, I could smell the aluminium.

But the kids loved it! Really loved it. I couldn't drag them away. Apparently the colouring-in at Little Chef is far superior than at home, counting the number of cars going past in the rain is the most exciting game, and yellow food! Yay, for yellow food, they both wolfed their burgers, fish nuggets (don't ask) chips and beans.

At least I have kept the Little Chef dream alive.