Working hard and the antibodies job.
Today has been a busy day. First of all I had to go to work on my day off due to unforseen circumstances with other collegaes. This was okay – working until 11 isn’t too much hassle (getting up at 5 am is worse).
But due to a huge increase in sales projections and therefore stock orders, it took a lot longer to fill the store.
I ended up leaving work at around 5.30 pm having witnessed my manager (and the managers of other departments) getting a bollocking from the second in command. Ouch.
I got to do a tasting session of some of the fruits that I put out on an almost daily basis in my almost place of home. Two types of clementine, one mandarin, papaya, lychee, pomegranate, cripps pink, red delicious and jonagold apples and a carrot. Everything was alright (the clementines being the best of the (wait for it – here comes the fruit pun) bunch) while the worst was the mandarin which tasted like … bad.
Making my way downtown, walking fast, faces passed and I’m homebound.. (interlude)
Looks like I made it. Wish a happy brithday to my friend on the way home and a happy birthday to my dad as I walk through the door. Manage to, in the end, persuade him to go out for a meal even though he didn’t really want to. I thought I was being a good son. He picked a place – set on going. It was in Tottenham.
Immediately when being told which establishment it was in a row of shops that looked a bit iffy, I thought it’d be better to ask my dad if we had the right place.
“Yes, this place was so popular with Turkish Cypriots before you were born.” “Your mum’s uncle’s wife’s nephew’s old place – new owners now though it looks like.” “Oh your uncles not together with his wife anymore? Too bad” (etc – I could paraphrase a lot more.)
My dad is a proud man. This is not a good influence.
We’re led through to the tables – everything looking way out of date except for the tables which are new fancy style carpeted with a easy to clean see-through nylon type cover. I have a weird feeling about everything else though and feel quite unclean all of a sudden. I exclaim that I am scared of what I order and I see all the negativity start to upset my dad. This is where it’s time to turn something you actually hate into something you appear to love… or can accept.
I order the kofte and chips thinking “doner will be really nasty if it’s going to be bad – at least this has spices in it which will have cooked it from the inside a bit…” Cluthicng at straws you might say but what straws to clutch onto… My brother got what I’d usuasally order – the dner was nasty. Chicken or lamb it didn’t matter. My sister’s boyfriend also didn’t touch much after the first bite. Both were a bit rank in tatse and look – chips were even barely passable as food (how can you go wrong?). My sister had the burned lamb shish (at least you couldn’t see it as raw), my gran the chicken shish, my mum the same as me and my dad the lamb shish and lamb doner.
The whole time I just felt this weird uncomfratable vibe from myself and dad – it really got to me how sucky this place was and the fact my dad would not admit this. Perhaps it’s gaining a year and looking back with fond memories trying to remember them. I wasn’t there though but this place sure wasn’t what he recalled (except for the decor).
Even just walking from the car to the place was enough to make me want to cry for my own area – two drunks outside a shop talking. That was it – I was off in my mind (some of the drunks had remained as we were leaving and proceeded on swearing down their phone. Nice).
My mum kept making comments – negative comments – the whole time and would not take a hint – again making me feel bad.
I got the food down me – the guy serving us took our plates without asking if we had finished. I did not care about this fact and was glad that we were leaving.
The fact of the matter is, my dad really wanted to go to this place and really wanted it to be as he had imagined. He tried to make it this and therefore kept an open mind. A biased mind but nonetheless. This place was not nice, I would not advice it to anyone and like I said I felt quite scared of what the food would do to me.
I just wish my dad ahppy birthday and many more to come and hope I can make a better one next year or in the near future. He deserves it.
Now, my white blood cells need a good pat on the back too.
