Having been bonkers enough to get married on New Year’s Day we knew from experience that this is not an ideal day on which to go out to eat. Restaurants and their staff are often a little jaded after all the Christmas and New Year celebrations and the meals provided can reflect this. Over the years we have tended to celebrate by going out for a brisk crisp walk and spending ‘quality’ time together recovering from the seasonal excesses.
New Year’s day 2017 was a little different as it marked 40 years since that day in 1977 when we experienced sunshine, rain, hail, fog and even a few wisps of snow before the sun broke through again – prophetic really for what was to come – a stormy drama of a marriage! Thankfully the sun breaks through often enough for us to feel that we wanted to mark our 40 years of marriage with our lovely children and grandchildren. Where to go was problematic as most places we contacted could not accommodate such a large group and those that could were beyond our budget. We revised our plans and decided to see the grandchildren – all 11 of them – at lunchtime at home where I provided them with an exquisite meal of fish fingers and chips with wobbly jelly for pudding. My cooking was well received!
In the evening the adults enjoyed a relaxing meal at the Langton, in our own room served by pleasant and efficient staff. There was plenty of car parking. The room was warm and comfortable, with an elegant fireplace and lovely plaster work moulding. The menu was varied and the food was tasty and plentiful. Having the room to ourselves (we were a party of 16) meant that my husband and I could make a joint impromptu speech purely for the benefit of our family without feeling self conscious.
I would certainly recommend the Langton for a celebration such as ours. The only comment I would make is that I think that they could have arranged the table in a more sociable and inclusive manner – it was in a L shape which meant that it was difficult to chat with everyone, a horseshoe arrangement would have been better. Also – possibly because it was New Year’s Day – the ladies toilets looked a little neglected. A quick spritz and spruce up would have been appreciated.
All in all the Langton was a nice place to celebrate the remarkable achievement of 40 years of married – drama and adventure, struggle and strife, learning and growing, perseverance and patience, forgiveness and reconciliation, and yes occasionally bliss!
“Ideal for a family celebration”:https://www.thelangton.co.uk/
