It’s quite tough to buy presents for me.
I don’t deliberately set out to be difficult, it’s just I don’t often see anything I really want. Plus I don’t like when people feel obliged to get me a gift, and so just buy the first thing that comes to hand . . .
That’s why food or drink are always good bets. And why my wife, Claire, and I recently spent the weekend celebrating my birthday at a rather flash hotel in nearby St Andrews.
You don’t have to have kids to enjoy a few nights away from home. It’s nice for anyone to disrupt the routine now and again (plus, Game Of Thrones had just finished, so we found ourselves at a bit of a loss!)
We had a lovely time wandering around the grounds, getting a bit dressed up for dinner, and enjoying a few drinks in the bar.
And even though it was definitely more expensive than our usual haunts, it wasn’t all the grandeur that I enjoyed the most. It was the little things.
Like being greeted by this when we arrived:
I swiftly forgave them for misspelling my name when I then noticed this, too:
Claire swears she didn’t ask for any of this; it’s simply something the hotel does when they know it’s a guest’s birthday.
It was a nice touch (and a delicious cake), and it really started the weekend off on a good footing.
I was also pretty happy to see this:
A few places we’ve stayed recently have done away with the tiny kettle altogether (for budgetary reasons, I assume).
It’s the worst feeling to look for a cup of tea and not be able to get one!
Maybe I’m easier to please than I thought . . .
Iain McDonald I am the Digital Content Editor at the “Friend”, making me responsible for managing the flow of interesting and entertaining content on the magazine’s website and social media channels.
