Congratulations Zippy. I trust you made it through day one without any major issues.
Beware the fen roads mind, they aren't as flat or as straight as they seem and there's usually a ditch nearby to claim the unwary.

Got the 4K 3D TV up and running and my inaugural movie was Godzilla . The 3D works very well, it's the 4K level of detail which makes everything look unreal at times. It's like everything is too sharp and more like a TV broadcast than a movie experience.

Congrats.

When I was at the cinema last night it struck me that the showing was in 4K. How long until they have to upgrade to 8K or whatever to keep ahead of TV technology? I mean if people can get a pin sharp picture through their TV the same resolution is going to look relatively fuzzy when spread across a cinema screen. Not for a few years I suspect but cinemas have got to keep within shouting distance of what's accessible at home or it's going to drop even further in relevance.

Indeed. I will still go to the cinema to see movies that really need a big screen, but the TV is big enough (49") that I'm not missing it at all.

I’m still processing the loss of the cat (this hit me harder than I expected), but I have to push on.

We’re talking the upcoming birthday here - which we’ve agreed will be immediate family only. I’m not a fan of huge gatherings/parties, and the idea of having a massive bun-fest fills me with dread. So I have to choose somewhere to go.

The bummer is that my mum, sister and sister’s partner are all vegans. Not vegetarians, but vegans to the point where a vegetarian restaurant we went to in September served up a vegetarian pizza (with cheese on it - it was a genuine mistake) to my sister’s partner, and it was sent back. So little latitude or flexibility. I pity my dad - he’s not into this whole “fussy eating” kick, but it’s been well and truly imposed on him. There is a growing militancy, and I do refer to them as the “vegan marketing board” after last Christmas’ “lets talk about nothing but” fest.

Anyway, so back to the choice of places. The Chop Block in town, which basically sells nothing but steak by weight and cooks it for you to your specifications, is off the cards, and I’m having to even eschew Carluccio’s as a potential venue. So we’re boiling it down to one or to, one which does have vegan options on the menu, but it’s a fcking Hipster Magnet (food is actually very good there, but my wife and I are very, very out of place there). I’m really not wanting to push this too far because, basically, it’s my birthday, and I’ve bent over backwards to accommodate the choices of places my family have made in the past.

Edit: I may talk to my dad about this as he’s probably going to be sympathetic to the cause. If it turns out to be too much hassle, I won’t bother.

We just do coffee and cake in the afternoon. Generally the birthday house provides a couple of cakes, coffee, tea, water and beer/wine and the rest generally bring a cake with them.

One of the nieces is vegan and brings her own cake with her...

I thought it was bad enough having a pescatarian boyfriend. I don't envy you trying to accommodate them all. But is it YOUR birthday. If they do become too difficult just go out somewhere nice with your wife

If you get to specify the weight of your steak before it gets cut at The Chop Block, can't the vegans just select zero grams?

In all seriousness, pick wherever you personally want to eat. I've seen far too many people make decisions they weren't happy with for things like their own birthdays / weddings to satisfy a contingent when it's really not about those people in that contingent.

This Chop Block place, it sells chips right?

Probably cooked in animal fat

Well, they do seem to have vegetarian options on their menus. But the main thrust of the place is the steak and burgers.
http://www.chopbloc.com

Well, yeah. But, you know, don't ask don't tell

Vegetarians like to eat pie. Decent pastry is made with lard lol

PIE!!

I'm pretty certain that when I was learning biology at school in the 70s, Yeast was still classified as a single-celled animal and not a fungus. That would rule out nearly all alcohol and bread for vegans.