Backfold Christmas Party

We took over the restaurant of the Old Black Lion last night. There were seventeen of us there, and even so some people hadn't been able to make it. There was no-one from Bedecked, and Joyce from Wool and Willow pulled out because she didn't fancy the long drive home late at night.
Of course, it was so long since we chose what we wanted to eat that we'd all forgotten, so Malachi had to stand at the end of the table with the list. "Yes, you're a tart - and you were a pancake. There were only two soups...."
This isn't the first time Backfold has had a Christmas party. Back when Mike ran the Sandwich Cellar, we twice managed to all cram into there for a meal - there weren't as many of us then!
I haven't been in the Black Lion for years, though I used to be a regular when John and Joan Collins ran it. When they came to Hay to take the pub/hotel over, it looked more like a transport caff, with formica tables, inside a black and white timbered building. George pointed out an alcove in the restaurant wall, and said that's where the dart board used to be - he'd scored his first ever 180 there in 1969!
The Collins's transformed the interior - Joan had a weakness for buying old prints and pictures, and they put settles in, and sent off specially to Sweden for smokeless candles for the dining tables.
They also transformed the menu there, and made it one of the top food pubs in the country, as well as a very pleasant hotel to stay.
When they retired to Poole, the new people continued with the reputation for good food, and the meal was certainly good last night, with plenty of variety for those who didn't want the traditional turkey dinner.