I went out for dinner with a girlfriend to a trendy Chelsea restaurant called “Brinkleys”. We went there having been told it was a popular venue with a buzzy bar.
It’s true. It was. Very lively. The restaurant is situated behind the bar and it was an effort to squeeze past all the punters to get to our table. We had a lovely meal and a bottle of inexpensive New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and enjoyed all the beautiful people watching.
Slightly depressing though. I formulated a theory. The majority of the clientele were gorgeous girls in their 20’s and 30’s. There was a posse of very young boys all looking like Pete Docherty in skinny jeans and hats and then everybody else was quite clearly divorced….there were a few groups of much older men. Octogenarians almost.
The young boys all looked like they were buying drinks with daddy’s Coutts card. The girls were all lapping up the attention of both the young boys and the old blokes. The old blokes all sat at tables together ignoring each other and trying to catch the eye of any young thing that walked past. They did quite well actually.
My friend and I, both in our 40’s were completely and utterly invisible. Perhaps it’s just that I’ve moved on a bit, post divorce. I was there to talk to my friend. She’s married (and her husband was away saving babies in Sri Lanka, but I’m going to do a separate blog about that when he’s back) and neither of us wanted to make random rubbish small talk with men that had either only just been born or men that were about to die.
Good grief. I’m full of the joys of spring at the moment aren’t I??
October 18th, 2009 at 6:44 am
Ah, I know this feeling. We don't want random rubbish chat, but we do like to be in the position to turn it down. Sigh. Here's to all our lovely girlfriends. Because dammit we're still hot.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:15 am
For the past year several (glamourous and a little younger) girlfriends have been taking me to similar places. Fun to get dressed up. Depressing to feel like most of the girls' mothers when you are supposed to be out on the town, living it large. But you are right. My friends have been chatted up on occasion and I really wish I hadn't had to make small talk with men that I had absolutely no interest in. Seemed such a waste of an evening.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Brinkleys, in my day, (when I hung out in such places) was a half decent restaurant…not a bar/pick-up joint!….you two should have gone to the Goat in Boots….friend's husband will remember it well!!!!
May 15th, 2010 at 2:21 am
Good infomation here, thanks.