Do you like meals out with huge groups?

[Inesyoucantbelieveawordshesays]

Went out last night to a big meal to celebrate a significant 'ends with a zero' birthday. About 25 people there. After aboyan hour, I wanted desperately to go home: off-the-scale noisy and long trestle tables so you could only talk to the people next to / opposite you. Took ages to get everyone's meals out so some of us had finished before others were even served.

Am I an old curmudgeon or is it actually not fun?

Totally agree with you .

I'm partially deaf. Can't follow a thing at these sort of events!

I can enjoy such events if the people watching is good & the nearest conversationalists are interesting not unpleasant. Helps if the food is good & wine is flowing, too!!

I'm pretty content to people watch.

I can imagine that must be really hard
I spent most of the evening sitting grinning like a loon because I wasn't actually taking part in any convo but didn't want to look like I was just sitting silently with full resting bitch face.

Just kept thinking how I had a Magnum in the freezer at home and how I'd like to go home and sit in the garden with it on my own!

I'm happy to eat with a large party, as long as I've got my tablets incase others are not very talkative or if the topics being discussed, I know little about, then I'll join in when possible.

But in the past I have made haste at some university meals.

What sort of tablets are we talking??

Also am interested in these tablets!

Apologies I should of been clearer, I carry my Amazon tablet with me, and a back-up tablet, and usually if not much intriguing conversation is happening etc, then I can catchup e.g. Mumsnet etc

And presuming the venue has Wi-Fi