Things that ought to be great, but are invariably disappointing....

[ClashCityRocker]

Baths with wine and candles.

The heat from the bath means the wine gets tepid rather quickly, and the candle light is never strong enough to read a book in. Also, submerging to rinse the soap off results in a tidal wave of water, putting out the candles and resulting in being sat in darkness. The scramble for the light switch usually involves knocking over the precariously perched wine glass or candle, resulting in wine and candle wax everywhere.

See also breakfast in bed.

It's not a great position to eat breakfast in, really, being half recumbent. I'm usually a wee bit sweaty, would rather get up and have a cigarette and always end up with toast crumbs on the sheets.

What things that sound lovely in principle are really not that great in practice?

rainbowstardrops you beat me to it!

Cupcakes. Occasionally they are delicious. Usually too much oversweetened frosting and a disappointing cake.

Christmas Day. Christmas Eve (and the whole week before) is much better than the day itself usually.

Oh, and films that have been based on books, in most cases. Books are nearly always beter

Going out for a nice child free coffee, getting the sofa by the window and reading the paper.

People talking loudly drowned out by the screeching coffee machine. Clattering cups. Sofa lumpy. Paper frankly boring.

Dammit

Christmas Day & New Years Eve

Live sporting events, you see much more on TV!

WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo And is it not so often the case that the frosting ratio is much higher than the cake ratio? That is bad.

Migraleve Mr Frosty I agree 100% but it comes second on this thread to
CHOCOLATE ICECREAM

Chocolate = awesome
Icecream = awesome

Chocolate + icecream should = awesome squared.
In fact = a disappointing slightly granulare tasting approximation of chocolate flavour that somehow also manages to muck up the beauty of vanilla icecream.

I don't get it. It must be the devils own work. I think in hell they must be sitting around cackling while eating actual chocolate ice cream that tastes like chocolate + icecream = awesome squared.

Also OP you are doing the bath thing all wrong. Candles should be on the side so no tidal wave. You need a place to perch the glass (an accomadating side shelf or failing that a laudry bin with a lid so you can sip and rest the glass. And books have no place in this karmic heaven.

Oh, when you go to a pub and order a pie and it turns out to be a stew with a puff pastry hat on it- no bottom. Often as well the pie looks so amazing on the menu photo too. Someone needs to start a campaign for Real Pies, like CAMRA are doing for real ale

Also sorry to lower the tone of the thread look away now as adult themes.

The 69 position.

Should be great but actually no one really enjoys it as both parties end up distracted from the pleasure by their own labours and concentration on pleasing their partner if you are doing it properly and not being lazy!

Paris

New Years Eve
Fruit tea
Summer

pollywoddledoodle It grinds my gears these days that in my area there are very few displays which have an actual bonfire. I miss the days of guys and bonfires.

silver yes, far too much of it. It makes the cake impossible to eat properly too.

I make rather nice cheesy leek puff pastry top pies, but a bottomless pie is disappointing if you’re not expecting it. Also crustless quiche. WTF. The pastry is the best bit.

Food in most chain "restaurants".

It's over priced for mass produced, mediocre food.

Pizza Express, Prezzo, Ask, etc etc.

I agree with YouSay on the baths! I actually have a folding trestle table which lives by the bath so I can erect it as a wine shelf. Candles and wine definitely don't live on the bath sides. I don't tend to bother with candles so much these days though, I must make time for a candley bath this weekend. I tend to take my kindle in so the light isn't an issue, or watch Netflix on my iPad. Bliss.

Oh, yes. Picnics.

Eating your dinner on the mud with the ants.

Why? Why do we do that?

Another vote for NYE and BBQ's.

Especially BBQ's, the reality of spending more time and money on producing simultaneously burnt and raw, fly infested and wilting guaranteed only to have you doubled over on the bathroom floor until dawn writhing in agony and vowing 'never again', 'For fun'.

Herbal teas taste like diseased urine, and fruit teas taste like homeopathic Ribena

Spa days - sitting around a leisure centre reception area drinking tea in borrowed slippers and dressing gown. Weird.

Silver dancer yes, health and safety has a lot to answer for, I remember the really big bonfires that were collected for on our estate (think ladder and then climbing to build) they were the best bit...

Going out out.

All dressed up, spend ages doing your hair and make up, then spend 73 billion pounds buying nasty drinks, tottering around town trying to have conversations over the deafening music in pretentious bars, then another 12 billion pounds to get a taxi home. I’m glad I’m old and can just stay home now.

Sex in the shower. The idea is appealing but it’s just awkward, slippy and you get water in your eyes.

Men.

Swimming naked.
There's a graphic reason but I won't lower the tone of the thread!

Agree with live sport.

Also, tourist attractions of any kind. You see the hype on TV or in the brochures a think it looks nice but I always find it underwhelming when I get there.

Yousaysidewalk...definitely!