Sunday 13 October 2024

A tribute to...

Sophie and I were going to Leicester this evening to see a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, and we'd planned on having something to eat on The Golden Mile first. However, Vikesh texted Sophie to say that the street was closed to traffic, making it difficult for us to park there. We then discovered that one of the major roads in Leicester was also closed, so we had a quandary... where to eat before we went to De Montfort Hall?

After looking at various places, we booked a table at Zizzi in Market Harborough for 4pm, giving us plenty of time to eat and then drive to Leicester. We pootled about during the morning, doing jobs and getting ready, and left at 3.15pm.

We found another convenient car park near the restaurant that we'll use again when we visit the town, as it's a little further up the high street and great for popping into shops that we don't usually go to. The restaurant was quiet when we arrived, and we tucked ourselves out of the way around a corner. 

The menu was extensive, and we ordered mozzarella-topped garlic bread to start, along with chicken goujons and courgetti fritti. These starters were delicious and would have satisfied me along with a dessert! We each had a glass of wine and shared a bottle of sparkling water. I'd chosen the chicken Milanese for a main course, served with roasted new potatoes and green beans, while Sophie ordered the lasagne, which was topped with breadcrumbs. My chicken was fibrous and difficult to cut and the green beans squeaky so I was a little disappointed. I should have just stuck to starters and a dessert!

The restaurant was gradually filling up, mostly with families and small children. Two women sat behind us with their two daughters, and the children started to play up as the afternoon wore on. They were little terrors, and at about six or seven years of age, I'd have expected better!

The previously quiet restaurant was now noisy, and Sophie's headache became worse. We shared a sundae for dessert, which we'd ordered via the QR code as nobody had come to take our order, and paid the bill the same way, fleeing back to the peace and quiet of the car!

The journey to Leicester was quick and easy, and we discovered that the roads had been closed because of a marathon taking place. We were a little early for our pre-booked parking, so we sat in another car park and watched the comings and goings of people who we thought were also going to the concert.

De Montfort Hall seemed a lot busier than when we visited before to see Sam Campbell. We ordered a drink each and stood for a while before going into the auditorium to find our seats, which were on the third row with a great view of the stage. The band were called Go Your Own Way and judging by the people piling in to take their seats, very popular. It was a great opportunity for people-watching and I was fascinated by a couple in the front row who both needed walking sticks. They were in their late 60s and he had long thin hair tied in a ponytail. When he sat down he flicked his hair over the back of his seat, and I felt sorry for whoever was going to sit behind him with it dangling down in front of them. She had long, thin hair coloured blue (why?) and wore a bandana. They proceeded to share two packs of sandwiches and I couldn't help wondering what their house was like! I imagined it messy, with lots of dogs for some reason!

At 7.30pm everyone had taken their seats and the lights went down. The band came on and did The Chain which was a great start. The woman playing the part of Stevie Nicks certainly looked the part with long, waist-length blonde hair and flowing black robes. A man sitting in front of us with exaggerated sideburns couldn't take his eyes off her!

Sophie and I were amused to see Christine McVie's character wearing an awful blonde wig but she actually had a better voice than "Stevie Nicks" who mangled Sara and made an even worse job of Rhiannon. She was trying to be growly and it just didn't work. If she sang normally, she would have been far better!

"Stevie Nicks" gave us some insight into the songs and the relationships between the band, which was good, but Sophie and I were disappointed. Sophie's headache hadn't gone after she'd taken painkillers, so we decided to leave during the interval. We had to be let out of the car park by the friendly attendant, and we headed back home, arriving at 9.30pm. Both cats were in so we had cuddles and then it was time for bed. It's Monday again tomorrow!

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