10/355
Having a rare evening off together we decided tonight to do something really special, we searched catch up for a session of Come dine with me. They seem to be on at some point throughout the week so we thought we’d find the most recent. Instead we found a random set from 2006 based in Liverpool. They must have been repeated on one of the ‘other’ channels. It gets to something when this is your idea of a good night off.
Seriously though, we used to think Come dine with me was our little guilty pleasure, saved for lazy nights off and hangover days. Gradually as the years have gone on, friends of ours have let it slip that they also dabble, Sunday afternoon Facebook is awash with addicts, damn I even now I get tweets from celebs releasing their Come dine with me menus. The whole thing has become so brazen and public. So much so that watching one from 2006 was a bit like watching an old Only fools and horses, it really is becoming so intertwined with our culture.
In a similar way to watching old clips of Del and Rodney getting things wrong, always chasing the dream, the scouse 2006 Come dine with me left me rather nostalgic. I don’t think I ever saw this when it was out, but watching one that is now almost 5 years old, really highlighted how much more bitchy it has become. In this one, 71-year-old Terry attempted Cordon Bleu but gave them green pancakes, and they still complimented it; fishmonger Dan offered them corked wine and spoke about how the lamb had been hung in front of ‘the vegan’ – they still smiled cheerfully (and didn’t moan about it after); vegan Nicky tried to convert them with her curry and rather interesting chocolate mousse, “I’ve really never tasted anything quite like this” Ian said, and still marked her highly; Ian (who eventually bagged the prize) was given “the highest mark ever” on the programme with a 39, despite Dan initially seeming a bit competitive he said “if Ian doesn’t win I will physically force the thousand pound in his face” as a term of affection; whilst etiquette queen and royalist Margaret, despite proposing a toast to the Queen, with Ian declaring he was not a royalist, got only slightly lower, and that was only because they had all loved Ian’s so much the day before.
At the final meal they all were gushing about what fun they’d had together, saying they’d definitely do it again (and you actually believed them) with the highlight being Ian’s declaration of now giving up all things dairy after Nicky’s influence. Then followed appreciative vegan tears, hugs and applause all round. Then Ian was announced as the winner, who, clearly demonstrating this did indeed mean the world to him, said that their opinion was everything to him, that “the money is superfluous”. Topped off with fireworks in Margeret’s garden, it seemed the Come dine with me contestants had truly made friends for life. And we had had a truly good evening. Sat weepy eyed in awe of the fabulous week they had shared and full of nostalgia for the old times of Come dine with me where they gave each other 10/10, became vegan and stayed friends for life.
Today I listened to: J on spotify and youtube
Today I read: Lot so of old newspapers
Today I watched: Come dine with me; Loose women – it’s been that kind of a day
© Anne Louise Kershaw
