Enough of spicy lamb kofte and chicken souvlaki … bring on the turkey!

I’ve just returned from a few days in Glasgow via Chester (where my mother lives) and Harrogate.

Glasgow was as quiet as I’ve known it before Christmas. Our hotel south of the city reported a stream of cancellations so we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

Apart from the wedding.

Thanks to the cancellations we were upgraded to a ‘superior’ room but when we returned from visiting my mother-in-law it turned out to be directly above the function room where a reception was in full swing.

Thankfully the music stopped at midnight and after that the only noise came from several people ‘talking’ outside our room.

The ‘c’ word featured heavily but eventually they retired to their beds and the following morning there was no sign of them, or any members of the wedding party.

(The car park was empty so most of them must have arrived and left by taxi or coach.)

I won’t say the name of the hotel - it’s an old coaching inn dating back to 1834 - but we stay there a lot because it’s just five miles to my mother-in-law.

It was also the hotel I stayed in the night before our wedding in the local church which is a two-minute stroll across the village green.

Anyway, from Glasgow - where we did a little bit of Christmas shopping - we drove to Harrogate which, in a normal year, we might visit two or three times.

Again it was relatively quiet for the time of year but I rather liked it. It’s tough on local businesses - bars and restaurants especially - but if you like a less frenetic run-up to Christmas it’s quite pleasant.

On previous visits to Harrogate we’ve become regulars at Istanbul which, as its name suggests, is a Turkish restaurant.

This time we switched allegiance to Taverna, an ‘authentic Greek restaurant’ where the service was equally friendly.

As a reminder of our recent holiday in Corfu it certainly hit the mark and the manager is now a friend for life.

But enough of spicy lamb kofte and chicken souvlaki … bring on the turkey!