something for my headache.' He innocently swallowed the two sleeping pills she sent up to him. They had a large lunch party that day and he couldn't understand why his head kept falling in the soup.
We are told that American TV chat show host Tom Snyder was interviewing a lovely young actress on his show some years ago. It was fairly obvious that his interest in her was more than just professional and she, consequently, became very uncomfortable. Nevertheless, when he invited her out to dinner a couple of days later she accepted with great pleasure and suggested an unbelievably expensive restaurant that she would like to try. He duly booked a table but she, apparently, telephoned the restaurant and changed the reservation to a table for
twelve and invited ten of her friends. It is much to his credit that he had the good grace to pay for them all.
Kerry Packer had had a long day playing polo at Windsor and it is rumoured that he, along with a party of ten players and others arrived back at Midhurst, tired and hungry. It was about ten o'clock at night and Packer wanted to buy supper for the group so they found a restaurant whose lights were on and went in. They were refused a table: the kitchens were closing, sorry, they'd have to go somewhere else. They went along to a second establishment where the request was similarly greeted with refusal. The proprietress of the third restaurant was unwilling at first to serve a large party when everyone else was just leaving but eventually agreed, saying that they could rustle up some steak and chips - she'd just go and get her husband out of bed.
After a delicious supper and a few bottles of wine, Kerry Packer asked for the bill which was duly presented. He allegedly handed over a cheque for £10,000, which was conditional on their showing it to the owners of the two other restaurants which had turned him down. A number of restaurants in and around Midhurst have since put up signs saying: 'Kerry Packer Welcome Here'.
Phillip Seldon was the founding editor of Vintage magazine and published it for seventeen years. Self-publicist, Marvin Shanken, publishes rival magazine Wine Spectator. Shanken booked a table at the very expensive Bouley restaurant in New York City and wrote a report of his meal in Wine Spectator trashing the restaurant, criticising it for keeping him waiting for his table and for poor service.
A piece about his report subsequently appeared in the gossip column of the New York Post, one of New York's biggest papers, and Phillip Seldon decided to act. He sent a letter to the letters page of the New York Post, saying how a restaurant needs more than good food to be successful; it needs ambience and beautiful people. It went on to say that Marvin Shanken is fat and ugly and deserved to be mistreated. The New York Post printed the letter.
Dai Llewellyn was very proud of his brand new Lancia. It was parked, all gleaming and new, outside a well-known restaurant while he and a few friends had dinner. They were the last to leave and, on returning to the car, found a dozen bin bags full of restaurant rubbish piled against it. Mr Llewellyn asked the waiters to move them and they refused. A heated argument followed, during which the rubbish was emptied into the car. Dai's old Harrovian friend sloped off, complaining of a bad back, leaving Dai and two girls to sort matters out with six, burly waiters. Fighting broke out and, eventually, Dai, battered and bruised, conceded the unequal struggle. He decided to get his own back and hit them in the pocket where it hurt.
Over the next few weeks he completely booked the restaurant out several times with false bookings, taking enormous pleasure in adopting different accents, making elaborate bookings for fictitious peers of the realm; taking tables for business functions; booking a party of twelve for his wife's birthday (complete with personalised cake); ordering special menus for overseas
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