A Proper Dinner (Lunch) in England
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England
Clive’s father, Jack, likes nothing better than what he calls a ‘proper dinner’, an English midday meal consisting of roast meat (preferably beef) and potatoes, peas, carrots, Yorkshire pudding, and gravy.
As I wrote in ‘Sunday Roast: A Proper Dinner‘, Jack isn’t interested in Italian food or fancy gastropub meals, but he likes fish and chips as second choice to a proper dinner.
Jack has fond memories of spending time with his late wife at Yarmouth, aka Great Yarmouth, a 250 year-old English seaside resort with a pier, amusement arcades, fast food, and a long stretch beach on the North Sea. Yarmouth is on England’s Norfolk coast, just north of Jack and Clive’s native Suffolk.
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England
The exhibit was well done, and afterwards Jack was delighted to find the cafeteria he and his wife once frequented still in business.
The roast dinner was unusual in having two kinds of potatoes, roast and boiled. Jack and Clive both reported the meat was not as tender as it should have been (I had an omelette). Clive said he thought it was probably the best you could expect for only £4.95.
It was a great day out with Jack, always made just that much better when we can find him a proper dinner.
My Sydney Paris Life 
Hi Carol,
After reading this post and rereading your post from last August about a “proper dinner,” I got to thinking about Sunday dinner. When I was growing up, we used to eat Sunday dinner in the middle of the day, often at 2 or 3 p.m. Then there was Sunday supper, a light meal on Sunday evening. My mother didn’t enjoy doing any more cooking on Sunday after she had made a large dinner.
Quite often we had roast beef, but more often we had “pot roast,” which is a much less expensive cut of meat. We always had potatoes and carrots and onions with it that had been cooked in with the meat. It really is one of my favorite meals, although I can’t say I make it much. When I am at my parents’ home, I almost always ask for it. I always like to have horseradish to eat with the meat also.
Over the years my mother stopped making the large meal in the middle of the day on Sunday, and cooked the meal in the evening as we do on the other days of the week. Sometimes she even was OK with ordering pizza on Sunday evening, and even now I have traveled to Papa John’s to bring home pizza on Sunday night when visiting.
When we went to visit my grandmother, she always wanted to take us out for a “proper meal,” and was dismayed when my brothers and I would order a sandwich such as a hamburger, when it was her intent that we would order a proper meal. I don’t believe I ever visited her when she offered sandwich fare for the evening meal. That was OK for lunch, but never for dinner.
Ah memories 🙂 Memories of Great Yarmouth…used to go down there years and years ago, and stay at Vauxhall Caravan park (stepfather took his caravan for us) I cannot believe I used to do that :-)…as for the Dinner,..oh yes that is what my mum served up too!! and she still does. They both love doing this, but I would prefer Pasta! They (mum and s/father) are Irish, and that is how they were brought up..!
Bonjour Carolyn,
OMG… Now that’s a HEAPING dishful of lunch !! I’m not sure that I could work my way through the entire piece of beef !
And then again, I find myself eating much less beef than when I was younger, but that’s just a personal taste.
Nice of you both to take your Dad out to a place that he enjpys. It’s rare that we can do the same with my FIL; Things are not easy when we actually manage to get him going. The last time, we had a reservation for 3 before his b day and he became ill the day that we were to go.
Take life one day at a time with your FIL.
Enjoy your travels 🙂
Eleanor, we have very similar experiences with that Sunday afternoon meal 🙂
Anne, that’s so cool you used to go to Great Yarmouth (in a caravan park – eek!!! ) and interesting re your mum and stepfather being Irish.
Barb, yes that’s why I had an omelette (too much food for me!), and I know you understand completely about taking the FIL ‘out and about’. It’s definitely a ‘major process’ isn’t it!?
Cheers all.