Vocal Voices

You know how I said I was going to Chatsworth this morning to look at the decorations! Well, what a performance that was!!!

My m-i-l suggested it a few weeks ago. Her actual words were "I thought the girls would like to go to see the Christmas decorations at Chatsworth. I thought I might treat them. Do you want to come too". Yes, says I. I'll ask my mum too.

She then asked her cousin, who asked her friend and her daughter and another couple of her friends. So it ended up with me, the girls, my mum, my inlaws, my mil's cousin and three of her friends with a daughter. So 11 of us in total.

The cousin and friends were coming from Manchester so rang when there were at Buxton. Mil rang me and I rang mum and picked her up. We all met up there. MIL was going to book tickets in advance but then found that you couldn't for a weekend.

We all met at the entrance and joined the queue to get in. The girls and I didn't have coats on as I knew it would be warm inside. I didn't expect to join a queue to be told "its an hour and a half's wait from here". We were absolutely freezing.

We ended up waiting just under an hour and forty five minutes. We got to the front and mum in law paid for her and my father in law. I was left to pay for the girls and I. I had assumed that when she said it would be her treat for the girls and I assumed that she was paying. How wrong was I - it cost me £37. Plus the £3 for parking.

Then as soon as we got in there the inlaws went off with cousin and two of her friends. Mum, the girls and I went round with the other friend and her daughter (who were very nice). We did the whole thing in less time than it took for us to queue.

Got outside - no sign of the rest of them. After 10 minutes we started to get cold so gave our excuses to friend and daughter (we had a 70th birthday to go to so at least we had an excuse) and left.

It wasn't even that good!! It was the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe theme. The entrance was amazing but the rest of the house was, in our opinion, pretty poor. Very pretty but just lots of decorated trees. My mum and I used to go every year when I had an annual pass and we have seen many better ones.

So the "treat for me and the girls" ended up being 115 minutes waiting out in the cold, 40 minutes looking at a load of decorated trees and left me £40 lighter!!!!

I won't be rushing to do that again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How absolutely disgraceful to invite you on a 'treat' and then leave you to pay! I am speechless

Not good Debih.

Won't be doing that again then?

I was pretty speechless too.

And the annoying thing was it isn't something I would have chosen to spend my money on. Money is tight anyway at this time of the year but if I had chosen to spend £40 on taking the girls to do something festive it would have been a movie or ice skating.

They did enjoy it although they both commented that it wasn't as good as they remembered.

Thank god I had taken my card with me. I'm broke until my tax credits come through on Wednesday but fortunately I had taken my purse with me, rather than just abit of money in my back pocket, so I had my credit card on me. Which is only ever used in emergencies!!!!

Your inlaws are something else

Mine were lovely xxxx Far better to me and Julia than my mother was

Mine is lovely too!

WHAT??!!!!

You take someone on a treat and then leave them to pay!!

My flabber is gasted (second time this week! Not good!)

My dad has just rung.

My mum saw the look of shock on my face when I paid and I mentioned to her that I was intending on paying for her as I thought that mil was paying for us (after the "it'll be our treat" comment) and that I was pee'd off that a) I wasn't expecting to pay for us and b) because I had had to pay for the three of us I now couldn't afford to pay for my mum for a treat which is what I wanted to do.

Mum has obviously mentioned it to my dad and he has rung up to say that he will be giving me £40 when I next go round, bless him.

So my dad has paid for the "treat" that my inlaws took us on - and he didn't even go!!!!

Absolutely disgraceful.

I trust you will remember this outing for some time.