rugby: an evening out

a few people from the office here were kind enough to ask me to dinner wednesday evening
a chinese woman who is the only employee of our netherlands office
a 50ish british man who gave me a tour of the distribution center here earlier in the day
and a mid-30s man from netherlands who now works here in rugby

they took me to a quaint italian restaurant in the middle of rugby
i was surprised to find that they have a pretty nice downtown area
reminded me of a small town you'd see in middle america - less the rednecks
i had a penne pasta with chicken & mushrooms - only they forgot the chicken
it was nonetheless delicious

conversation ranged from office gossip to children to the demise of the jaguar (jag you hour) plant in nearby coventry (the plant is closing down because we americans aren't buying)

the best part of all - it was a treat on the company
not that mine wouldn't have been anyhow, but now i don't have to turn in the receipt

thank you, my new friends, for a lovely night out