GRRRR
It’s completely silly to hope for a Stratford B&B that will actually have food that I can eat, isn’t it?
*sigh*
Whatever. I’ll be on such a high from seeing David Tennant two days in a row that it won’t matter. And even if I can’t eat the B&B breakfast, there should be somewhere in town where I can find something more substantial than fruit.
Also, dear Google: “vegetarian” and “vegan” are not the same thing. Stop showing me results for one when I’m looking for the other. It’s nice that most of the B&Bs in Stratford offer vegetarian options, but it really doesn’t help me when they consist of eggs, cheese, milk, fake meat made with eggs, and vegetables cooked with butter. :P
Current Mood: 
annoyed
16 Responses to “GRRRR”
Cheesygirl on July 22, 2008 2:18 pm | Link
My Stratford breakfast disappointment is the exact opposite of yours! I thought the guesthouse I booked served a full English breakfast, but turns out it’s only a Continental. I’ll have to go elsewhere for a real fry up. :(
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rusty-halo on July 22, 2008 2:21 pm | Link
LOL. Well, I’d invite you over to have mine, but they’d probably notice the switch!
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Hoegh on July 22, 2008 2:42 pm | Link
Yeah, when I was in chef school, there were a few classes on dietetics – which I skipped, because I am a dietician, but I know the teacher of the class insisted that vegetarian and vegan was the same thing – though she considered both vegan, so I guess that would have been a good thing for you, lol. Her argument was that an ovo-vegetarian eats eggs, a lacto-vegetarian eats dairy, an ovo-lacto-vegetarian eats both – so by logic a vegetarian eats neither! And I guess technically she’s right, it’s just that NOBODY calls themselves an ovo-lacto-vegetarian, it’s always shortened, and everybody in the real world who eats neither call themselves vegan. I guess it’s hard to get across when even professionals in teaching positions willfully get it wrong.
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rusty-halo on July 22, 2008 2:54 pm | Link
WTF? Okay, that’s weird. The fact that there are more specific modifiers that you can attach to a term doesn’t mean that the meaning of the term changes. “Vegetarian” in general use means a person who doesn’t eat dead animals. I always assume “vegetarian” means lacto-ovo unless the person specifies otherwise. And “vegan” means the person doesn’t eat (or wear) any animal products, so vegan is a subset of vegetarian but the terms aren’t equivalent and never were.
Huh. At least it’s not as bad as the guy from Vulkon who said “we have chicken for the vegetarians.” :P
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fauxkaren on July 22, 2008 2:55 pm | Link
A couple of summers ago when my family was in England, we stayed at a bazillion B&Bs in the course of our three week vacation. Only a few of them offer vegetarian (I remember this because when there’s the option I always get the vegetarian sausage. heh), but I only remember one offering vegan options. Alas, that one was in the Lake District, so I’m not much help there.
Perhaps you could contact the owners and ask if they would be able to accommodate you even if they don’t advertise vegan meals?
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rusty-halo on July 22, 2008 3:14 pm | Link
I’ve contacted a few. The one that lists “vegan” on its website actually has no idea what the word means. :(
There is one that seems sort of promising in a vague way (“I’m sure my wife can throw something together for you”) so I guess we might go with that one. I think jaydk is getting really annoyed with me for being so picky. *sigh* But I need real food!
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JayDK on July 22, 2008 4:23 pm | Link
I’m not annoyed! And I understand why you’d like to eat a meal whose price is included in the bill ;-). But I have grave doubts that you’ll be able to get anything vegan at a B&B outside London, so I don’t think it will matter in that respect where we book.
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rusty-halo on July 23, 2008 12:29 am | Link
Thank you for being patient. :)
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JayDK on July 23, 2008 1:32 am | Link
Just keep thinking about all the good London food! I can’t wait for the Indian restaurants.
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pluckyyounggirl on July 22, 2008 4:11 pm | Link
Argh. There are few things that irritate me as much as arguing over these two definitions. (And people always seem to want to argue about them with me, despite the fact that I am the most peaceful, tolerant, to-each-their-own person in the world.)
I am so tired of people telling me “Oh, but you’re allowed to eat fish [and chicken! and turkey!] as a vegetarian!” Look. One, I’m not ‘allowed’ or ‘not allowed’ anything, mmmkay? I choose not to eat animals. Fish are animals. Simple as that. Two, replying with “But so and so eats fish, and they are vegetarian, too!” Well, clearly, they’re not. There’s a definition. Just… look it up. *rolleyes*(On a related note, I wish people would just stop going around proclaiming they’re vegetarians or vegans when they’re not. I always end up in arguments because of it because people accuse me of an entirely non-existent holier-than-thou attitude while really, I’m just tired of arguing and explaining myself over and over (and over) again. I mean, I’m not a fan of labels, but they can be helpful in some cases to make sure we’re all on the same page. Like when looking for a B&B that will serve food you will eat.)
Anyway, sorry for the rant – it’s just one of my pet peeves. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you, and I’ll keep my eyes open when I’m and Stratford and will let you know if I see anything suitable, whether it be restaurants or whatever. :-)
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rusty-halo on July 22, 2008 4:34 pm | Link
I tend to keep my mouth shut when people just obviously want to argue without listening. I’d go insane otherwise. :( I sort of figure the best thing you can do is lead by example, never ever preach, and wait for people to come to you. If they ask out of genuine curiosity, you can explain why you choose not to eat animals. If they’re just wank-baiting it’s not worth the stress of engaging with them. (I try not to get upset, but when I really think about it, my heart breaks. Especially when it’s people I love, friends and family, just not getting it.)
But, yeah. A lot of people just want to “discuss” the topic as a way to belittle you. They must know they’re wrong on some level, to be so threatened by the mere presence of a vegetarian that they react with such intense defensive anger and ridicule. And there’s this idea that if they can get you to give in, then vegetarianism is obviously impossible and there’s no reason they should have to stop and consider it.
The confusion over it is ridiculous, too. I’ve gotten so many “But couldn’t you just eat [animal product] this one time?” Er, no. I’ve been vegan for thirteen years and I’m not going to change because someone just whined at me. And I’ve heard a million “But what about fish? What about chicken.” Duh, they’re animals. And then there’s the places that think you won’t notice–like Thai places where you ask several times and they confirm that there’s absolutely no fish, fish sauce, or fish stock in the soup, and then you get it and it reeks of fish. What, like I wouldn’t notice? Argh.
But the nice thing is that I almost never have to deal with this. NYC is an incredibly vegan-friendly city and most of my friends are either vegan or understand/accept that I’m vegan. It’s only when traveling that I suddenly have to deal with all these frustrating aspects.
Ooh, please let me know if you notice anything good in Stratford! Thank you! :)
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pluckyyounggirl on July 23, 2008 5:17 am | Link
I have much the same strategy. I still find it incredulous just how aggressive people can become when you don’t want to argue – some of them just won’t stop nagging at you and attacking you (because obviously, if you don’t say anything, you’re not standing up for your beliefs -err, no, I just don’t want to deal with you, dimwit). At which I roll my eyes and leave them be, most of the time, unless my temper gets the better of me. Most irritating of all is that I don’t ever preach; I seem to offend them just by existing. Which kind of leads me to a similar conclusion as yours – I think they feel criticized by me doing my thing, and I can only conclude that they react so heavily because they fear I could have a point.
When people really do want to know and talk about it, I do; but it gets so tiring sometimes, repeating yourself over and over, answering the same questions time and again that I sometimes have to remind myself that it’s worth it, you know? And to be fair, most of the time it’s not even an issue because my friends & family are all aware of and understand (at least technically, if not emotionally) my diet; it’s just when I meet new people that the issue invariably comes up and is a matter of discussion. In fact, I am so used to not having to deal with it that I’m often puzzled and at a loss for answer when people do ask me why I’m vegetarian, simply because it’s something I don’t even consciously think about anymore.
And yeah, it hurts when people just don’t get it. I’m sort of resigned re my family, but my friends are all educated, compassionate young people, and it’s hard to refrain from commenting sometimes. Especially when they guiltily comment on it themselves, because they do know where their animal products come from, but resign themselves to it and choose to close their eyes.
Er, no. I’ve been vegan for thirteen years and I’m not going to change because someone just whined at me.
Hah, I know! It’s somewhat ridiculous really. The worst of it was when I was living in Spain, where it was incredibly hard to find something even remotely vegetarian when eating out (“We have chicken sandwiches for vegetarians!”), and where I got into the most arguments over my diet (I ascribe this to the culture clashof Erasmus students). One time, on an excursion, I was chided like a little child for drinking milk (I switched to soy milk and stopped eating eggs in Spain, actually, because there was nothing available that was produced in a way I was okay with) by a person while they were cutting up their chicken.
I just firmly believe that everyone has to draw their own line, and that that should be respected on both sides. I ask for nothing more than that people tolerate my choices the way I tolerate theirs. I’ve never preached to or attacked anyone because of what they do or don’t eat, and yet most people seem to be incapable of paying me that same courtesy.
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Chase820 on July 22, 2008 5:18 pm | Link
I have no idea if this is any help or not, but when you’re in Stratford find the Indian restaurants. When I was in London, I had a couple of excellent vegetarian meals at local Indian places.
Of course, I don’t remember if they were vegan or not. I remember meatless but don’t remember vegan, because I’m less picky about animal products than I am about great hunks of meat. Still, worth a shot.
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rusty-halo on July 22, 2008 5:27 pm | Link
Thanks. :)
I’m not worried about London at all; last time I had no problem finding awesome meals, mostly at Indian and Thai places. Hopefully there will be something similar in Stratford, or at least maybe a grocery store where I can get snacks. I really don’t want to have to carry around food in my luggage along with everything else!
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queenofattolia on July 22, 2008 8:28 pm | Link
Have you already written to them, or at least emailed them about your diet? Usually homey places like B&Bs are pretty accommodating – just be specific and say you don’t eat meat, fowl, fish, milk, cream, butter, cheese, yoghurt, eggs or honey but that you do eat salad, fruit, bread made without dairy or eggs, nuts, non-egg pasta with oil and vegetables, rice, peanut butter, jam, etc. Ask in advance if there are natural foods shops or Hindu Indian restaurants around the village.
Forewarned is forearmed, and I think most B&B owners want you to be comfortable during your stay (or at least they should). Good luck.
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rusty-halo on July 23, 2008 12:32 am | Link
Thanks. :)
I’m writing to places. One of the ones that lists “vegan” on its website told me they’d have eggs for vegans. *sigh* The most promising was a guy who said his wife “can probably make something.” Not terribly reassuring. Especially as, if they don’t get what it means, a perfectly well-meaning attempt will probably end up slathered in butter or something.
I think I’ll probably end up carrying energy bars or something for the Stratford part of the trip. Thankfully we’re only spending two days there, and the rest will be in London where I’ll find plenty.
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