McDonald's

[George 1978]

Re: McDonald's

If it was Wimpy v Burger King it would only be 10 minutes long.

[tex]

Re: McDonald's

Tonight at 9pm channel 5......Mcdonalds v Burger king.

Yep, thats an hour of my life i aint gitten back!

[George 1978]

Re: McDonald's

Tonight at 9pm channel 5......Mcdonalds v Burger king.

And if they were both boxers, football teams, snooker players, etc, I know which one would win.

[George 1978]

Re: McDonald's

I visited Oakham twice - once as part of a mystery tour. I bet that a lot of cafes and restaurants there benefit a bit from McDonald's absence.

[Moonraker]

Re: McDonald's

I found it interesting that Rutland (the Cheshire of the East Midlands) happens to be the only county in England that does not have a McDonald's, although I often think of Rutland as part of Leicestershire like most other people do.

Rutland is a beautiful part of the country. Long live McDonald's free.

[tex]

Re: McDonald's

Tonight at 9pm channel 5......Mcdonalds v Burger king.

[George 1978]

Re: McDonald's

I found it interesting that Rutland (the Cheshire of the East Midlands) happens to be the only county in England that does not have a McDonald's, although I often think of Rutland as part of Leicestershire like most other people do.

[Mulletino]

Re: McDonald's

I watched that movie the other week with Michael Keaton about Maccas, The Founder I think it was called, was entertaining and very interesting.

We never went to McDonalds as kids, it was deemed too expensive. We only got to go if another kid had a birthday party there, which happened twice i think, i remember one being in the McDonalds in Southend High Street and we all sat in the plastic boat, which was where they had the parties.

Myself, brother and sister did trick our dad into taking us to Wimpy once. He took us to Rayleigh shopping one weekend, Mum usually took us but couldn't go for some reason. Anyway, when we got to where Wimpy was we said "can wee go to wimpy for lunch? mum always takes us there". He wasn't impressed as it was "expensive" and it wasn't till we got home he realised she never took us there and he'd been conned.

[George 1978]

Re: McDonald's

Thinking about it, I have probably made an error as to when we got a McDonald's near us, as I had an important hospital appointment in summer 1996 and after attending we went to McDonald's, but I don't think it was much earlier than that. My visits over the years have been so sparse that the place could have been open for months and I wouldn't have realised, it being in an out-of-town location.

Now that is a double treat - attending McDonald's after a hospital appointment - that is, unless one has visited the hospital for a diet related health complaint which meant that one could not have McDonald's food. I know there was quite a bit of controversy when McDonalds wanted to open inside a hospital - McSpotlight were all over it like a rash.

Mind you, I am certain that the "treat" with regards to the hospital visit was a day off school, and as we pretended that it was too late in the day to go back, we did have a burger or something afterwards, probably as a "bravery" award sort of thing for managing to put up with being inside the hospital for a few hours.

[staffslad]

Re: McDonald's

Thinking about it, I have probably made an error as to when we got a McDonald's near us, as I had an important hospital appointment in summer 1996 and after attending we went to McDonald's, but I don't think it was much earlier than that. My visits over the years have been so sparse that the place could have been open for months and I wouldn't have realised, it being in an out-of-town location.


When we went to the Philippines, we went to McDonald's but also to a Pilipino equivalent called Jollibee--not sure if I spelled that correctly. Actually, although McDonald's there is very popular, being a place where teenagers want to hang out, I preferred Jollibee's burgers, particularly their Hawaiian, which was huge by the standards of British fast food burgers. There is a Jollibee in London, I believe, but not sure if there are any elsewhere.


Coming back to Wimpy, as well as getting to have a burger, I also used to love their Knickerbocker Glory when a child--that big, tall glass, and that name that always made me snigger when I asked for one--hey, I was only 10 or so!

[George 1978]

Re: McDonald's

You're right Richard - the Milton Street one in Nottingham was a Wimpy and became a Burger King, even though I thought that they were unconnected (apart from the fact that they were both fast food restaurants of course), and I think that the Angel Row one (convenient for the Odeon cinema back then), went that way as well.

Funny how Broad Marsh remained a Wimpy until around a year or two ago.

[Richard1978]

Re: McDonald's

I remember a lot of Wimpys became Burger Kings in the late 1980s.

At one time Stockport had two Burger Kings, but both are now gone, but Manchester has at least one.

[George 1978]

Re: McDonald's

I am surprised about that as I thought that by the mid 1980s every city and most towns had at least one McDonald's - I know from reading the McSpotlight website that they advertised on British TV from 1976 onwards, mostly targeting children, and I think that there may have been a gap of around two or three years after the first restaurant opened in Woolwich, before the next one opened. No doubt that prior to 1982, the nearest McDonald's to Nottingham would have probably been Leicester or even Birmingham.

When did Burger King first open in Britain? I know from YouTube clips that as early as 1982 they advertised on British TV but I don't remember a restaurant in Nottingham prior to the start of the 1990s (corner of Upper Parliament Street and Milton Street which used to be a Wimpy, and a Harris Carpets prior to that). I know that Wimpy was McDonald's main rival in the 1980s, and I believe that I must have gone inside Wimpy back then more often than McDonald's.

[staffslad]

Re: McDonald's

I don't think there was a McDonald's anywhere near us until the late 90s or later. The closest were one in Walsall and one in Birmingham on the ramp that I would occasionally use on the rare occasions I went there. I'm not a big fan, preferring Burger King, though my visits to that chain are not exactly frequent either. In the 70s as a treat when going into Wolverhampton a couple of times per year, my mom would take me to Wimpey, where we ate our burgers with cutlery.

[zabadak]

Re: McDonald's

...i would rather pay the extra and eat at Burger king who,s food is tastier and more satisfying.

Yep, my fave!