I'm officially old !

I always wear red or black tops if I am going to an Italian restaurant.
I am quite well endowed and often DH will look at me and say " you've got your dinner on your bay window again "
I did manage to get my food further than my front a couple of years ago. I had just been served a knickerbocker glory with a long spoon and I went to remove the cherry but caught the spoon on the side of the glass and the cherry flew the air landing on the shoulder of the man at the next table. DH, sister and BIL were convulsed but I was mortified.

So, how old will I be before slopping food on myself?
[skock]

Or, before I can spell 'shock' ha,ha

Harrigran
Definitely one of those occasions to carry on normal conversation and pretend it had absolutely nothing to do with you!
I enjoy eating by myself at home as I can be as messy as I like.

An idea has just sprung into my mind - the type of food we eat now, pasta, lots of sauces, BBQ sauce, curry, all with a potential for spilling.

In my youth we would have lamb chops, potatoes and peas. Cold meat and salad. Pigs' trotters (yuk) , egg and chips, all eaten at the dining room table.

Do you think it is the consistency of the food and the absence sometimes of a formal table to eat, that has caused us to become messy ?

We always ate at a table when growing up and I can't get out of the habit. I am not comfy eating on my knee and always manage to drop something on myself! At least my boobs catch everything

That's interesting NanKate .. we are eating softer food and some even like it cut up in smaller pieces. Not so much getting old as reverting to ....????

I have always been a messy eater, so no change there! I think the real giveaway is not noticing the food stains on your clothes. I have noticed when clearing the effects of elderly relations after their death, how dirty their above the waist clothes are with food stains down the front.

I now carefully check the front of my clothes every night before I put them away to make sure I do not miss any satins and then rewear dirty clothes.

I am uncertain why I have a beautiful dining room table with chairs when I always sit down and dine with a tray on my lap, mainly to watch evening TV.

I think that is a good point made by NanKate re the change in consistency of our food, hence I slop more down my front. Still, I had lamb chops the other night and I managed to find drops of mint jelly down my front. Marmalade and jam find their way there too.

You know, I'm not so sure it's anyhing to do with pasta or eating at the table; 9 times out of 10 we eat at the dining table, but that doesn't stop food spillage[especially on laps, where it soaks through the carefully placed napkins] rolls onto the floor, or badly stains the tablecloth.Not ALL the time of course, we haven't reached our dotage [just yet] but enough to be annoying.Reading or watching tv with a cup of tea or coffee [and marmalade toast] is an accident waiting to happen.Carrying the said cup of tea or coffee from kitchen to lounge can go wrong as well.The least said about porridge the better.

Porridge seems to have a life of its own.

I find it welds itself to the breakfast bowl after I have finished my breakfast, even though I soak the bowl in water for a while. When I run my hand around the inside of the bowl it is like sandpaper sometimes.

It would make good plaster for the walls

flicketyB I think you are right. I think it's a lack of vanity, or less frequent checking of our appearance in the mirror. I used to think I should look immaculate at all times, now I scarcely look in the mirror apart from to check that I am not dribbling toothpaste on my chin yet again.

i suspect that as we get older and our sight is not as good as it was, we fail to notice little grubby patches on our clothes. I think this is particularly so when we need glasses for reading but do not wear them all the time so that a quick glance at a sweater or blouse fails to notice small marks.

I now lie the clothes I take off on the bed and scrutinise them carefully for marks before I put them away.

I have always spilled stuff down me. DD2 is very a bit clumsy as well and we both tend to knock glasses of wine over - what a waste.
Why have you not shopped in Lidl, NanKate? They have some great 'stuff' in the middle aisles as well as food etc.

I do not know about NanKate, but I have never shopped in Lidl, and only about twice in Aldi because the nearest one is 15 miles away and well off my beaten track.