A couple of weeks ago, Katie announced that she would like to go out for dinner, just the two of us, to a restaurant ‘like Carluccio’s only closer to home’. I suggested that she choose a Friday night and she put it on the calendar. Tonight was the night and we chose Strada. She had her usual ‘penne with pesto’, which was part of a children’s menu, including a starter, a drink and ice cream. When the penne arrived it was the smallest portion I had ever seen. Katie demolished it in short order and asked for a second helping. She is accustomed to asking for second, and even third helpings at Carluccio’s in Bayswater, and there is never any charge. Imagine my surprise when the bill arrived and I had been charged, not a small supplement for the extra pasta, but for two complete children’s menus. I queried this with the waiter but he just shrugged. The receipt contained an invitation to submit feedback on the Strada website – so I left them some! I will give them a few days to respond before repeating my comments on Trip Advisor.

A further shock ensued later in the evening when, shopping on Amazon, I had added two copies of a cookbook to my basket and was in the process of choosing a coffee percolator to add to the order when a note suddenly appeared on the screen saying that the price of the books in my basket had more than doubled. I checked the basket and the price of each book had indeed more than doubled. A stiff note to Amazon followed promptly. Watch this space.