Restaurants - shut those darn TVs off

There's a place I sometimes go to lunch near where I work. It's down some steps and below street level which would seem an unusually dark destination, but I find it quite stimulating. Its a pokey little place with an interesting menu, non gouging prices and cheerful staff. If it's crowded, and it often is, and you get a seat near the door, it can be quite chilly and you wish you'd brought your fleece lined jacket. Today BlogColleague and I were early so we got the pick of the seats. Well I say that but what happened was that there were TV sets on in prime viewing territory. I find it hard to concentrate on conversation when there is either a soccer game or some riveting news event on a screen behind my lunch companion. The height of bad manners I know, today my eyes frequently wandered to the screen. I wish the TVs were off. They certainly don't help the indigestion. And BlogColleague would get the attention he deserves.