You’re a heavy CE user, so I’ll happily take your word that it’s “very popular”.

And that’s precisely why your comment struck a chord with me c-w-s - although not so much with specific regard to the Ploughman’s meal, but more in relation to CE catering in general.

In short, it made me wonder whether the penny will ever drop with our friends at Waterside that, when a particular item is known to be particularly popular, it might be a rather jolly idea to order and load more of it ; in much the same way that my local supermarket tends to stock more turkeys as Christmas approaches.

It’s a radical thought, I know. But it could mean that customers seated in the second half of the CE cabin (and who have very likely paid the same / similar fare as those seated in the front) might actually get their meal choice, rather than be left disappointed.