MY HUSBAND is away in Seville on a very long boy's weekend. Meanwhile, I am at home with four very bored children. "If dad's on holiday, why can't we go out for a meal," says one.

And for one rare moment that weekend the four are all in agreement.

The trouble is Sunday is traditionally a roast - which half the children love, while the others are determined it will be Italian.

And it would have all been such a dilemma had it not been for my parents who suggested a meal out at The Bistro in Formby.

Although this is an Italian restaurant, on a Sunday they serve a roast, which from past experience puts any carvery to shame.

The roast dinner lasts until 6pm so we keep our options open by booking at 5.30pm and straddling the two worlds.

Happily the obliging staff are more than willing to work with us on this one.

It isn't the first time we have been. A few weeks earlier, 13 of us descended on the tiny restaurant as family from distant counties joined together to break bread.

I just hope that the meal is up to scratch, as my dad is a very hard taskmaster.

The restaurant is hidden away in The Gallery, a small development off Formby Village and is up a flight of stairs, which makes the ascent a little difficult for my father.