The way the story appears is odd. The snip says there are 14,000 UK branches which I thought was impossible as there aren’t that many in the US. In the story the number of UK stores is 1,400 which makes more sense. no mention of Ray Croc though.
In any event, happy birthday UK McD’s.
Their 100th in the UK, was the first to open in my part of the world - in the centre of Manchester in January 1983, We went to try it not long after. Our first trip to the States had been in 1980, so we knew how it worked. Which is more than can be said for our friends, Jean and Alan. They went and were horrified that no one came to take an order and there was no cutlery and you had to pick it up in your hands to eat. I’m not sure that they’ve ever been back to one.
In the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, I was driving with my grandmother from Key West back to her home in Hollywood, FL. We stopped at a Burger King along the highway and she remarked she had never been in a burger-based fast food chain. At the counter, she ordered a chicken sandwich of some sort and was sorely disappointed that she couldn’t choose the type of bread she could have it on.
The same grandmother also asked me to get her a straw after I bought a can of soda from a vending machine. Yes, my late grandmother Pauline seemed to have led a somewhat sheltered life…
At one of my first jobs for a non-profit student organization, we’d often have lunch together, and would occasionally order from McD’s.
I honestly can’t recall the last time I had anything from McDonald’s. Clearly, they’re doing something right 
It’d been a long time since I’d had any fast burger food. But, a couple of years back, we were driving up to northeast England. Stopped for fuel and eats. There was only a McD at the services. We surprised ourselves about just how nice it was. Maybe we were just hungry
The two McDs here mailed coupons for free burgers of various kinds. I tried them, and I was also surprised that they were at least decent. I think switching from wax paper wrappings to those cardboard clamshells made a difference–the real burger resembled its photograph.
