Brightonomicon

This weekend was a fun one, a night and two days away by the seaside!
We got the train early on Saturday to get to Brighton for midday, watching out the window on the way for evidence that the snow is getting thicker, but it wasn't. To the B&B to wait for the room, not for too long but when you have to use the loo, 10 minutes hoovering the room seems excessive. We're not even up the stairs when Jadey hears us and calls down, we didn't hear her. Unabashed the phone then rings, it's Dave, Mark is on the toilet so I answer. "weheardyoucomeinbutyoudidn'tansweruscallareyoureadydoyouwanttogoout?" "Well, give us a few minutes to get ready and let Mark get off the toilet" "OKwe'reonthetopfloor,room6whichoneareyouinwe'llcomedownin10minutes" Oh joy. "Room 3, see you in a minute."

And we did, off to wander around the sea front, and played minigolf because it is the law that you have to play minigolf when ever you go to the seaside. From winners to losers Dave, Mark, Me, Jadey. There were a few good shots and for the first two holes I looked to be the favourite but then my luck ran out.
The it was on to shopping and Brighton is a cool place to wander around, it reminds me of Camden before it turned into TCR end of Oxford St with repetitions of the same shop with the same face serving you and buying the same over-priced eccentricities that scream "I'm an individual" like the other 4000 in this box. So good record shops, nice second hand privately owned cubby holes and a big indoor market comprising of something for everyone which is snoopers paradise. This place is wik'd! you could find an outfit, and music to listen to while you're getting into it, glasses to drink from, and redecorate your kithcen and buy a hat stand from the hallway. Wonderful, wonderful! I very nearly purchased a navy blue ski suit, but settled on a beautifully cut, hand made black dress with white dots and pink poodles on it.
Phew. No time to catch your breath, we have to get on to the pub! It was a hobgoblin pub, I love them. We walked in to "Janes Addiction-Caught Stealing" which was an excellent start and it just got better and better. We were joined by some Irish loyalist fella called Ross who directed the conversation to his taste. I had to ask him to stop talking about bombs, hunger strikes and the British Army because it's Saturday night and it was getting a bit heavy, he didn't seem to mind but he didn't change the subject for very long either. So Dave and I went out for cigerettes and met another resident loon out there that had a major problem with police and joke telling-he started with the punchline.

When we left there (myself begrudgingly) the boys went to a pub near the B&B and the girllies went back to get changed and make pretty-oh and drink the vodka we had bought to make our night out a little cheaper than it may have been. After a pub or two we went on to an indie club which was really good. We danced right through till about 4am there were only a few mishaps and the only one I was directly involved in was being shoved about by the bouncers because as they stormed through our group I thought they were throwing Mark out so I asked what he'd done only to have Jabba the hut scream in my face "Don't get involved, just don't get involved" then I saw it wasn't mark and tried to apoogise that I had been mistaken and got the same thing again, I figured he was on a loop so I didn't bother trying to say anything else, just got on with dancing.

Chips on the way home from a stall on the front, a group of guys that I was (apparently) rude to but I don't remember what I said. One of them waved his arms around whilst repeating what I'd said and Mark asked him if he was a mirage! I don't remember much after that, but we got back safely and I'm assured I had the best sex of my life when we got there.
Sunday was a disapointing. We were all dragged around the shops for what seemed like days but was only a few hours, I cheered mmyself up by spending far too much money on a few things that could only be justifyed by myself to myself. Then we played pool in some dive of an arcade after about half a game we were joined by four shrieking ladies one of which had a birthday cake hat on her head and another that had huge boobs but was otherwise very plain. We had three games, I can't remember exactly but I think Mark and I lost overall.
Curry and back to their room to eat it. We won't have time to do anything else because our train is leaving soon. I spotted something on the side by the bed that, if it means what I think it means, will change the dynamic of this friendship circle and I know we'll end up stuck with the dippy end of the stick.
Train home was uneventful,it was dark so there was nothing to see out of the window and we were both surviving on only a few hours sleep, so dreaming of our own lovely soft bed, perhaps a few pages of our books and sleep at last. But when we finally arrived home the electricity had run out andthe fridge had defrosted, it took us a while to work out how to put the emergency on by which time books were out of the question, having got the lights to work we turned them all off and fell into an instant sleep that comes from utter exhaustion.

Christmas without you

So much has changed in 2008.
I've moved twice, got a (sort of) secure job and started to plan for the future-the real future not just "I want to go on holiday this year, wonder where I should go". It's all a bit scary even for me.
Well enough of non-specific hopes and dreams, how about I tell you about Christmas and new years eve?

Christmas started for me on the 24th because I spent the evening with my brother and I don't get to spend enough time with him. We went to his girlfriends house and had dinner there, nothing too special just chatting playing catch up and getting on nicely and later on watching rubbish telly and dozing on the sofa. I haven't seen him look so happy in years. I think that was the best present I could have got this or any other year. I stayed over at his flat to wake up there on Christmas day and did the visiting everyone within a five mile radius that we are related to wishing them all a merry Christmas and swapping cards and gifts. Then we seperated, he went to Nanny's for dinner and I went to my Mums where I spent the next day and a half on the sofa eating chocolate, fudge and expensive cheese with biscuits.
We started worrying aout bedsores and so decided that shopping would be the cure we needed on Saturday. We found a few shops that weren't crazy with Christmas sales shoppers trying to kill each other over a 75% discount on a sandwich toaster and I bought all the socks that I hadn't got for presents at Christmas as I had expected. Then my favourite purchase-new boots. I have to admit that I have a thing for shoes and boots. Mark says I have spent a horrific amout of money on them this year, but I think I've been quite good. They are soft leather and sooo comfy that I'm sure I'll wear them loads and so well worth the £95 price tag. Mum liked them so much she got herself a pair too-slightly different, higher heel, a bit more dressy. Then back to Mums to make sense of all the treasures we had found.
Call from Raven, "come out for drinks" "can't have too much to do" "just a quick one, I'm on your road now" "ok, meet you in half hour". Rolled home 6 hours or so later singing silly songs. Having spent the evening running for buses, playing pool, befriending small dogs and dancing with Will in an unknown pub/bar. I still don't know how we found Raven again but I was glad he was there to put me on the bus home!
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
But it did mean that I didn't set an alarm therefor didn't get up on time to go and do the second family thing in Chelmsford. Bugger, no-one seemed to mind, but I've done that twice now so I'll watch myself in the future. I'm tired of typing now so I'm going to pick up on this another time and get onto the few days between and then the fantastic New Years Eve. Again, it wasn't anything too special or loutish, but I was with some friends that I really care for and don't see enough of and so was really special for me.