Weekends

[binidj]

Friday:

Had plumber in to fix leaking loo. Unfortunately this meant that I got absolutely nothing done until after he'd left ... which was around 2pm. Flew into town¹ to get emergency prescription done for mum and to pootle round the shops whilst waiting for it to be made up. Regular readers may remember that I was, at one time, an NPC for the Lorien Trust and that I was "responsible" for the Harts faction. When my colleagues and I resigned from that position² the lovely members of the faction clubbed together to buy us gifts. Some weeks ago, the ever-lovely jul1et finally admitted defeat and confessed that she was never going to be able to produce the particular item I'd asked for³ and so gave me the cash. Anywayhow, I was pootling around the shops and saw a rather nice leather jacket and since I'd been after one of those for a while, though never when desire and finances were both present, I decided that it would be a lovely gift, that would remind me of the very special⁴ time I had with the Harts.

Thank you very much to everyone who contributed to the leaving gift all those years ago, the jacket is lovely and I shall treasure it (and remember you) for a long time to come.

After buying said jacket and picking up the prescription⁵ it was off to Sainsburys to practically run around the store doing the fastest grocery shop of my life⁶ prior to a frenzied bout of packing and a break-neck drive to Sexbat Towers to pick up jul1et who was to be my guide⁷ to Tate Britain where we were too late to see s0b being a radio star but were in time to wish him a happy birthday, to chew the fat with some lovely people (and avoid the over-priced drinks) and to have adventures in wheelchairs which proved definitively that my foot is not detachable no matter how hard you smack it into the side of a lift. Then a small group of us repaired to a (supposedly) nearby pub, which was rather lovely and where more splendid chattidj was had.

On our way back to Sexbat Towers we dropped s0b off in the middle of Camden and went in search of cigarettes and toilets. Our needs met, the rest of the evening passed in pleasant conversation with some wine (and pancakes) and I retired for the night.

Saturday

I awoke to realise that my shrewd plan to avoid drinking my own body-weight in sherry had worked and that I was sans-hangover ... this was a good thing ... and a first for me at Sexbat Towers. Slight worry when there was an enigmatic LJ-post that indicated that the rest of the weekend may not proceed quite as planned. However, all's well that ends well and, waving farewell to my gracious hosts, I drove post-haste to the foot of Orthanc and my next destination, the lair of Pax_Draconis. Thankfully rumours of exploding faces and were-hamsters had been exagerrated, and my new host was optimistic about "going out" that evening⁸. Chat happened and I stepped on a cat; these events were not related but both took place.

Then we went to the post-wedding celebration of Westernind and Forbinproject which was very pleasant and involved TastyFood™, booze, more froth than one would find in an out-of-control cappucino factory, and a wedding cake that gave anyone who ate it chocolate poisoning. It was a good evening and the bride and groom looked amazing. Talked with an awful lot of people that I haven't seen/talked to in a while and made sure that my contribution to the froth-mountain was the equal of everyone else's.

Then back to my host's abode to drink wine and Chat⁹. So much chat was there that the clock had struck 6am before we decided to call it a night.

Sunday

Woke up, having decided that my host's assertations as to the comfiness of his sofa had been exagerrated and that I really should have summoned up the gumption to unroll my pocket futon. It was also at about this point that I broke the zip on my sleeping bag *sigh* so I've tentatively ordered one of these since a sleeping bag counts as essential equipment for me and I dare not delay replacing it. After some hours (during which I entertained myself with American Gods and coffee) my host arose and we fell to chatting once more. Thence out to lunch/dinner at a rather fine gastro-pub and more chat.

I have discovered that Pax_Draconis and I are quite capable of talking at championship level (at least in the endurance class).

Thence a swift stop for a bit of coffee, more chat and more not-stepping on Byron, before heading homeward.

Astonishingly the drive home took a mere three hours, I can only attribute this to falling through some kind of wormhole or something. Also, my beloved car looks as though it has crossed the Kalahari in storm season, thanks to the over-active gritters who were paving my way.

All in all, a very splendid weekend; many thanks to my respective hosts.

¹ No, not literally.
² It's a long, and not terribly entertaining, story.
³ A coffee-table book with photographs and comments from every member of the faction ... hence, not her fault that it failed to materialise.
⁴ In a good way.
⁵ Prepared by the slowest chemist ever.
⁶ How I didn't become appallingly ill following that is a complete mystery to me.
⁷ I was concentrating too hard on driving wearing New Rocks™ to spare any thought for navigating.
⁸ Possibly because he was now able to open both his eyes.
⁹ Though with no attendant cat-treading this time ... this may be because Byron was giving me a very wide berth.

Comments

[kathbad]

Thank you for a write up that made me smile!

So pleased it was a great weekend