Into the hangover...

What day was it yesterday?

Oh.

Friday.

That's right, Friday. The most favourite day of the week as it's slides effortlessly into the weekend. What was I up to?

I was doing an excellent impersonation of Billy-no-mates.

Fairly busy day at work, meetings, conference calls, sorting out some DG briefings and responses back to Treasury, but I'd got most of it sorted out by 4:30pm. Finished off the last of the mails, shut down the laptop and thought about heading home. Everyone in the office seemed to be busy with other things, and to be honest I wasn't really in the mood for talking or spending time with anyone, so I decided it was the trek home.

• Laptop put away? Check
• Keys? Check
• Blackberry? Check
• iPhone? Check

Everything is in order, so I plug in the iPhone, whack it onto shuffle and leave the office, hop onto the bus, the tube and then the bus again back up to Stokey.

I'd actually made it back to Stokey rather quickly. As I was wandering past the Londesborough, it looked fairly empty... quiet.... I thought "Hmmmm... perhaps I could just sit there for a bit, read the paper... have a pint"

It's recently been done up and has a whole selection of the old Tennants Lager cans.

Suddenly I'm transported back to my childhood.. back to all the house parties, the 1st foots.

Where Dad and his friends would be drinking tins and tins of the stuff....

Anyway. Thankfully there is no Tennats on tap here, and I plump for a pint of Becks, grab an empty table and flop down with the paper.

I opt for a 2nd pint, watching the world go by, reading the paper, busy on the iPhone tweeting, Facebooking etc etc... and before I know it, it's gone 8pm and the place starts filling up.. the music gets louder.. and I decide to leave.

I thought I'd be hungry by then but I wasn't. I'd had enough of the Londesborough and decide to head down to the Shakey, but quickly popped into the newsagents to pick up a copy of Private Eye. I'm gonna need something to read after demolishing the Evening Standard

And there I am, all papered up and in the pub with a pint of Litovel. The pub is kinda busy, but not too hoaching and I'm surrounded by people munchin down on pizza's from the takeaway place next door.

Still not hungry.

So I sit there alone, sup my pint, read Private Eye and finally notice that there's a football game on the telly. Watford vs Sheffield Wednesday.

Bonus!

So I sit there alone, sup my pint, read my Private Eye and watch the Watford game, seeing Watford win 4-1 at Vicarage Road. Another pint gone... and another.

I look up from my magazine to see that I'm now surrounded by couples kissing.

I need a Brandy.

Make it a double.

Suddenly I'm all to aware that I'm surrounded by couples and I'm sitting there like Billy-no-mates.

Kinda depressing really.

I slink off home, and continue to be Billy no-mates at home alone... and with my well stocked home bar.

Today

Woke up into the Hangover.

Ocado man came at 10am with the messages.

I just love Ocado!

I unpack the messages, take some nurofen and a pint of juice.... and head back to bed.

Not in the mood for people today. 

:-(

One thing did cheer me up, and that was Rob's link on Facebook to a piss take to the Windows 7 launch

Hosting Your Windows 7 Torrenting Party - watch more funny videos

All conferenced out..

Well, that's me been to two conference's/talks consecutively in the last two days;

- Civil Service Round Table Debate, on "Falling Budgets, and IT in Government" in the Atrium which will be published on the 4th of November. You might even see a picture of me in there.... it was a morning session, then back to the office for in the afternoon for yet more meetings.

- Government 2010, lots of discussion panels, debates, good selection of guests, live web streaming and Twitterfeed at #G2010 in the Grange Hotel, near St Pauls Cathedral. That was today... a WHOLE day I spent there

Very plush 5* hotel..

But it's kinda been none stop... it's been early 8:30am starts, which just aren't natural for me and I fear my brain has just kinda fizzled out. Of course it doesn't help walking up in the morning with a slight Vodka hangover, but thats because I was severely pissed off last night and needed to 'calm' down and pass out in my bed before I was tempted to hit something, or someone..... temptation, temptation.

I'm now back home... sufficently shattered and brain dead.

Pondering what to eat, but have realised that I've got bugger all food in... although a very well stocked bar.

Do I go out and grab something?
Do I order in?
Do I just not bother and grab a cold beer or perhaps a nice chilled Vodka?

Decisions, Decisions.

Back in the big smoke

So there I go.

Susan turned up, I said my goodbyes to Dad and off we went down to the Pancake Place for an early Scottish breakfast;

Susan munches down to a healthy Scottish Breakfast... *coughs*

We have a nice wee catch up and we pop back to her house to use the 'facilities' before she drops me off at Dundee Airport and we say more goodbyes.

I hate saying goodbyes. Never liked them.

And talking about things I hate. Airport Security.

Now remember, Dundee Airport... the hub of international terrorisim... with huge amounts of passengers, booze, drugs etc coming through every day. Armed guards everywhere, sniffer dogs everywhere... Bollocks.

It's a strip of tarmac and a cowshed.

To get over the trauma of the security checks I help myself to the complimentary drinks on board the plane.... I think I was a bit drunk on red wine by the time we landed. Straight to the toilet, then onto the DLR, then the bus... and home.

Here I am, home in Londonium and kinda well.... down. A tad bit homesick already.

:-(

Perhaps more wine this evening will help?

Londonium beckons

*sighs*

Yes, it's true. I'm hoping onto a plane and flying back to the Big Smoke this afternoon.... but I have just enough time to update this thing before I head off.

So where did I leave you?

Sunday
Oh yes, I had just survived Cameron, Farrah and Graham, and was away off to visit my Grandad. We all piled into the car, and went to vist my Grandad in the complex he's now in.

There's no getting away from it. It's an old folks home.

There's a hint of urine in the air.

I didn't like it.

It was great seeing Grandad again, but it was also rather painful. He's old.. very thin, and it was hard seeing him like that. Surrounded by other old folks that smell, lost their marbles...

I swear if I ever end up in that state, take me out and shoot me. I'd never want to end up in a home. The thing was, the place that Grandad was in. It's a nice place. The nurses are pleasent, it's got all the mod cons. It's a new build, very well laid out... it's just... just.... not a place I'd ever want to end up in. Knowing that you will probably, more than likely die there. Surrounded by lots of other people on their last legs.

*shudders*

We leave.

I promise Grandad I'd be back up to see him at Christmas time.

So... to ease the trauma of being in that place, Mum and Dad drive me up to a place called BM? I'd never heard of place... no idea what it was.

O...M...F...G

They've taken me to a Chav superstore! I walk into the door and am greeted by;

Fecken Christmas thingies...

We haven't even had Halloween yet... or Guy Fawkes....

*shudders*

I quickly escape the horror and wait by the car for parents. I don't do shopping... and I certainly don't do Chav supermarkets. It's vile, it's...it's.....it's just...  words escape me.

To get over yet another trauma I arrange to meet up with Pricee up in Frews;

A nice little local just 5mins up the road from the parents house

We arrive at the pub at the same time and it's straight to the bar for a can of Irn Bru and a pint of Carlsberg for me.

Typical Pricee pose.

And we settle down to the banter, catch up on everything that had been happening since I last saw him around Christmas time last year I reckon.... and there was also the surprise of Gordon and Billy turning up!

Gordon's gonna be in London on Thursday at some Games Developer confernece... hopfully meet up if we can.

And Billy, has just become a Dad! Sammy gave birth to Dillon John Thomson, 7lbs 5ozs. And he's got to juggle fatherhood with his job at Ruffian Games as their Creative Director.

We sink quite a few beers in... I stagger home to the parents, watch something on TV then go to bed.

Today

I'm up, I'm dressed, packed and Susan is coming to pick me up in 5mins to go for an early lunch before I catch my flight home.

Arrrrgghh... it really is in 5mins time, but Susan is usually late. Knowing my luck she'll turn up early or on time, so I'd better shut the laptop down!

See you soon.

Bar hopping in Dundee

So....

Off I go down to Tickety Boos to meet up with Cari.

I wander in.. no sign of Cari, head to bar and grab myself a Becks and find a seat around the back of the bar. The bar wasn't too busy, full of nattering Dundonians and the football on in the background.

Cari arrives soon after and it's straight onto the bluebolls

And of course, it wouldn't be Cari without her typical trademark pose;

Much better!!

We finish up in Tickety Boos and have a wander up Commerical Street and pop into the Old Horseshoe Bar

Which was absolutely empty.... and with the prices it was charging, £5.10 for a bottle of Becks and Blue WKD??!!.. Okay, so I'm used to London prices and it didn't shock me too much, but Cari... well, I almost had to pick her up off the floor. We quickly finish our drinks in there and wander around to the Counting House.

It might be a JD Weatherspoons....

But it was absolutely hoaching... this is were everybody in Dundee must be. And at £3.54 for the same round, a Becks and Blue WKD you can probably guess why. Now, I'm used to seeing all manner of things weird and wonderful in London... especially after that weird Saturday night, but it seems to be catching.

Whole crowds of people turned up in Golf Gear, and fancy dress??!!... Students. And our conversation seems to have turned to the strange about ginger people...

Cari's face is a picture when she realises that there'd be ginger pubes involved.

Of course I'm killing myself laughing at Cari's realisation..

and trying not to spill my drink!

We give up waiting on Susan and Shona turning up and wander on over to the Balcony Bar. It's bloody freezing up North, but its good to be back in the Balcony.

Susan and I used to drink there *years* ago... back when we were 16..17... it's a blast from the past and loud Rock, Indie, Metal etc.

We settle down, get comfy seats and await the impending arrival of Susan & Shona. Shona arrives... absolutely plastered and plonks down beside me... I could smell the fumes.

but Susan was totally sober, and it was grand meeting up with her

and chewing the fat so to speak.

Shona wanders off at somepoint leaving the three of us chatting away. Susan was telling me her and Simon are almost ready to get their EP with 4 songs into circulation.. Gloria Storey is the band that she put together and it's some pretty chilled out listening.

We continue to chatter on, drinks flowed and before we knew it, it was chucking out time gone midnight... trapesing downstairs to finish off our drinks and I spotted this;

I saw these guys at the Download Festival a couple of years go down at Donnington... wicked. And they are playing in Dundee! Oh how I would love see those guys again but alas it's not to be.

Susan tries a Haysee Dixie mugshot...

LOL... maybe not.

We eventually leave the pub into the cold night air... and it is cold, bloody cold... nipple freezing cold. Susan heads home, she did invite Cari and I back... but being honest, with not getting a good sleep the night before and still kinda suffering with the cramps, I decline. As much as I wanted to... I really needed just to get home and sleep.

Of course when in Dundee... you can't just go home without some lardy food to round the night off. Time for a Dundee special from the Corfu kebab shop.. Kebab for Cari... and Cheesy chips for me

Pure unadulterated lard....

Although one of the food reviews leaves a lot to be desired.

"You'll find this place queued out after the nightclubs close. It's very popular as it's cheap and quick. The menu mainly consists of greasy burgers, pizzas, chips and kebabs.

I got food poisoning after having a spicy chicken pizza here so be careful. Stick with the red meat. "

Home. Bed. Sleep.

Today

I sleep late...

Cameron is up, dressed, Thomas and Bob the Builder are blaring on the TV.

wee Cameron snuggled up with Dad watching Thomas the Tank Engine

Finally, Farrah and Graham turn up after their break up in Inverness to take Cameron back home

I think Farrah and Graham are more excited about it than wee Cameron!

They depart, I jump in the shower before heading off to visit my Grandad Jeff.

Cheeribye for now.