Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Back to Londonium

As I write this blogpost, I'm curled up in bed.

I am supposed to be at work, but spending the whole night curled up in pain with bad period cramps put paid to that. What a bloody welcome home to London that was! I've loaded up on painkillers and spent most of the day trying to catch up on all that lost sleep and dozing away inbetween the waves of pain.

I'm not impressed.

It's never just one thing with the dreaded time of the month, no that would be too easy just to have one symptom. I get the full range of period pains;
1. Very bad cramps that keep you awake with the pain
2. Painful and aching breasts
3. Sore lower back
4. Headaches
5. Nausea
6. For some bizarre reason, I get water retention on my right knee which makes it swell up and painful to walk on.... as if my knee is connected to my ovaries... but who am I to question what Mother Nature has in-store for me. I'm assuming Gaia must have a reason for this 'trial' I seem to go through every month.

So that's how I've spent my day to day.... oh, and to top it all off. I think I've got a cold starting... my sinuses are full and it's just what I need on top of 'that time of the month'. Why am I thinking it wasn't such a good idea to come back down South?

Okay. Enough of me whinging. I need to save what energy I have left and somehow feel better for the rest of what's left of the day and hope that I'm over all this crap ready for work tomorrow. Now, back to all things blogging. Where did I last leave this thing?

Oh yeah, a quick scroll down to the last post reveals that it was the afternoon of Sunday the 3rd of January. Gosh, that really does sound like a long time ago and a lot has been happening in my busy social life back home in Dundee so it's time to piece the week  back together again before it disappears into the mist of time and is forever forgotten.

Sunday Evening
William arrives back home from work and we spend a little time together before I trudge up the snow to meet up with Richard and Gordon up in Frews, which just so happens that we end up sitting in the exact same spot where I was sitting with the parents only just over a week ago in the lounge bar of Frews.

But it's not only the same spot, it's the exact same seat where my Mother tells me she was sitting 34 years ago when her waters broke when she went into labour with me.....  so it seems that being drawn to pubs is part of my destiny. I was practically born in a pub, so it's quite right that's my 2nd home.

Richard, Gordon and I chew the fat for a few hours and down more than a couple of pints before it's the slipping and sliding home on the frozen snow an ice back to the parents house.


A rather enjoyable night, if cold and crunchy underfoot

Monday
Another long lie today, and most deserved as the head is a wee bit painful after a night in Frews with the boys. The parents are due to fly home today from Dublin, and William is at work so I have the house to myself for the day and make the most of it. Lounging, slobbing out, nice long hot showers and generally enjoying having a bit of peace and quiet.

After Saturday nights slippage on the ice when walking down the Hilltown I decide to forgo the idea of walking and indulge in a cab down to Meadowside where I find Murray already working his way through the Port and Colin on the neat JD.. it's 4:30pm...


Colin's Christmas Fairy


On his tree....

and straight onto a glass of red for me whilst we all settle down, getting drunker and watching the remaining episodes of Angels of America


I hadn't seen this in ages! It came out years ago and was an awesome mini-series... Set in the late 80's, HIV pandemic in the USA, and I'd never seen anything like it before. Fantastic to re-watch, and we polished off quite a few more drinks between the three of us before we decide to head out.

Which is just around the corner to Tesco's to pick up more wine for when we get back from the restaraunt, and grab a cab to Biederbecks for dinner.



Oh bloody wow...  I'd forgotten how good the food was in there, oh boy did we have a bloody good time in there, and bloody good steaks washed down with another couple of bottles of wine



The steaks were Rare, Medium-Rare and Medium...

And off we go back to Colin's place to finish off the wine we bought a couple of hours earlier....  oh god, my head is going to hurt in the morning I think, but that's firmly pushed right back to the depths of my mind as Murray and I leave Colin's on the hunt for a late bar in the middle of a snow storm...  Somehow that sounded like a good idea at the time, but as I look back it probably wasn't that good an idea.

It's a slipping and sliding into a cab and sinking into a redwine fulled sleep.

Tuesday
Owwwwwiiieeee!

That's one sore head, but a well deserved one.

I catch up with the parents, get subjected to the Dublin Holiday photos but thankfully there's not the 700 or so photos to look through...only 10 or so. Result! But the main thing is, is that the parents enjoyed the Christmas present we gave them even if it was frozen over in Dublin.

We head over to the Oldfolks home to visit my Grandad who was in a hell of a foul mood which wasn't nice to experience but Mum slowly coaxes him out of his mood by cutting his hair and getting the staff to help change his clothes. A slighty better mood is now being interacted with, which leaves me a tad bit happier when we leave because I probably wont see him again till later on in the year.

A quick pop into Tesco's for Mum and Dad to stock up some essentials and we are all back home again just in time for tea, stewed sausages and mash, which given the weather we are have been experiancing with the bitter cold it's just what is required. You can't go wrong with comfort food. And boy was I glad I had eaten that because when I started my walk down the hilltown it was cold, with a small flurry of wind. I'd gotten a 'tweet' from an old school friend who I hadn't seen in years and he wanted to meet up that evening as he was in Dundee as well.

By the time I got halfway down the hilltown it was snowing heavily.... and when I got to the bottom of the hilltown it was a complete whiteout and I was covered in snow from head to toe.

It took a while to thaw out down in Tickety Boos.


I hadn't seen Brian Clark in aaaaaaaaaages! He's the National Advisor in Scotland for Games Based Learning

And we sunk quite a few beers


Well... more than a few.... Brian tries his Bond impersonation... and after more beers than I care to remember we depart our ways and head home.

I cheated, I poured Brian into a cab and had started getting the munchies again and popped into Corfu Kebabs on the Seagate to pick up some Cheesy Chips and veggie pakora before finally finding a cab and heading home, to find much to my surprise that the family were still up so I ended up sharing my food with the rest of them.

And then to bed.

Wednesday
I've had better starts to the day.... but this isn't as bad as some others.

It's up and out fairly early by my standards as I'm off with Dad to his friend John Clink's house to drop off some CD's and to have lunch down at the Riverside Inn


Which I have to say wasn't too bad for the kind of place that it was...


Dad waiting on his grub... Haggis, Neeps and Tatties

Chicken Gougons for John...

and the Salmon for me with a pint of Kronie! After lunch we head to Tesco's on the Riverside for John to get his shopping done. The snow has left him virtually housebound because he can't get his car out of his drive with the heavy snow, so todays trip was also an errand of mercy to get John out of the house and to stock up on his messages.

Once that's done it's homeward bounds, dropping John off at his place and back home for myself and Dad. Tea is eaten, papers are read and it's back out again for me only this time it's down to the DCA to meet up with Cari and Susan at 8:30pm.

Only, they both turn up late... Cari and 8:50pm and Susan at 9:20pm.... just as well I had my iPhone with me and a rather nice glass of wine

To help pass the time whilst I wait for those two to turn up!

After a couple of drinks in the DCA it's decided to try another bar. Initially we wandered up to the Basement Bar, but the thumping bass beat and the door entry charge dictates that we look else where and we end up at Dukes Corner


Which used to be the Dogshouse but has changed hands and is now some 'Jazz' venue. Yes, you heard me.... 'Jazz'


What does Susan think of the music?

Or Cari?


I'm really not a fan of Jazz....


And this is what I look like when being made to listen to it.....

Thankfully the torture ends and we nip across the road to Temple Lanes


for a wee swifty before last orders are called.


I'm beginning to wish that we didn't actually go here. Everyone looks under 16yrs old.... well actually, it's probably just 1st year students... but I feel old here. And so does Cari and Susan.

The decision is made to head back to Susan's house for a few more drinkies before we eventually head home in the wee small hours of the morning.

Thursday
Another long lie... another shower.

Dad had been out walking with Jim up at Crombie country park, so once again I'm left to my own devices in the house with William at work. I had thought about going into town to get some shopping done, but the hangover soon puts paid to that and I laze about, checking mails, tweets, watching TV before heading into the shower and sort out my evenings activities. Which for once is rather sedate compared to all my other evenings so far in Dundee.

I treat my wee brother to an evening at the cinema to see Avatar 3D


Which I gotta say, the 3D effects and animations were just awesome... shame the story was so simple that even a retarded teenager could understand it.

Friday
No sore head today.

Just a screaming Cameron to contend with as Dad was babysitting him. I leave him having a temper tantrum on the living room floor, or as Farrah puts it... having a 'Paddy' and head into town to get a bit shopping done, Calenders, clothes and I'd popped into Fisher and Donaldson to pick up some shortie and cakes for the family as a desert after Tea.



and it's off out again down to Tickety Boo's to meet up with Colin and Brian, then Stuart turns up.... and Murray turns up eventually and yes, more alcohol is drank... Brian disappears, then Colin, then Stuart leaving just myself and Murray pondering where to go next.....

Brooks Bar! Cause we know that's open late... well to 1am at least.

Random Facebook checking reveals that Cari is next door in The Kage

and we waste no time in popping next door and hooking up with the Pink Godess for some much needed guitar music, more Vodka and sambuca shots...


a lot of shots...


and then a lot more...




in fact probably too much... but it was a fantastic time. Jumping about the dancefloor to various cheesy rock classics and loving the randomness of it all. Eventually the place shuts down around 3:30am, and we retire to the Feasting Fox for more Cheesy Chip goodness through the blizzard to be picked up by Cari's man and driven home.

Result.

What a damn fine night that was.

Saturday
Ouchies.

It's a whole load of ouchies but I don't mind because it was such an ace night! I gingerly head downstairs, staight to the paracetamol, juice to re-hydrate and grab a small lunch before my Gran and John arrive to first foot us.

It was great to see Gran and John, with minimal 'Luv' arguements and they depart a couple of hours later just before Richard turns up to give me lift down to the Riverside Inn to have tea with himself, Kirsty and wee Catriona. Oh she's such a cutie, 14 month old and happily babbling away to herself whilst we chomp down on our scran.

The moment you put Catriona on the ground she's off at Warp speed crawling across the carpets off exploring! Kids......

Once tea is eaten, it's back homewards because my Uncle Neil and Aunty Gwen are 1st footing us! This is turning out to be such a busy day.....  So, I'm back home doing the 1st footing thing with the family until they depart around the back of 10pm, and I'm back out again! In a cab and down to the Casino on the Marketgait to meet up with Murray, Stuart and Dave.



No, I didn't lose all my money on the tables. It was mainly for drinks, and we put £5 on the roulette wheel which I eventually lost, as did Stuart..... but Murray came away with £22, and Dave £8 so at least we weren't all out of pocket!

It's hard to believe that this Casino is open 24/7.... sheesh... gambling addicts or what? But we don't stay that long, leaving around 1am to slip and slide our way to Brooks's Late bar. And it was empty. We got a private bar to ourselves for the rest of the evening, drinking more vodka and cola shots until the wee small ours in the morning till the place closes around 3am.

And yet again, we are out in the snow... it's cold... it's snowing... but we spot a taxi with it's light on and flag it down and were about to jump in it when a random bloke also tries to jump in it.

Did we fancy sharing?

Sure, why not. It's cold, I don't mind as long as we all split the fare.

It turned out to be one of the most funny taxi journeys I've been on for a long time. Here's a snippet from a friends update:
--------------------------------------------------
Sarah Baskerville:
Red Van driver (female) - illegally parked and pulling out onto the road : " Get oot ma fuckin way eh hae the right o' way"

Taxi Driver (female): " Get tae fuck ya Pikey Tinky Slut, eh hae the right o' way ya fucking Gypo"

I love Dundee :-)

Mummrah P Redford: If I wasn't in the taxi with you I would swear it never happened. Fucking minks!!!!!!! x

Sarah Baskerville: Taxi Driver : "eh right like the fucking Pikey's brought her Van oot tae night in case she pulls. Fucking Slut. Get back in yer caravan ya Gypo."

Oh yes, it happened. We were there, with random cheesy chip man in the Taxi. Yet another rocking night :-)

Mummrah P: Redford It's true. x
Kirsty Price: lol! That made me giggle, only in Dundee!
------------------------------------------------------------

Now what a classy way to end the night out.

Fantastic!

Sunday
Another long lie... another sore head.

It's lunch, shower and packing. Packing, packing, packing. Yup, it's packing because I'm heading back down South on Monday after nearly three weeks up in the Motherland doing all things friends and family.

But before I go, there's time for a couple of things to do.

1. High Tea
2. First Footing

Any idea's what High Tea is? It's a tradition we seem to have up on the North East of Scotland where you go out to a pub, hotel, restaraunt and have some food. The usual format is;

1. A pot of Tea
2. Slices of Toast
3. A main meal i.e. Steak Pie, Gammon Steak, Salmon, Roast Beef etc
4. Scones
5. Cakes

Thats a Scottish High Tea in the Woodlands Hotel

which was darn good, and left us all fairly stuffed but I'd been saving myself for it all day. A meal to remember before I headback down South

Then it's off to 1st foot my wee sister, her husband and my wee nephew. And wee Cameron was in top form! My mum had got his teddy 'Snugs' and shoved it into a small tupperware box which Cameron found hilarious.


and he kept on laughing...



Hundreds of pounds worth of toys and he's amused by a £5 teddy in a tupperware box.... Kids :-)

It's off home eventually and to bed.

Monday
Mum wakes me up early to say goodbye before she goes to work. I get up, washed, dressed, finish off the packing and have a glass of milk as breakfast before Dad drops me off at the railway station.

It's bloody cold on the platform and the waiting room is closed because of a burst pipe. My toes are going numb... my fingers are frozen... the train is a little late, but at least it comes and I get my seat in 1st class with relative little hassel... even managing to do a spot of lunch


Chicken Korma and a bottle of Malbec

The actual train journey itself was rather uneventful, trundling through the snow laden countryside of Scotland and then England, getting me into London just after 5pm with the joys of dragging my 2 cases and rucksack to the Taxi rank and pour myself into a cab.

It feels a bit strange to be back home in London.

I'm exhausted and dump the cases in the room and collapse onto my bed, only to be woken by a phonecall from Tim wanting to meet up. Urgh... I'm not really wanting to leave my bed, but I should do really. And so I do. I walk through the cold up to the Auld Shillelagh up on Church Street

One of the best Irish boozers in London

and we meet up, have a couple of drinks before heading to Mercado's for some mexican grub


which had a good deal on...50% off on the food. Another result!

I'm kinda tired by now, food is eaten and we wander back down the road but pop into The Prince for a wee night cap


before heading home.

And joy of joys.... my Freeview box is kapput!... The damn thing wont switch on!... it's buggered. This is most disturbing. What do I do without TV?

Watch an Inspector Morse DVD and fall asleep.

Well, I say fall asleep but that's just what I couldn't do. The damn cramps kicked in and I spent an awful night curled up in pain feeling like hell.

Today
And here we are.... I'm sore, tired and fighting off a cold at the same time I'm trying to get through my time of the month.

I've ordered a new Freeview Harddrive box.. but it will take 4-7 working days to arrive...

I know I'm sick, because I've just had some chicken soup. I don't like soup, but seem to get a craving for it whenever I'm ill. Here's hoping the soup has helped, because I'm sore again and watching some TV on Catch Up TV. Thank god for the internet.

Till next time