25th April 2005
Hi all,
Last week I was thoroughly depressed. My problem was that I'd had such a great weekend (16th & 17th April) that coming home got me down. Obviously Lorraine was thrilled to have me back in that mood, so she'll probably not be keen on me having a weekend with the boys again in the near future.
Yep, from Friday through to Sunday evening I was visiting Neil, taking in the sights around Central London, going for drinks with my best mate, having numerous games of NHL 2004 (good, even though I lost my long-awaited seven game series with Neil), getting to the pub at 11.30am prior to Palace's game with Norwich (via the club shop), going to the game (and returning Norwich's "easy" chants in hysterical fashion when we clawed back to a 3-3 draw), going to Blue India in Crawley for dinner afterwards... and to top everything getting an unexpected visit from my friends Nick and Pat on the Sunday afternoon. All four of us together for the first time in three and a half years.
So why was I down? I'd had a fabulous time. Too good a time as it happens. It just doesn't get any better than that. Most of all I missed the guys, you just can't build relationships like that overnight. I've known Neil about sixteen years, Nick around thirteen, Pat approximately twelve. Anyway, now I've come round to things a bit. It isn't anything to be down about, we'll just have to meet up with each other a bit more often.
I haven't told any of them that by the way, I hope they're okay with me saying that. Obviously things can get in the way of that, mainly money (lack of it) and other commitments (too many of them). Here's hoping Pat doesn't bring his Le Charoudi Sound Project album with him next time (he said he won that as a prize on a camp in 1986 - I hope it was a consolation prize).
Of course I have other reasons to feel down as well. First and foremost I made a reference to Paula Radcliffe last week. However it became irrelevant due to the fact that I finished the article in the middle of the week and uploaded it prior to flying down on the Friday. Very clever. So clever that I missed her actions (or should that be "motions"?) during Sunday's London Marathon. No word yet as to whether or not footage of it will be included in future campaign footage for London's Olympic bid.
I must admit that I've not actually seen the alleged incident. I was still in bed at that time on Sunday morning. When I woke up I joined Neil in his living room and wondered why the women's marathon had been won when the men's race was still to be decided. Naturally enough I thought that someone involved in running the Krypton Factor was now organising the London Marathon. Actually if the same person was involved in a possible London Olympics I could come round to the idea - there could be two opening ceremonies and then Gordon Burns could ask us questions about where the two ceremonies differed from one another.
I'll close this week with a few of my favourite things that I enjoy when I pay fleeting visits down South.
1) English cash machines.
On Friday afternoon I popped into a branch of the Halifax on Oxford Street and withdrew my spending money for the weekend. Lovely, fresh, crisp notes. I don't know why but for some reason the cash machines I use in Scotland tend to dispense older, softer notes. It just isn't the same. And don't even think about asking about the quality of notes I receive as change from shops up here.
2) "Stand on the right."
If you're on an escalator or moving walkway on the London Underground these signs are everywhere. You can't miss them, and everyone understands the point of them! It works fabulously well. People who want to stand do so, people who want to walk up or down a escalator can do so too. You can't imagine how frustrated I get when entering or leaving train stations in central Glasgow and you get stuck behind some friends who insist on blocking the whole escalator while they have a conversation. If it was up to me I'd make "stand on the right" a worldwide law (I guess that's why I haven't gone into politics).
3) English pubs.
On Saturday afternoon before the game Neil and I were able to go into a pub and sit down and get drinks in a nice relaxed atmosphere, looking out of a window on a nice sunny day at the people enjoying the weather in a beer garden. Up here the only pubs where I would feel comfortable doing that are the "family friendly" ones. Too many pubs have caged windows, or even no windows at all. I'm not sure I've ever seen one place where you could enjoy a drink outside (not that we really get the weather to do that, but that's not the point).
4) Walking more.
I have to admit that when I'm at home and have use of the car I get lazy. By necessity when I'm away from home I have to use Shanks' Pony a bit more than I would normally. Can't say I mind it too much in all honesty, I really enjoyed walking around central London last Friday.
5) The Sports section of newspapers.
Here's a typical selection of stories from a Scottish sports section of a newspaper:
Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic, Rangers, Celtic.
Celtic. Rangers.
Variety is the spice of life as they say. It's the same with the sports section. It was nice to have a weekend where neither of the Old Firm crossed my mind even once.
Have a good week!
Tony
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