March 31, 1999 at 9:31 am · Filed under General
The house is tidy, the washing machine is plumbed in, the large pile of cardboard has been removed from my garage. Things are looking up! Mother is visiting this weekend, along with Graham, James, Pam and Paul, so I’ve been cleaning, and I went out and bought a guest bed on Saturday.
When I arrived in town to shop for the bed, I got way-laid by the Subs sandwich shop, and headed down to the river to eat my sub. Hot bacon layered with melted brie, with mayonnaise, lettuce and black pepper. I recommend it.
As I was by the river, I decided to take the scenic route around to the main shopping area, and strolled along the towpath. I was enjoying the peace (everyone heads for the shops, but nobody enjoys the river!), when suddenly my tranquility was destroyed by a funfair which had parked itself in the middle of the horticultural society park. At first I was slightly annoyed by this intrusion into my reverie, but then my inner child woke up, stamped his foot, and yelled ‘I wanna go to the fair!’. How could I refuse?
I strolled around the funfair, past the bumper cars, the waltzer, the throw-a-6-inch-hoop-over-a-7-inch-goldfish-bowl booth, the scary spin-you-around-turn-you-upside-down-make-you-throw-up ride, and of course the candy floss and greasy food van.
After wandering around for a while, I realised I couldn’t bring myself to actually go on any of the rides, despite my inner child kicking and screaming and holding his breath until he turned blue and fell over. I left the fair, disappointed that my adult inhibitions had stopped me having more fun, but pleased that the kid in me was still fighting for survival.
As I ambled up the hill to the shops, I passed a mother and her young son, who was about six. He was walking along with his arms oustretched, and the two were having a conversation which went something like:
Boy: I wish I was a bird!
Mum: Shut up.
Boy: I wish I was a bird!
Mum: Shut up!
Boy: I wish I was a bird!
Mum: SHUT UP!
The poor kid will probably have all of his imagination drilled out of him by the time he’s 10, but at least he was having a good time that day.
March 22, 1999 at 9:30 am · Filed under General
Well I didn’t get a chance to add an entry before heading off to Canada, so I have nearly an entire month to catch up on! Let’s see, the kitchen fitters arrived, and had a lot of the work done before I left, but I left them to finish off without me. Apart from that I was ready to head off to Canada, and Jen.
I arrived in Montreal feeling quite fresh, after remembering to take a bottle of water onto the plane with me. Jen met me at the airport, happy reunions all round, and back to her apartment for a relaxing evening. We spent the weekend in the country at Jen’s parents, which was an incredible site under several feet of snow. Good food and good company, then it was back to the city, ready for Jen to work on the Monday
I bought myself a Palm Pilot V organiser the next day, I just couldn’t resist a new toy. Jen doesn’t get it.
We spent the rest of the week in something I can only describe as ‘domestic bliss’, until Friday when we went to a moulerie for Jen’s birthday celebration, and back to Lisa’s afterwards for tea and cake and the obligatory present opening ceremony.
On Saturday we headed up to Ottawa, a cute little city, with big gothic style parliament buildings, and a stray cat sanctuary hiding in the middle of them. The city was very quiet, even on Saturday afternoon. I guess it’s probably busier on weekdays. On the Sunday we went skating on Ottawa canal, or at least tried to skate. The ice was melting, and virtually impossible to skate on.
On Tuesday it was time to head back to dreary England. We said our sad farewells, and I boarded the plane. I surprised myself by managing to sleep on the plane, so luckily I wasn’t too sleepy when I arrived at Heathrow to find that my Dad had got the day wrong, and not shown up to meet me. Two train rides, a tube ride, and a bus journey later I arrived in Hatfield to meet Philippa, who took me to Maylandsea.
I spent a day there, then a day at Mum’s, then drove to Croydon to meet up with Kel and Davey for a git night out. We went to a club and boogied the night away (well, ok, drank the night away), finishing the evening with a kebab and an hour or so online.
Now I’m back home. My kitchen is finished apart from a lick of paint, but the utility room still needs some work. The place was a mess, but I’m gradually tidying up (wish I’d bought a smaller house).
