"Back home for good" or "There and back again an Ed's holiday"

Hello chums.
Well I'm back home again after a few days in Pompy visiting friends (D,K and A (and R for about an hour)). The journey down was actually quite pleasant, the weather here in blighty land over the last week has been warm to say the least. The met office said in was in line with global warming models, smashing eh. That should help D+K's grapes no end (see bellow).

I kid you not, if you look real careful like you can just make out the smallest of small forming grapes, they're so small I thought they where a special effect.

On the Wednesday evening D, K and myself met up with a couple that they know, D knew the bloke thru' work, I think the bloke's name was Norm can't for the life of me remember his wife's name ( I've a brain like Swiss cheese when it comes to names), charming couple, we all had a V good meal, and stayed chatting around the table long after the table had been cleared, that's the sort of place it is, busy but not shoving you out the door as soon as the meal is eaten. The place is called Bombay Bay and it's in Hillsea marina down in the Pompy area, the best Indian grub I've ever had (including the stuff I make myself), don't take my word for it go there yourself, you wont regret it.

On Thursday while D+K where at work I went for a bimble around the shops and around town in general. I even went to the shop where I used to get my shoes from to see if they had anything in my size and style, 1 out of 2 isn't too bad They actually had three pairs of shoes in a 14 but all of them where just not my style, lets just say I fancied something a bit plainer for walking around in, not something to wear while performing at the Starlight Ballroom!

Around lunchtime I headed back to my old base and mess one last time, to have a spot of luncheon and to idle the afternoon away with the papers in a comfy chair. I'm getting ahead of myself a bit, while I was leaving the shopping area behind me I came across this signpost, I have passed it many times during my tenure in Pompy and never gave it a second thought, it just shows that we here in the UK never really wanted decimalisation, regard.

Shouldn't it read 1.75 Km?

Anyway got to the mess and for my last meal with the RN I decided to have the same meal I had on my very first day in basic training all those years ago. Gammon steak with mashed potatoes and green beans (22 years ago it was baked beans, you can't have it all), it wasn't half bad once you cut away the inch thick rind from the steak, yumm!

So after lunch I retired to the reading room to peruse a daily or two, there was quite a few people in there mostly in groups chatting over coffee or just watching the news on sky. I awoke alone about an hour and a half later with the paper on the floor and my coffee stone cold on the table in front of me, that little kip did me the world of good, I must have needed it. A little later D phoned me to see where I was and to see if I wanted picking up, the course he was on had finished early and he had some time off (always good), I think K was a little jealous because it wasn't just the afternoon he was getting off it was Friday as well, nice.

That evening we where going to have a barbie so D went to the butchers and got some steaks, the biggest I have ever seen outside of the USA, one of these monsters was really enough for two people but not this time, here's what they looked like before cooking...

Here's what they looked like on the barbie...

The yellow things are the veggie option for A who had come around for a bite to eat before his open mike night, and they're not too bad, speaking as an ex-veggie. The sausages are made by the butcher and are a Spanish recipe, the only trouble is he only does them a few weeks in the year a great shame as they are fantastic. Here is the steak I had almost eaten...

I'm flagging a little at this point but faint hearts and all that...

Thank dod that's over with! Oh crap! The sausages are yet to come! (still managed 2 of them). Did I mention we had chips as well with some curry sauce? To those reading this not from this sceptered isle, chips are french/freedom fries not crisps.

We then sat around for a few hours feeling stuffed to the gunwales and chatting, after a while A got his guitar out and tuned up and went through the 3 songs he was going to do later that evening. One was a new one for him that he'd not long learned (is that right A?) and this evening would see him up on stage without his wing man as his wife is about to have a sprog, real soon.

A few hours later we all strolled across to the pub to get in early and get a descent seat, it's not as if hundreds of peeps pitch up to these events, they don't, it's mostly fellow players and their friends. The reason we got over there sharpish was because the place is tiny and once the desk and stuff is set up a large area of this "snug" is used up, so good seats are at a premium. I think we could have got across earlier. Here is some blokes who are good...

No really, they are...

However not so good that I can remember their name, sorry.

But enough of this tot, here are some pics of the act (or half of it ) that we came to see...

Above A is singing a song by Leonard Choen (the one from the Shrek movie)...

Above, tuning while chatting to the crowd in between songs...

Errmmm?!

All in all a good evening with friends, a few drinks and some very good live music, even if it did get dangerously folky at times. But rest assured good reader that had any of the performers put a finger in their ear while singing a nasal tune yours truly would have made a quick exit, petrol bombing the venue on the way out.

And now some pictures of cats...

Above is a pic of my favorite, Indie

Above is the "unloved one", can't recall the name but I think its a male.

Now this fella, above, is blond, blue eyed (as you can see) and big with it, but what this photo can't convey is the fact that he is a raving queen! If these three cats where the last ones on Earth he would be trying to start a family with the unloved one.

That should put me in K's bad books, it's only a bit of fun and it;s not as if the cat's ever going to read this.

Anyhoo, came back up the line today on the train and all was going well until the leg from Euston to Lime street. Eight carriages, four first class and four standard class. I have a ticket for....

No I'm not doing this again. Suffice to say I stood till Crewe!

Nighty night. I'm off over to OLPP's blog to catch up then it's over to PK's to be scared.

TTFN