*tap* *tap* *tap* Is this still on?
OK, I'll confess that I've hugely neglected LJ over the past couple of years. Part of the problem is that I'm not sure where it fits into my life any more. I have a new site which details my freelance development work, which contains a blog for many of the more technical things I want to write. And the inevitable exodus to Facebook means that this is less and less a place to plan a social event and catch up with friends' thoughts and actions.
Seeing as I've had a couple of really good weekends catching up with people, this seems a good point to get typing and add something here, for my own memory if nothing else.
Last Saturday revolved mostly around Mr. Cushtie's wedding part three. obsidian_dawn and I ventured up to the great city of London enjoying the repeated conversation of the man sat opposite us who seemed to be intent on phoning everyone he knew to recount how his friend had been beaten up the previous evening in Dover. We arrived in London, promptly bought some fine Fortnum and Mason tea and coffee. We then proceeded to Camden which we rapidly concluded was a) still as hellishly busy as when we'd visited in our respective youths, b) now contained many brown garments with unimaginative cogs stuck on and c) depressingly, we had outgrown the excitement of being surrounded by strange youths dressed in black. We therefore consoled ourselves to the best of our abilities with tea and toasted sandwiches before heading South to meet diffrentcolours. After some faffing we both ended up in the Founders Arms and consumed some beer. Culture was called for so we pottered to the Tate Modern and after a walk round the surrealists proceeded to the bar where Ginger Stout was drunk. A quick trip accross the Millennium Bridge where we bid diffrentcolours farewell as he dived into a taxi bound for Soho led us to Fleet St. where James had The Punch Tavern devoted to his wedding party. With an open bar and a really very good buffet, we were wined and dined. James seemed delighed with his breadboard which I had inscribed using a friend's CNC machine. All too soon we had to dash to make the train home.
This weekend started as all good weekends should on Thursday night. After a somewhat hectic day of running round with a number of tasks to get done, I met obsidian_dawn in Folkestone and we went to see John Crampton's English blues at The Chambers. It was a particularly good gig, and despite his playing for two hours only felt like about ten minutes. The next morning was a reasonably early start to go and meet James for some biking around Surry before his return to Hong Kong. Four of us happily pottered round the Surry hills with a relaxed pace we still managed to leave James looking the worse for wear, possibly down to it being the best part of six years since he was regularly cycling.
Saturday saw another trip to London. This time on the High Speed train which got me thinking. We met up with hackenpaste for his birthday and proceeded to see Dune at the BFI. An epic film in many senses of the world, which was much more impressive on the big screen than when I saw it when I was much younger watching it on the telly. A few beers and we took our leave. Dashing across London on crowded tubes saw us miss the penultimate high speed train for Folkestone. As the snow was falling at an alarming rate, we figured that getting on the next train was better than either waiting for the Folkestone train or heading back through London to get the regular service, as being stuck nearly home was better than being stuck in London. Thankfully it proved to be the right choice as shortly afterwards we heard of major problems at London Bridge. Despite a brief stop due to the train "needing rebooting" and plunging us all into darkness as the ultimate moment of "just turn it off and back on again" we made it to Ashford, where we transfered to the final costal service. We arrived home just as the snow set in in Fokestone. This morning we woke up to the best part of six inches of snow in the garden...
Seeing as I've had a couple of really good weekends catching up with people, this seems a good point to get typing and add something here, for my own memory if nothing else.
Last Saturday revolved mostly around Mr. Cushtie's wedding part three. obsidian_dawn and I ventured up to the great city of London enjoying the repeated conversation of the man sat opposite us who seemed to be intent on phoning everyone he knew to recount how his friend had been beaten up the previous evening in Dover. We arrived in London, promptly bought some fine Fortnum and Mason tea and coffee. We then proceeded to Camden which we rapidly concluded was a) still as hellishly busy as when we'd visited in our respective youths, b) now contained many brown garments with unimaginative cogs stuck on and c) depressingly, we had outgrown the excitement of being surrounded by strange youths dressed in black. We therefore consoled ourselves to the best of our abilities with tea and toasted sandwiches before heading South to meet diffrentcolours. After some faffing we both ended up in the Founders Arms and consumed some beer. Culture was called for so we pottered to the Tate Modern and after a walk round the surrealists proceeded to the bar where Ginger Stout was drunk. A quick trip accross the Millennium Bridge where we bid diffrentcolours farewell as he dived into a taxi bound for Soho led us to Fleet St. where James had The Punch Tavern devoted to his wedding party. With an open bar and a really very good buffet, we were wined and dined. James seemed delighed with his breadboard which I had inscribed using a friend's CNC machine. All too soon we had to dash to make the train home.
This weekend started as all good weekends should on Thursday night. After a somewhat hectic day of running round with a number of tasks to get done, I met obsidian_dawn in Folkestone and we went to see John Crampton's English blues at The Chambers. It was a particularly good gig, and despite his playing for two hours only felt like about ten minutes. The next morning was a reasonably early start to go and meet James for some biking around Surry before his return to Hong Kong. Four of us happily pottered round the Surry hills with a relaxed pace we still managed to leave James looking the worse for wear, possibly down to it being the best part of six years since he was regularly cycling.
Saturday saw another trip to London. This time on the High Speed train which got me thinking. We met up with hackenpaste for his birthday and proceeded to see Dune at the BFI. An epic film in many senses of the world, which was much more impressive on the big screen than when I saw it when I was much younger watching it on the telly. A few beers and we took our leave. Dashing across London on crowded tubes saw us miss the penultimate high speed train for Folkestone. As the snow was falling at an alarming rate, we figured that getting on the next train was better than either waiting for the Folkestone train or heading back through London to get the regular service, as being stuck nearly home was better than being stuck in London. Thankfully it proved to be the right choice as shortly afterwards we heard of major problems at London Bridge. Despite a brief stop due to the train "needing rebooting" and plunging us all into darkness as the ultimate moment of "just turn it off and back on again" we made it to Ashford, where we transfered to the final costal service. We arrived home just as the snow set in in Fokestone. This morning we woke up to the best part of six inches of snow in the garden...