Bobbing Along To The Beat Of The Track

My friend Paul is amazing, so warm, humorous and genuine. Despite the mess that was Portsmouth, he still agreed to meet up with me and let me stay at his house. I met his wonderful partner and teenage daughter and we had a lot of fun eating spicy chicken wraps and watching the national lottery show followed by Casualty.

Unlike super slick high octane American dramas, Casualty has an air of dreariness about it, although the storylines do seem more real. There is also a quintessential Britishness about the show which transcends it's tired look. I guess the NHS looks a little tired too on occasions so this fits in perfectly. Sadly it was a three parter so I am going to have to watch the next part on Saturday to see what happens.

It was just as well I didn't go to Portsmouth as my former employer was there and spent most of the day with Paul. Boro won 3-1 in what could be Pompey's last ever game but I still believe I made the right call.

I am heading back to Leeds now, travelling first class on East Coast. It was only £10 extra and I thought the extra legroom, free wifi, free alcohol, free tea and free meal was worth it. If it's only an extra couple of pounds I am more than willing to upgrade, particularly if it's a long journey.

I must also praise London's integrated transport system. Despite the Victoria Line being closed, I could still get a bus to Oval from South-East London and get to King's Cross from there. It only took 45 minutes. Oh for such reliability in West Yorkshire.

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The Gurgling Of The Gravy

Sometimes I think there is nothing better than spending a cold, foul winter's day sat in a traditional English pub and eating a Sunday roast. This is precisely what Draken, Wolfie and I did this afternoon and the food was most delicious, as was the company. Roast beef with all the trimmings was followed by Bramley apple crumble and custard to finish, with two pints of real ale - Silver King to be exact.

The atmosphere was convivial, the pub warming and the bar staff friendly. Even the pub dog was plodding around, sniffing and snuffling at things. I do love our local, it's a brilliant place run by fantastic people and frequented by salt-of-the-earth types. A very happy two hours was spent there, followed by a very happy two hour snooze when I got home afterwards. I'm still full now but it was a glorious afternoon and a superlative way to reacquaint myself with Yorkshire again after two days down south.