Day 19, 20 & 21: Quiet weekend

Correction. I must print a retraction for Nadia. Not only is her ex-boyfriend Anglo-Indian but her knowledge and appreciation of fine sub-continent food should not be mistaken for ‘hoovering’. In fact, on Sunday night as she barely ate her pasta I was finishing off other people's meals. Shame.

Friday morning rolled around differently from most. I had left team selection on the Thursday night after only a few drinks so wasn’t feeling too bad. A pleasant trip in to work where I bumped in to someone I had met in Croatia and I was perky for the rest of the day. A busy day had me heads down, bum up until leaving the office at 6.45pm on a Friday night. Going home, there had been no plans laid out for the weekend ahead, so I thought bugger it, I’m going to have a quiet one.

Getting in to bed at 5am on Saturday morning I wondered what happened to that idea.

A few hours sleep and Saturday saw me go to Notting Hill and explore Portobello road. With no other takers – and Leah completely forgetting to call me to tell me where I was supposed to meet her for breakfast – I went alone. There’s something quite satisfying about plugging in your iPod, wandering the streets and then sitting down with the paper for a late breakfast by yourself. Own pace, own plan and own speed.

Later that evening I was due at a party at Artesian Well in Battersea. Luckily my mate, Kiwi Ian, lives next door to the bar I was due at, so I showed up there late in the afternoon to have a few drinks and watch out the window until the line got big, then headed in. Only planning a quiet night due to football the next morning, my self-discipline left me again, resulting in a home time of 7am. With football kicking off at 11am I thought I was going to be in a bit of strife. But all was good – I slept completely through it - no trouble from my end.

Showing up at the ground at 4pm, some 5 hours late, to help with the bar, I was met with all the usual ‘big night?’ comments, but I guarantee nearly everyone there has done it before, and many will do it again, so I didn’t feel too bad. A quick beer at The Alex after the game and it was off to Vino’s in Battersea for some quick pasta.
Not really in the mood to eat – my taste buds tend to disappear between Friday evening and Tuesday afternoon – I had a few drinks before heading home. Quiet Sunday evening as I had to be in a work at 6.30am.

A quiet London weekend really.