I can’t hang around here all day I’ve got somewhere to go. You know, friends to see, places to go, fat to chew and all of that. Busy, busy, busy.

I’m on my way to “the smoke” to spend an evening in the good company of a group of pbase friends. In fact, it’s a special occasion – it’s Rose’s special birthday – a big, shiny, exciting birthday. We’re all planning to help her to make sure it goes with a bang.

Hindsight tells me that we did a fair old job of making her day……well, if not, she’s a good actress because she seemed to enjoy it. Several root beers were quaffed. Lots and lots of fizzy stuff got sunk. Buckets of red stuff too. Oh and in the middle of the alcohol, we actually managed a fairly fab meal too.

For the first time since we’ve been having the pbase dining club, we didn’t all have to rush off for trains. We were all (except poor Gail and Jeremy who had to suffer the night bus) staying in London, at a hotel chosen by the fair Rose. My good time was only hampered by remembering (the morning after the night before) that my parting shot to the rest of the group was to swipe all of their drinks off the table and onto the floor with my handbag as I lifted its mighty weight to go to bed. On that subject, I had forgotten just how cumbersome a handbag with a 10d, my purse, a paperback book and my specs was. I felt like I’d been carting around a sack of spuds by the end of the day.

It was really great to be able to come to London and just do “nice things”. I must do it more often…….