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So, today was bridge in Leatherhead, of all places - on of the the Regional Finals of the EBU National Pairs. Leatherhead is a bit of an unfortunate place, being as it is a little carbuncle upon the butt of the M25. I had a fun time getting there, I can tell you. Remembering the poor catering facilities of Leatherhead Leisure Centre from the previous year, I decided to stop off at Tesco Brent Park on my way round the North Circular (the plan being North Circ->M4->M25, as suggested by the AA). However, I took the wrong way out of the car park, and ended up going the wrong way round the A406 - back the way I'd came. "Ah, what the hell, it's Sunday - I'll wing it down the Edgware Road, through town, and down the A23," thought I. A marvellous plan, with only one flaw: the A23. I know South London has its fair share of bad roads (more than its fair share, actually, but I'll get on to that on the return trip!) - but the A23 has to be, for the most part, the most piss-poor excuse for a bit of tarmac I've ever had the displeasure to lay rubber on*. Still, by some miracle, I arrived at Leatherhead by noon, having set off two hours earlier, to pick up Dave at the station.
We knocked back the idea of a pub lunch - we'd both over-stuffed ourselves the night before, myself on roast chicken and yorkshire puds and mashed potato, Dave on a Chinese. So we sat in the Leisure Centre café and had a snack - I my Tesco Chicken & Bacon Pasta, which, it turns out, does come with a fork attached, so my mad dash looking for plastic cutlery - I now own a dozen plastic forks! - was wasted; never mind that there was a plentiful supply of them in the café, and Dave had a very sorry-looking prawn sandwich.
Then to the bridge, which sucked, and we zipped off to a local pub where Dave had two pints of Stella, and I had... two bottles of J20. The beer appeared to have the desired effect, as we started the second session a lot better, but then the beer wore off, and it got worse. We didn't finish last, but we didn't do as well as last year either. Next year, I take the train too, and we hit an offy beforehand.
I decided to drop Dave off in Wimbledon, and so began the second Odyssey of the day - navigating my way to somewhere I'd never been before, directed by someone who only knows how to get there by train from where we were. In the end, I should've let my instincts get the better of Dave's insistence on following a string of train stations/bus routes, as the A3 would've lopped about 15 minutes off the journey time. A quick drink in a pub by Wimbledon station, and then off home... this time down the A3, and into the jaws of the infamous Wandsworth One-Way System. It's surely the wrong name - it should be the Wandsworth Two-Way System, as you usually need to go round it twice to work out how to get out of it to your satisfaction. Today was no exception. After escaping it, the rest was straightforward, and so I got home just after 11.
Now for the Tune vs Tune bit, prompted by Ben on Virgin Radio.
He'd just played Take Your Mama by the Scissor Sisters, and proceeded to say "Good, but not as good as what's up next" - Back In The USSR by The Beatles. His opinion maybe, but personally I'm split on it. Both tunes have merit in abundance, both I'd heppily turn the radio up for, both, indeed, are in my music collection. But one better than the other? I couldn't really say.
Can you?
[Poll #698527]
* Except perhaps the so-called "South Collection of High Streets and One-Way Systems Strung Together Circular".
We knocked back the idea of a pub lunch - we'd both over-stuffed ourselves the night before, myself on roast chicken and yorkshire puds and mashed potato, Dave on a Chinese. So we sat in the Leisure Centre café and had a snack - I my Tesco Chicken & Bacon Pasta, which, it turns out, does come with a fork attached, so my mad dash looking for plastic cutlery - I now own a dozen plastic forks! - was wasted; never mind that there was a plentiful supply of them in the café, and Dave had a very sorry-looking prawn sandwich.
Then to the bridge, which sucked, and we zipped off to a local pub where Dave had two pints of Stella, and I had... two bottles of J20. The beer appeared to have the desired effect, as we started the second session a lot better, but then the beer wore off, and it got worse. We didn't finish last, but we didn't do as well as last year either. Next year, I take the train too, and we hit an offy beforehand.
I decided to drop Dave off in Wimbledon, and so began the second Odyssey of the day - navigating my way to somewhere I'd never been before, directed by someone who only knows how to get there by train from where we were. In the end, I should've let my instincts get the better of Dave's insistence on following a string of train stations/bus routes, as the A3 would've lopped about 15 minutes off the journey time. A quick drink in a pub by Wimbledon station, and then off home... this time down the A3, and into the jaws of the infamous Wandsworth One-Way System. It's surely the wrong name - it should be the Wandsworth Two-Way System, as you usually need to go round it twice to work out how to get out of it to your satisfaction. Today was no exception. After escaping it, the rest was straightforward, and so I got home just after 11.
Now for the Tune vs Tune bit, prompted by Ben on Virgin Radio.
He'd just played Take Your Mama by the Scissor Sisters, and proceeded to say "Good, but not as good as what's up next" - Back In The USSR by The Beatles. His opinion maybe, but personally I'm split on it. Both tunes have merit in abundance, both I'd heppily turn the radio up for, both, indeed, are in my music collection. But one better than the other? I couldn't really say.
Can you?
[Poll #698527]
* Except perhaps the so-called "South Collection of High Streets and One-Way Systems Strung Together Circular".
