Archive for Party
November 21, 2006 at 2:32 pm · Filed under Me, Party
Went to the cinema for the first time last Thursday in ages to see James bond in Casino Royale….
Yes I was sceptical, somewhat confused by the employment of the new 007 actor Daniel Craig but boy was I wrong. The new film is excellent and what I like about the Bond series of late is the way it reinvents itself – still interesting, still carry’s the same theme and yes still grabs and maintains the attention and imagination of bond fans, well at least me. Why do I like this so much though? I think I admire the boldness of a new bond, the twist and the way they portray Bond to be more vulnerable yet never the less invincible.
The biggest difference between Bond of old and Bond of new? Cheesy has been replaced by confidence with style. That’s not a critique but my personal observation.
After going to the cinema Dan, Will, Jon, Sophie and Sophie’s friend went to the pub where we kept drinking to a late hour. How naughty? Especially of a school night but it was worth it.
November 12, 2006 at 3:17 pm · Filed under Me, Party, Feelings & Thoughts
Day off, lot’s of rest and Lemsip and I was able to get back to work feeling ten times better than I did on Wednesday. The day flew past with lots of work to be getting on with as usual but I was determined to leave on time due to needing to catch a train back to St. Leonards.
So I got the train and relaxed. I do enjoy getting the train when the surroundings match me demands which are simple; Be quiet, and have enough room to feel like your not imposed upon. Well anyway the journey was fine and getting off St. Leonards Warrior Square in winter reminded me of when I used to commute from Brighton, it was all very nostalgic and touching especially when I knocked on the door of mums place and the heat just gushed out like it used to when I walked home from school. I think this time of year is excellent except for the fading light but I must admit it all makes up for very cosy evening at home or in the pub. I knew I only had a few minutes, as Emma would be picking me up shortly as her shift finished at seven thirty. Mum and I had a nice chat about things and how life is going. She’s still lost I think but there is part of me that thinks she is somewhat enjoying the increased attention that has arisen from all of this. Nevertheless a few minutes past and Emma was calling my mobile to notify me that she had just pulled up and wondered if she should come in and say hi or we just shoot off. I thought it would be nice for Em to come in and quickly say hi as mum has played a hand in this, for which I am very grateful. In addition I don’t think Emma has seen mum in ages and she has changed quite a bit in terms of appearance. A quick hello and goodbye and Emma and I made our way off to Brighton.
Before you knew it we were at home opening the vodka and putting some tunes on while we were getting ready to go out. I do enjoy getting ready to go out. I don’t know why? I think it maybe that I love getting a shower, playing some tunes, and having drinks before heading on out. The excitement of not knowing what could happen or indeed how it will turn out was a major part of why I did enjoying getting ready to go out. I also know it started when I was at University and peaked in my last year as the whole house used to be buzzing.
Ready but not knowing where to go we grabbed a cab in to town. We needed cash so I decided to hit the Natwest near work and jump in to Suga Qube for a quick one. The barman has always been very nice and helpful so when I came in with Emma it was a great pleasure to see him as he accommodated Emma, who I was obviously trying to impress somewhat. I got my pint but Emma got a one off on the spot made up cocktail designed just for her. It was great! He asked her what she liked and so on and eventually after about three taste samples among his staff included he was finally happy to offer Emma her drink. It was gorgeous! It was really nice but he did say he couldn’t do it again as he didn’t write down what ingredients he used. After a quick drink there, bearing in mind time is getting on, we headed down to the seafront where I thought Emma might enjoy some of the clubs. We ended up in the Honey Club where the music I must admit wasn’t too bad. In fact in the small room towards the north of the club they had The Feeling, Artic Monkeys and someone else that I have forgotten playing. So the majority of the night was spent in there until the last half hour or so we went in to the main arena.
Closing time came and we grabbed our things and shot off to get some grub. We went to this chicken place and then grabbed a taxi home where we both pretty much passed out.
The next day I had booked a day off and Emma wasn’t working so there was no need to hurry anywhere though the shock of waking up in the same clothes you went out in is never nice! That may explain how tired or indeed how much we both had to drink the night before. Anyway after the shameful display of being in our ‘going out’ clothes as it were both of us got changed. Emma got changed in to her nightwear as I got changed in to jeans and top to fetch some breakfast, lunch and goodies. Naturally I cam back with flowers, Indian cuisine, cookies and a load of other junk as today was lay in and watch movies day. It was quite late in the day before we started to watch anything, in fact I think it was in the afternoon so only watching one movie was viable as Emma, sadly, had to leave. Her mother Sally had a bit of bad news this week so therefore, as all children should do, she went to make sure she was alright etc. Anyway the afternoon was great, we watched Cars the movie and generally chilled out which was ideal for me as I was heading out again in the evening.
That was pretty much it, Emma headed off home and I started to get ready, slowly, for my next instalment of fun.
So what’s going on with Emma and I? Well I’m hoping things might work out for us. We have spoken about it and that’s it really. I don’t want to go in to too much detail here, but people who know me and of course Emma pretty much can guess I like her…lots. Just have to wait and see what happens and let the chips fall where they may. Most important thing though is that we both have fun and I can say Thursday and Friday was a good laugh.
November 6, 2006 at 11:17 pm · Filed under Me, Party
After a few hours sleep from Friday night I got in to St. Leonards via a nice train journey. I do like taking the train when I’ve got music to listen to. It’s a coastal journey so you get to see some great views. So, I hit St. Leonards and made my way back to my old flat. I do love that flat. It’s my home, pad, and I have some great memories in there. As soon as Mum opened the door it felt like I had been whisked back in time to when I used to come home from school in the winter. It was a great feeling.
So after some chatting and ironing and some calming words from mum I was ready to go meet Emma. Maybe I’m being too open, but I was still a little nervous about seeing Emma. I mean it has been a little while etc…..
So we finally got there after a having a little bit of trouble finding the place and I got out of the car just about to ring Emma when I looked up and she was looking down. I’ll probably never forget that moment for a number of reasons, which I won’t explain here. So I said my good byes to mum and wondered over to the door where Emma had already opened waiting for me. A quick a hello, a walk up stairs to her flat and a large JD and coke and bang we’ve hit it off giggling and laughing. Em’s has a lovely flat, a really homely, cosy flat that is to die for. The kitchen is large as well as her room and living room. I was pleasantly surprised and could see she really is doing well for herself. We sat on the sofa and discussed how did all came about etc. etc. and had a good laugh about it. Quickly the time flew past and we ordered a taxi to take us to the Old Town for the restaurant I booked earlier in the week. I know, I know I’m organised – not normally I must admit but in the context of things going well, the night had started as well as I could have hoped. Once in the restaurant we got a nice bottle of white wine and starters were served. Well I say starters, I ordered a half a lobster for us to share but Emma didn’t eat any of it as it was too ‘fishy’ for her. Which got me a little confused as she ordered the salmon for mains as I nearly did, but decided to go for the Tuna steak. The meal was excellent, but Emma’s food was better than mine. I stuck to my traditional way of eating in restaurants and that is to try something new when I can, thus the Tuna. Anyway after the meal we headed over the to pub opposite and started on short and mixers. Emma gone these ones in as I paid for the meal which was nice of her. There was nowhere to sit inside so we decided to drink outside which was fine with our coats and scarf’s. It was kind of nice actually. After that we went to the Pump House but as we were just making our way up the stairs I heard my name called. Surprise, surprise someone ‘caught’ me out as such and it was my old pal Chris who I use to catch the trains with before I moved over to Brighton. He was also with his partner Vanessa who I used to work at Debenhams with when I first went out with Emma. We stood and chatted for a while not before ‘V’ said “So…you two starting out again” which was just perfect! A giggle and joke later they went off to the pub down the road as Emma and I made our way to the bar. We stayed for a while until Chris and Vanessa popped in. Emma invited them over to join us and we all had a pretty good catch up. Again, typical, but some how cute sometimes, Vanessa not only knew Emma from yesteryear but Emma also nursed or worked on the ward Vanessa was in when she had to visit hospital. The night was drawing in and Chris and Vanessa offered us to go back to theirs. Not fancying a foursome – joking – we declined and went in to town. We stopped off at The Havelock, which I found out to be Hastings best pub as voted by the people of Hastings. We drank and boogied all night to the cheesy tunes of 60’s, 70’s , 80’s and even 90’s. I had such a laugh it was untrue. I haven’t had a cheesy night in ages. I’m not talking about the pop charts, I’m talking about Hastings cheesy, and more cheese, melt that cheese on top of some more cheese, and then grate some more for safety sake. After the pub little Emma was hungry again so we went to the kebab place where I got her some chicken and we ordered a taxi. While waiting for the taxi though we did some dancing in the kebab shop. With the kebab in one arm and the chips in the other we made our way home and that was the end of the night. It was an excellent night and I haven’t drunk that much for a while.
November 6, 2006 at 11:15 pm · Filed under Me, Party
This weekend was pretty hectic but one of the best I have had in a while. Let’s go traditional and start from the beginning! O.k. Friday started off with a few drinks after work and then I went and got changed to go out. Like Superman getting changed in a telephone box I was out back with the work crew in a snap.
After a few drinks we headed to the Volks for White Rhino. The main reason behind going to this night was a girl at work called Kelly. She’s involved in the organisation of the night and it just wouldn’t be right not to go to support her on what worked out to be a great night. Charlotte, Google, Caroline, and Will were in the first group that went there so I went with them. After that Chris and Doug joined with David coming afterwards with two ladies he managed to pick up at the previous bar we were in.
As usual I popped a couple of moves. The music downstairs offered some R’n’B and Hip Hop action which I hadn’t danced to for a while. Overall the night was a good laugh but it was young still and I was running a little late for the next club Funky Buddha Lounge. So no sooner had I been busting moves in one club I was in another with free entrance! Thanks to John and Mark for sorting me out.
The Funky Buddha was excellent as well with John letting me go in the DJ booth which was so cool. After bopping the night away and carrying on until seven in the morning I made my way back home. As soon as I hit home I crashed as efficient sleeping was needed for later on as I was making my way back to Hastings to see Mum and Emma.
November 1, 2006 at 3:56 pm · Filed under Me, Party
Just a quick update, I’m heading back to Hastings this weekend to see my mum and Emma. Though before I do that there’s a small matter of party time on Friday for Dan and Neil’s birthday. The plans are simple head to a pub and keep going. Though there are a few other things that may crop up that evening as well but nothing concrete. I’ve kept a low profile of late and haven’t hit it hard for ages which is a good thing, especially as next week I’m off for another Friday night out with some friends and then on to all day England Rugby drinking boys day out with the old skool crew. It was a messy affair last time – let’s hope we keep the tradition up. By the way there is a spare ticket going if anyone needs to “buy” a ticket from me.
October 29, 2006 at 12:41 pm · Filed under Me, Party
Yesterday was a good day. I cleaned up my room again as it got it to a little messy but nothing to do with the state of mind thing as mentioned in my previous post. Anyway as usual I left things to the last minute. Well I say that, I always had in mind, well at least for the last few days, what I would wear if I didn’t hire a costume for the party. So, at about two thirty in the afternoon I decided I’d better get a bloody move on. Now there is a couple of things I needed to get. First was a shower, I sweat so much lately. I mean I have always sweated lots, even when I was playing football like there was no tomorrow but for Christ Sake, I know I’m a big guy (no ladies not that way…Doh!) but I’ve never seated so much as I do now. Hmmm…maybe I shouldn’t keep the sweat part in? Anyway where the hell was I? Ah yes needed a shower, then the next thing I needed were a white tie and a black shirt, oh yes and a hat, and a haircut. So that was my mission.
After a quick shower I shot off in to town. David said he was meeting Alex so I gave him a quick bell to see where he was and funnily enough he was at the shop I was planning to go to so I met him there. On the way there though the roads were packed, I mean proper crammed with people. I guess it’s the Halloween party season but for the love of Mary I’ve been to London on a busy day and not felt so cramped. Anyway I met up with David and Alex and I noted they also got braces, which was such a cool idea. After a quick hello I dashed in to the shop and let them get off to pick up a final few things. I bout some white flapper shoe things, I forgot what they were called, a tie and a pair of those cool braces. After that it was a dash to British Home Stores. One black short-sleeved shirt later I was on to my next store, Tie Rack where I bought a white scarf (which I didn’t take to the party after all, so that’s someone’s Christmas present sorted). The piece de la resistance was still at large though; the trilby hat. Luckily when walking home with Claire one time we found a shop on western road that did all types of hats etc. So I popped along there and bought myself one. Finally the costume accessories had been compiled and now only the hair needed to be fixed. I made my way back up to Seven Dials which is quite close to home, where I saw a barber shop not too long ago. A quick job, well done and I was back home ready to have some relax time with some beers I had just bought for David and me.
Alex popped round and after some tunes, beer and another shower for me! We were back on it and in to town to the party. The party was at one in three, or something like that. I never know what it is called. I know it as the Queens Head and that’s it really. Anyway we made it there and what a pleasure it was to see everyone dressed up so fantastically. The ladies looked great and the men looked….handsome? SO let’s carry on. The room was brilliantly decorated with balloons, glittery curtains and thanks to Phil buying the disco ball, that was a nice touch. Some of the funny bits of the evening have to be Mark Raymond’s South American look. I just cracked up when he came up the stairs with Sarah. Then it was Jon with his massive Violin case. After that it was Nils and Abi. If anyone should be a pimp it’s Nils, and Abi, wow what an outfit!
The night continued with a few good laughs, namely Jonny spinning around of a piece of bread (I’m laughing as I write this) or him saying “hello to my little friend” and shooting everyone with the Violin case. I had another dance off again. Why o’ why do I do that? This time it was a little lady who worked behind the bar. I caught her doing some move, after I think she commented on mine. All of a sudden I saw her step up the pace so I cracked on and did some shapes. Afterwards she admitted defeat muuahahahahahaha, I shouldn’t boast but her friend told I that she actually is a professional dancer. I saw her downstairs but I didn’t say anything to her but smiled. She did come over and ask where she could get food, but that’s hardly a great opener is it? Anyway I thought she was very, very, very, cute. Maybe next time I see her I’ll let her win.
That was night over really, I said my goodbyes and walked with Jonny and Cals to RFC (A rip off of KFC). It was a great night and thanks to Phil and Claire for hosting such a fab party! For photos of the night click here (thanks to David Coats for the photos - nice one geezar!)
October 23, 2006 at 12:22 am · Filed under Me, Party, Feelings & Thoughts
The weekend wasn’t too heavy and I’m kind of looking forward to the same chill out this weekend coming though Claire and Phil’s birthday party is on Saturday so it could all change so let’s wait and see.
O.k well this weekend Mark let us round to his again to have a little play around. It was nothing too heavy but some fun nevertheless with beer, mates and music. Jon and Mark provided some quality tunes and djing so thanks to them to. Afterwards some of us moved on to Jon and Dan’s place to finish the night off. Again nothing crazy just was chilling out. It was nice to be inside with friends for once though my Dad kept calling me from Libya asking about all the family mess that has been happening.
Saturday I made the trip to see Mum. In all honesty I should of taken sometime off and went to see her straight away but with work being quite heavy I thought she may be able to manage to the weekend. I think I was wrong, as when I got to see her finally she seemed a little shaky and nervous. I think she is coping as I’ve mentioned before but she needs more morale support. Anyway, we had a lovely evening with my niece Charlotte joining us to stay over as well. My niece is usually a handful because she is too bright for her age. Some people call it cheeky and I would have to agree, but there is something about her that makes me appreciate the way she thinks about things sometimes before talking back. Don’t get me wrong she is only seven and she really shouldn’t answer back but she is way too head strong like her Dad. After the Chinese, some beer and a video we called it a night.
I headed back home this morning on the train quite sad to be leaving my mum. Actually really sad, there is nothing more I want to do than be back at home with her to make sure she gets back to her normal self or at least to a point I feel comfortable with. Luckily Gary will no doubt be able to provide the strong support he provides me from time to time to Mum, but I really want to be there.
Anyway I got back to Brighton and had a super evening with David a.k.a. the wife, talking about loads of stuff primarily football and girls. I’m still feeling a little sad though. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been thinking about Becky, Kelly, Michela or Mum. God that’s a weird combination, just for clarity the first three is are old girlfriends.
I feel a girlfriend / relationship post coming along…hmmm look forward to that one eh?
October 16, 2006 at 10:25 pm · Filed under Me, Party
So carrying on from Friday’s Extreme Monopoly I made my way back to London on Saturday evening. Why? Well Uni Jon had a house warming party running and my other uni mate Gaz was gonna be there to. Like I mentioned in a previous post I had to make the effort. I had to be there as I haven’t seen these guys for ages. So I bloody well did it!
I had a good night and as ever my plain lazy hat was a great ice breaker, especially the ladies. Cat, Emma, Sandy and I’m sure there was someone else I was chatting to or having a go….with the hat. I on the other hand was very good and …THAT’s it Alison, but she didn’t wear the hat actually. Alison was quite a colourful character but didn’t dance much sadly. Anyway where was I, ah yes, Cat and Emma. These ladies were very nice people and were great fun to muck around with. Though I must confess I did lie and say that Gareth was my brother. Not a bad lie I guess but I did forget to tell them it wasn’t true.
Anyway in summary it was a pretty cool night though I did ring up my family in Brighton when I got a little homesick. Bless them that’s twice now I’ve been away and they’ve talked me through my home sickness. Why is Brighton so god damn addictive? It could be that I’m having the time of my life with friends! Which reminds me of two things. The first being Raymondo will hopefully being having a very very very small gathering round his this weekend. I so hope so. I love going round Mum and Dad’s place. They look after you, make you feel good and the music dad plays is awesome. Saying that this gathering will be in aid of a battle between Vinyl and CD, Jon and Mark aka Dad.
Jon has been itching for ages to play and I know he’s been playing and buying a lot of vinly lately so I really can’t wait to see these two go head to head. I will hopefully be taking my iMac round as well to record the sessions, which will be cool. That will add a little bit of pressure I think. The second thing is that I have bought some new decks…CD decks to be precise so I won’t be going out for at least two years or more.
Anyway here’s to next Friday, hopefully it will go through, as it’s early stages yet so no getting comfy with the idea. Until then I’ll be praying for a swift delivery of my decks.
October 16, 2006 at 2:20 pm · Filed under Me, Party
As mentioned before as busy weekend was planned, how much of it I would actually do I did not know, but something I knew that would be good was a team building activity planned for Friday.
Friday started off meeting the boys from work at about nine thirty. From there we started playing Monopoly on the train. I won’t go in to the details of the whole game etc. but while we were on the train we had to answer some difficult questions.
My team consisted of Doug, Chris and Jon. As Jon had done all the prep work for the questions he was unable to help us. However as the rules stated we were able to ask other people on the train. Doug and I did a great job finding some very intelligent and friendly people who were able to answer an extraordinary amount of questions. Though I must admit I think we peaked too early.
The rest of the day involved completing tasks such as answering topical questions and getting people to photo us next to land marks etc. It really was exhausting but exceptionally good fun. I’ve always wanted to go round London like this but doing it with friends was just fantastic.
After a few rounds of Monopoly we stopped and had a pint before the big surprise of being revealed. Little did we know that a private pod on the London Eye had been booked for all of us? I was really pleased as I’ve always wanted to go on the London eye, but to do it in style like we did was amazing.
Before heading off to the London eye we grabbed some food at a pub right on the Thames. I had a nice steak and chips, and the pint went down as well. The setting was great superb.
I headed off with Jonny a little earlier than the others as we needed to book in. Once everyone was in a group and we were all ready we were escorted to the London eye. It was great being able to bypass the cue and have our own pod waiting for us. We also had a little bar man with us that served us champagne. The whole ride was just amazing, the views and the few gags we had were brilliant.
As the old saying goes what goes up must come down and surely enough we did, but what a buzz it was. After the ye some of the guys stayed on in London including me where we visited a few pubs before heading back home to Brighton. However before we got on the train Nilhan showed us a great little bar in Victoria. It’s the Thistle hotel and it was just perfect for a calming down session before hitting the train.
Finally we got back to Brighton and hit one more pub before ending what was an excellent day! Oh yeah…I nearly forgot. We saw JK as well! Celebrity Spotting Kudos foes to Chris.
October 7, 2006 at 4:09 pm · Filed under Me, Party
Yesterday I had the pleasure of actually taking a day off which allowed me to clean up my room a little, though I do need to change my sheets still, and generally relax. The plan for the evening was to go out for a few drinks and keep it as that. Hopefully meet Lois at some stage of the evening. Then it all changed….
Raymondo was ordering a little gathering which basically meant music, beer and a few laughs. House parties of any kind, small or big, are great. You get to meet people and have a great chat. Now if I could remember peoples names that would be super. But checking on my phone this morning I’ve added two people Buffy and Viper. I do remember these guys and hope to meet them again at another party of sorts.
Anyway it was a cool night of dancing and chats and I like to say thanks to Mark (Dad) and Sarah (Mum) for hosting another fantatsic evening.
(Mark - Good luck for football on Sunday)
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