The Bestest Cookie in the Jar

Tuesday, my second day off work, and instead of Bristol I was off to 'sunny' Bournemouth to meet up with my bestie for the first time in about 6 months.

A lovely train ride through the New Forest brought me into the seaside town and there she was waiting for me on the platform. Hasn't changed a bit, maybe just ever so slightly more beautiful :)

We spent the first part of the day walking around the city centre, before stopping for lunch. Sadly this also coincided with the heavens opening so not much else got done this time. Of course we put the world to rights, both my life and hers and then got on to much more important randomness. Palindromes, the dangers of parking a bike in a city centre, drunk couples, measuring the square footage of a carpet, students with hippie hats, you name it, we covered it.

In between lunch and a few farewell drinks, Jackie took me to a Shake-Away. Not sure how wide spread these outlets are, but I had certainly never heard of it before. It's simply a milk-shake vendor but the flavour is anything your heart desires. They have a list of over 160 basic ingredients but they encourage you to mix and match to create your own flavour. Jackie opted for a snowball shake (you know, those mushy coconut things) and I had one made with cola flavoured Wham bars. Behind the counter there were boxes filled to bursting with all the other items they were prepared to stick in a blender for you.

After a frantic search for Jackie's bus-stop we said our goodbyes as she headed home to meet her midwife and I headed back to the train station in the pouring rain.

It's so nice to know she's only a short ride away. I get to see her bump grow month by month and I have my best friend back....

...it was like she'd never been away :)

p.s. Early on we had what my parents describe as a 'der der' moment. One of those times when two people's brainwaves suddenly develop amazing powers of ESP. Jackie said she was going to show me the most amazing thing in the world. Not exactly narrowing it down is she? My first guess...

You don't mean one of those places where you can make you're own teddy bear do you?

It's spooky how telepathic I can be sometimes.