Ah, the second reunion. Just over 30 of the quiz participants had said they would be making the trip down to Brighton to stay in an old converted Rectory....
...only about a dozen of us turned up.
(I'll start the main part of this blog by stating that the house was gorgeous, and David, the host and his girlfriend did us all proud. Not sure he'll ever read this, but I could thank you both a thousand times for what you did for us, and it still wouldn't be enough.)
Ok, so only 12 or so of us turned up. Did that make it a disaster? Far from it. By having only a small band of people, we all got on so well as a group. Drinking games out in a marquee, barrels of laughter, so many side-splitting comments from everyone. It really felt like we were all part of a family. No one was made to feel isolated, no one was left out in the cold - it couldn't have been more special.
On the Saturday we took a school outing to Brighton and spent the afternoon on and around the pier. The sun was scorching, so once again I ended up with a face that matched the toffee apples. When we finally dragged ourselves away and headed home, we had a few more quizzers in tow, and it was back to the marquee for nibbles, drinks and more merriment.
On the Sunday, I got a lift to the station, but I couldn't face going home straight away, so I caught the train from the local station to Brighton and walked back to the pier - alone. I stayed there for several hours. Had a drink in one of the bars to shelter for the rain and even sang Kareoke (They wouldn't let me sing Living Next Door to Alice because the doors were open and the audience might swear too loudly, so I sang Chantilly Lace instead).
When I finally got back to the station I managed to catch my train by the skin of my teeth, but when it came to changing at Fratton (an area of Portsmouth) I missed my connection by seconds. I managed to touch it as it pulled slowly away from the platform. One hour to wait for the next one, so I decided to see what delights Fratton has to offer a single man on a Sunday night....
...nothing. It's a dump. Please make every effort you can to avoid this area.
p.s. Colin and Sarah (from Reunion Part I) didn't make it to this meeting. 24 hours after I left them I got a phone call from Sarah saying they had split up! I wish to point out that this had nothing whatsoever to do with my visit...
..I hope.
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