In short, I've been back to the UK for 10 days. Firstly back to Manchester for a day out with my old friend Simon, then straight down to Bournemouth to see Jackie and my little star. Still as cute as ever, and now sporting a lovely ginger mullet. (Emily that is, not Jackie!) It was my first trip to the pier there too, the third I've visited in the past 12 months. Don't know whay I seem to be drawn to piers.
Back up to Manchester, then an early flight over to Shannon to see Tara and her family. It's been over 12 months since I've seen her, so a visit was long overdue. Her girls were so funny. They had been watching the quiz show regularly, trying to spot me, and I was treated to a 'happy penguin' dance when I first arrived. (Think you'll have to watch my 5 minutes of fame if you want a full explanation of that). I left them with a few card tricks to perfect, and I think that earned me a few brownie points. Remind me to learn a few more before I next go over.
When I returned from Shannon I had visitors from the Isle of Man waiting for me. Julie, Jonathan and their daughter Jasmine. There was also Julie's expanding belly too (she's expecting her second sometime in early June). I took Jonathan with Simon and my Dad to Belle Vue greyhound races on the Friday night, while Julie stayed in for a gossip. (no, I didn't make a profit, so don't even ask).
Next night, it was time for kareoke. My impression of The Big Bopper seemed to go down well, and to cap it all I won a tenner in the club draw...
...just a side note here. When I found out I had the winning ticket and I went up to try and 'open the box' I was introduced as 'The big guy from down South'. Probably because he still thought I lived in Southampton. That bit didn't bother me, but why 'Big Guy'? He knew my name was Geoff, but even if he temporarily forgot that, why highlight the fact I'm fat? Everyone in the room can see I am, so why announce it?
..anyway, back on track.
Sunday I said goodbye to the visitors and Dad found time to breakdown on the way back from Birkenhead, but other than that it was just time to relax. A few frames of snooker thrown in for good measure (which I won, 3-1 incidently) and then it was a red-eye flight back to Malta. Right now I'm sat in work, my first shift back after 1o days away from the office.
So there you have it, the explanation of my absence from these pages. Updates should be more frequent now, (hopefully) until my next trip away in late May. Before then I have another visit from my Mum and Dad and at some point I have to work out how to get up to the ceiling in my bathroom because the bulb seems to have gone while I was away. I can imagine that being a blog entry in itself.
Speak to you all soon.
P.S. Part 1. I used the blog title 'Back to Reality' because it's also the title of an episode of Red Dwarf, still my favourite sitcom of all time.
P.S. Part 2. While I was out in Manchester with Simon, we discovered a bar that was a converted
public toilets. Between two streets there were stairs going down under the road, and where the urinals and stalls would have been was now a bar with a jukebox and several tables. I wish this was a wind up, but I kid you not.
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