The Month So Far...

With the month a few weeks old now, it’s time to fill in the blanks, so to speak.
Back into work after the weekend in Wales, and I caught up with another cousin, Zara, who is currently over here with her boyfriend doing pretty much the same thing I am. That’s right, another cousin. When your grandfather is one of seven children, you do end up with a few cousins here and there... Anyway, it’s the first time we’ve seen each other in about 20 years, so we spent the evening in the austere surrounds of the Counting House discovering just how close our lives have actually been, and that we have probably crossed paths in some of our favourite pubs and bars while both living in Melbourne.

The following weekend saw my housemate Paul and myself meet up with another visiting Aussie (Tom) for the trip up to Wigan for Tottenham v Wigan. Not alot to really talk about for this one. A bit of an adventure finding our way to and from the stadium and train, but it wasn’t much different to last week at West Bromich Albion - COLD! That and funny northerners.

This then puts us into last week, which saw me return to something I haven’t done for a few years - martial training. To be more specific, regular western boxing this time and not Thai boxing like I used to. And damn, have I missed that sort of training!! The smell of the gym, the smell of the leather gloves and mitts, the echoes around the gym, the usual lack of heating...
The head trainer couldn’t be more stereotypical either - aging black guy, portly, greying, and quite a character. Aptly named “Tony” too. He wandered about with advice, pointers and instructions as we all went around the various training drills. He took over the heavy bag from my partner during one of the bag drills, and then stopped me after two punches to quiz me on my previous training. He then put me through my paces to see for himself. Intense, but a big smile afterwards for both of us as he nodded approval before saying that he will improve my timing. I felt a bit bad for my partner, but he was happy for the rest.
One mistake that I did make was a simple one - I trained the way I remember, only I’m not the 21/22 year old that I was when I was last doing this (and about 12kilos heavier!). So I did feel it over the next few days...

Thursday saw another catch up with Zara for lunch as we work only a few blocks apart. This time, it was with her brother, Hadrian, who’s over for a week or two. A great seafood restaurant too, despite being busy and late with the meals. Lunch hours just aren’t long enough, so we decided that dinner on Friday night would be the go.
Zara, Hadrian and myself, along with Zara’s other half, Jarrod, met up for dinner at Fifteen - Jamie Oliver’s restaurant. An interesting place too. Zara and I met up straight after work to walk up to the restaurant and while enjoying a few drinks before the other two turned up - oh, and we certainly enjoyed the amazing smells permeating from the nearby kitchen!!
It certainly is a different sort of set up, but the food was impressive! So, despite not seeing either Jamie himself or any other celebrity, we had a really good night together. Unfortunately, Hadrian’s camera has the group shot in the restaurant, and he’s now in Austria for the week...
Afterwards, Hadrian and I stopped off in a nearby pub for a few drinks and a bit more of a catch up. Talk about relatives crossing paths! We’d not seen each other since we were young kids either, but both of us have connections to Miffland (Rolo’s Airfield) where I skydived, and he was a pilot!

So onto this last weekend, and a quiet Saturday with some bike repairs as well as managing to read nearly all of Stef’s book, I Dream of Magda. Quite interesting when you can pick references to things that have happened in our circle of friend’s past. It does add an extra dimension to the read...
Sunday was Portsmouth at White Hart Lane, but more importantly, it was a chance to catch up with Klinns and Fred before they head back to Perth. I met up with Tom and we headed to the Coach & Horses were we found them. A few drinks with them after the game before heading back to the usual haunt near the ground to catch Husky, Kels, Petter, Helen and Geir for a fun evening. (L-R Tom, Husky, Geir and well, you know who...)

And that brings us back to Monday, which was in fine form by trying to drown me while on the bike this morning...