h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Being something of a , I like to try and make the most of my Bank Holiday. But it's been kind of odd so far.

Went out clubbing on Friday night, but it was kind of strange. Ended up at this sort of electronic night in Old Street. Not really my scene, but I was encouraged to. But not brilliant all-in, the ratio of girls to blokes was about 20/80. So I was there with my gay mate and his NFG workmates, and being on the pull wasn't really a go-er for me - I was basically surrounded by wall-to-wall blokes. Either gay blokes who naturally weren't my thing, or straight blokes who were just competition for the few girls that were there. And the music wasn't really my thing so it wasn't a great night on the whole, except there was a brilliant moment when they played Blue Monday by New Order. But apart from that I spent the last hour or so just wanting to get away. And then we spent a couple of hours in the park in Finsbury Circus in the City, having climbed the gates to get in, to chill out until the tubes started running. Which was nice.

So then not nearly enough sleep and it was off to see Argyle away at Watford, and we took the lead early and then went to sleep in defence and let in three silly goals and that was that. Then across to South London for my mate's 28th birthday, I'd made him a couple of compilation CDs that he really seemed to love and it was great to see my old University mates again. So we stayed in Balham until closing time and then a couple of us felt like trying a club we'd read about again in the Old Street area, but then when we got there we didn't fancy it and spent an hour and a half waiting for a night bus home and stayed up talking rubbish until the sun came up.

Today was a kind of chilling out day, got up late, watched the Olympics and then went to Islington to see a friend of mine tinkle the ivories in a kind of Richard Vranch on the piano capacity in a comedy improv night which was great fun, and stayed in the pub until we were asked to leave. Then we came back (and walked through Finsbury Park in the dark, which was kind of interesting) and have just watched the first half of Quadrophenia.

I have concluded two things. Firstly, I want a Vespa. And thanks to having sold my flat, I have the money to do buy one and I'm going to do it! Secondly, for those of you that have seen the film, I've realised that the girl I like right now is quite possibly Steph to my Jimmy. And therefore I must watch myself accordingly. Although unlike Jimmy, I am definitely a better option than the guy she's currently seeing, so there's hope...

Anyway, we'll have to see what tomorrow brings. I'm possibly going to the Notting Hill Carnival, although it kind of depends on who's going, so we'll see.

By the way, the subtext to all this is that my confidence of late is a lot higher than it has been since I split with the former Mrs #6, and I'm kind of at the stage now where I'm experimenting with it to see where it takes me...

Although nowhere so far!

good news in all, then.

Enjoy the carnival if you go!

(I will be decorating...oh joy)

Jules

I remember when I could get through a weekend with that little sleep.

No more

I used to be able to do that sort of thing too, although I usually needed a little... help

Well I still seem to be able to do it

Well, I did have a bit of help

Didn't get up to much yesterday. Went for a run up the old railway line to Highgate Woods with my housemates, which nearly killed me as one of them runs 10k races every now and then and I'm only just starting exercising since ing up my neck last month.

But the weather was pretty rubbish, and I reckon I've had my money's worth out of the weekend.

How about youse guys, particularly the mysteriously Mr Desk.

Let's see.

Friday evening: tidied the house; drove to our mobile home in Wexford (2.5 hour drive); had veggie burger and chips.

Saturday: slept late; went down to beach where we swam, explored the rock pools, catching sand gobies, shrimps and crabs; tried to fly a two-string steerable kite but there wasn't enough wind; drove into Wexford town and had delicious lunch of panini and a glass of wine in an Italian restaurant; spend some time in the bookshop, buying book on Genetics; back to mobile; finished installation of roller blind on window; constructed a barbecue that I had bought the previous week; barbecued chicken and veggie burgers along with boiled new potatoes and a bottle of New Zealand Riesling.

Sunday: Lazy morning doing nothing much; down to beach - tide was full out, so spent a lot of time catching things in the rock pools, watching gannets and playing the ocarina; late lunch; packed up and left Wexford; Spanish Omelette for dinner.

Monday: Normal working day here in Ireland.

Apart from the Monday, it sounds idyllic

On Saturday, my parents came up to see me, we had lunch in a restaurant in a cliff, bought loads of dseafood for dinner, and went shopping for my (slightly) early birthday present. Then they went off again, taking some of my stuff with them as I begin something of an effort to move back to Warrington from Sunderland.

Finnsbury Park seems to be something of a central feature to your weekend, Six. I can do it as well, *without* help. In fact, I did it.

S'funny - over the course of about 10 years I lived in Stoke Newington, Wood Green, and Clapton, and in all that time I only set foot in Finsbury Park three times - and two of those were for the Nov. 5th firework display

No bank holiday in America last weekend, but next Monday is Labor Day... I'll never get used to writing 'Labor' with a 'u' . So it was a regular weekend for me - working Friday, Saturday and Sunday, although Mrs Gosho and I used up a couple of free passes and went to the flicks on Sunday evening to see a documentary about the 2002 elections in Texas - not as making as you might think

And Monday was my regular day off - I did pretty much bugger all

Ah, well, Finsbury Park and Finsbury Circus are very different beasts.

The actual geographical district of Finsbury is a considerable distance away from Finsbury Park.

Finsbury the district is just north of The City, between Moorgate and Old Street - it's named in the A to Z but as it doesn't have a tube station named after it not a lot of people know that, as Sir Maurice Micklewhite would put it. Finsbury Circus is an oasis amongst all the suits and skyscrapers round the side of Liverpool Street station. It's like a square of three or four-storey high Regency terraces (they may be Georgian, I'm no expert) except it's oval-shaped, hence the Circus bit, with a very manicured garden in the middle that also contains a bowls club and a bandstand.

Quintessentially English, I'm sure you'll agree, and the type of thing that can only exist these days because it's looked after by the super-rich Corporation of London and it's locked soon after office hours to keep the plebs out. Except for resourceful refugees from a night out in Hoxditch, like ourselves, who know it's there and don't mind shinning up the gates.

Finsbury Park is merely a large and rather shabby public space to the north of Highbury, with a running track, an unreconstructed sixties caff and a slightly moth-eaten duck pond in the middle of it.

I don't know why Finsbury Park came to be given the name 'Finsbury' as it's so far from Finsbury, and a spot of internet research a couple of years ago came to nothing. If anyone *does* know why, please enlighten me!

Being a Gooner I've been to Finsbury Park plenty of times, but always in broad daylight - never have time to do much wandering around before evening matches...

The Bank Holiday was a bit dull for me - I won't bore you with the details. Still, the Olympics were entertaining

If life were a film, Six would probably be the hero and get the girl, but with real life, it's different...

One of my favourite Italian phrases that I learned was one they use to describe a wonderful or impressive experience - "É comé in un film" - which as I'm sure you can work out, means "It was like being in the movies".

Hopefully my life will be 'comé in un film' soon If not in this situation, then in the next one that is bound to follow. It certainly seems more likely than at any point than in the last few years.

"É comé in un film"

Surely that's French for 'Money Shot'

B

I was at work Saturday and Sunday 07:30 - 19:30 both days, but went to see DodgeBall Sunday evening - guess this places me nicely in the 'taste' column.

Monday was mainly paperwork and shopping, until the trip to see CCFC play West Ham, with a 19:45 kickoff. <WHY ?) Then into work for 23:00.

Only in that x-rated episode of 'Allo 'Allo that you've got, B

And it does seem daft having a Bank Holiday Monday games in the evening.

Hoxditch - is that what they're calling it these days Now that's an area I know particularly well - Hoxton Square, Hoxton Street, Pitfield Street, The Bricklayer's Arms Is The Bass Clef still going? How about Parry's toolshop on Old Street right at the top end of... what's the name of that street? Curtain Road.

I've only started going out round there this month, it's somewhere I've avoided hitherto as it's a bit over-trendy, although it's not bad if you're careful about where you go. It was brilliantly parodied in a one-off Channel 4 comedy called Shoreditch T***.

Although I *was* in the Bricklayers Arms before the club the week before last and amogst the more expected stuff they were churning out some cracking soul sounds in there - a bit of Motown, and the odd bit of Northern.

I'll keep an eye out for the Bass Clef and the toolshop.