trains

I went home on Friday night as it was my Dad's 65th birthday on the Saturday. I finished work and tubed it up to catch a train from Euston up to Birmingham. I bought myself a saver return from the automatic ticket machine and just managed to make the 5.40 train. As i sat there perspiring freely the train started to pull away and the "train manager" carried out his managerial duties by announcing that saver tickets would not be valid on that particular train as it was peak time. I thought £40 for a return to Droitwich was a little expensive and being made to pay extra was taking the piss but it couldn't be more than an extra £20 or so, could it? But no, if you buy an invalid ticket on a Virgin train, you don't get to upgrade your ticket, you get to buy a brand new one - for £60. Fuckers. £100 to get to Droitwich. It was made even more galling by the fact that my journey the next day from Droitwich to Bath, again bought just before travelling, was £13.90. I intend to write a letter and complain, but i do intend to do a lot of things that don't get done...

My Dad's birthday was enjoyable (cooked him a good lunch and went to the pub with family) and then I headed down to Bath for the evening (My Dad was going out for a swanky meal with my step-mother so I didn't abandon him on his 65th birthday in case you are wondering) to claim the winnings from a couple of bets with my friend. Firstly, a drink bet. He bought my first 3 drinks and his own first 3 drinks and I got to choose what he had for his first 3 drinks. Ginger spirit and pineapple juice, half a guiness with a shot or archers and baileys with a dash of lime... mmmmm. And he had to grow a beard, which I could then make him shave in the style of my choosing, which he had to wear on a night out and couldn't tell people it was because he lost a bet. I managed to walk the fine line of getting him to look stupid but at the same time not so stupid that he had obviously lost a bet. He got a lot of looks and comments and it was a very enjoyable evening all round, although the hangover the next day was particularly unpleasant.

And my friends found 3 4 leaf clovers. I have never seen even one before, apart from the ones I faked making as a child obviously...