This was much of a non-event. The evening’s festivities began with a trip to Nandos. A place I fully intend to visit a lot throughout 2010, after learning that as an NHS employee, I receive a 20% discount.
After chicken, we went to The Dolphin. I was there for NYE 2 years ago and the pub was heaving. This time around, it couldn’t have been any more different. There can’t have been more than 15 people in the whole pub. We only realised it was midnight when a small cheer came from the other side of the bar and a few pathetic fireworks were noticed out the window. Needless to say, I went home shortly after midnight.
The party didn’t go as the pub planned
I hosted John at ‘Château de Sean’ as having consumed alcohol in the most boring New Years Eve ever, was unable to drive back to Wells. In the morning we went to McDonalds for breakfast. As we arrived at the 10.30am breakfast deadline, we were lucky enough to be given the choice between burgers or brekkie. Unlike John and fellow diners, I went for a burger. By my reckoning, this makes me the first person to have a Double Cheeseburger in 2010 – at least in the Twerton branch of the restaurant.
My cheeseburger wasn’t quite as well presented as this
The trip to McDonalds didn’t go as well for everyone. One customer, a bloke who sounded like one of the Gallagher brothers, appeared rather upset when he was told the breakfast menu had stopped. The thought of missing out on an Egg McMuffin obviously caused the poor chap great distress, as he felt the need to shout and abuse the McDonalds staff. I believe he got his breakfast in the end – probably with added saliva and armpit hair, courtesy of the chef. Couldn’t happen to a nicer person.
The final week of my Christmas/New Year break has been a rather uneventful one.
With no football, thanks to the weather, I spent my Monday in the company of Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling. I made the afternoon interesting by placing a huge £2.00 (yes, 200 pence) bet on a massive accumulator, which if correct, would have seen me win almost £2,000. Alas my gamble did not come into fruition and I was left two quid out of pocket (slightly untrue though, as I ensured I won £2 by betting on Leeds to win earlier in the day). With all this money wasted on stupid bets, I am starting to worry if I have a gambling problem!
I have spent quite some time this week playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. As I have mentioned in the past, I don’t play lots of video games. In fact hardcore gamers like Dan believe I devote all my gaming time to the likes of Fifa. Partly true, although along with Grand Theft Auto, COD is one title I will play all the way through.
Like its predecessor, COD4, from 2 years ago, this is a fantastic war simulator that takes you on a real adventure. Anyone who has seen that show on Sky One with Grant Mitchell in Afghanistan, will notice many similarities in the video game (although there is no fat bald bloke). It is all very scary stuff, although not as frightening as the episode where Grant went to meet those gangs in Liverpool – they were some mean scouse chavs, who wouldn’t think twice about nicking your car stereo or happy slapping you. The episode where he hit Peggy was nasty too. Anyway, I digress…
Not in COD
When not shooting people, I have been working my way through the Benidorm DVD boxset. Somehow I have totally missed the popular ITV sitcom and only discovered it after buying it for my sister as a Christmas present and watching it with her. It is a brilliantly funny comedy and I had no second thoughts in buying myself a copy. However, I am starting to wonder if watching over 9 hours of it in less than 3 days was too much.
This New Years Eve, I should be going out. The plan is to try and get a table in Nandos, with John, before meeting Simon in the Dolphin later in the evening – hopefully before they start charging drinkers to get in!
Yesterday, Simon, John and I tried again with our trip to Sheppy’s Farm in Taunton; a journey we originally attempted to make in May, but due to getting held up for almost 4 hours in a traffic jam on the M5, were unable to make. There were no holdups this time and the trip to south Somerset was a success.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a donkey, some sheep and chickens. Hungry after the drive, we were tempted to start a barbecue and dine upon with lamb chops, drumsticks and whatever edible parts of a donkey we could salvage. With a shotgun equipped farmer no doubt watching from the bushes, we thought it best not to slaughter the animals, but go to the cafe for coffee and cake.
After the cafe, we took a tour of the farm and cider museum, learning all about how cider gets from the trees in the orchard to the chavs on the street corners. I was a little surprised to hear that some of the more popular brands of cider sold at the farm are said to be enjoyed by “all the family” and “at any time of the day”. I hardly think giving your children a pint of scrumpy with their Ready-brek constitutes good parenting, but if the old farmer says so…
The museum also allowed us to look at various farming equipment. As you can see, both Simon and me behaved ourselves and acted like responsible adults around the dangerous equipment and heavy machinery. For legal reasons, I would like to stress, despite being on a cider farm, we hadn’t been drinking the produce, so were always in control… kind of.
Then, after a visit to the farm shop, we made our way home. However, somehow on the way back, we found ourselves at Longwell Green. As we were there, we thought it would be rude to at least not pop into Nandos for some PeriPeri chicken.
A good day out, albeit 3 months later than originally planned.
Last night I went to Longwell Green in Brizzle.
First of all we went to Nandos. I haven’t been in ages and I have missed the PeriPeri chicken, so it was nice to go back. It was my first visit to the Longwell Green branch, but despite having a really cool hand dryer, I prefer the Bath restaurant.
After eating chicken, we went to the cinema. We had 3 films to choose from – Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express and RocknRolla. We decided to see the latter; mainly because it was just about to start and it had been out for a few weeks, therefore making it less likely to attract chavs who would talk and play with their mobile phones throughout the whole film.
I thought RocknRolla was one of Guy Ritchie’s better films. Not as good as Lock, Stock, but far better than Revolver. The plot was similar to LS in the the way it featured various ‘dodgy geezers’ all on separate missions and mostly unknown to each other. By coincidence they cross each others paths and blood is shed. A good film with a lot of "ouch" moments.
It has been FREEZING this weekend. Despite being wrapped up like an Eskimo, I nearly died of hyperthermia while watching Bath City lose 3-0 away in Newport yesterday; and no amounts of hot coffee and cheesy chips were able to warm the cold blood pumping through my veins.
Bath wasn’t much warmer than Wales, so when I got home, I met Simon and Watkins for visit to Nandos. We hadn’t been in ages, so it was a welcome return. It doesn’t matter if it’s a hot summers day or a Arctic winters night; PeriPeri chicken is still delicious.
While we ate, we were entertained by a group of people who had become trapped in a nearby lift. A crowd had gathered to watch firemen abseiling up and down the shaft to rescue the people presumed trapped in the bowels of the complex. Occasionally we would hear screams from beneath. I don’t think those people will use a lift again in a hurry…
About Me
So you stumbled across my blog. No doubt after searching for something bizarre on Google. Before you hit that 'Back Button', why not stay and have a read for a few minutes?
If you are after a website which gives advice on how to hack an iPhone X, download the latest Steven Seagal movie, or view nudy ladies, you've come to the wrong place and may now press 'Back'.
However, if you would like a lifestyle blog, written by a 30-something chap, living in Bath (England), feast your eyes on this.
You won't discover how to copy PlayStation 4 games. What you will find is a blog, covering life in the West Country, the highs and lows of supporting two unsuccessful football teams, while sharing a house with a wife and rabbit.
All written by a man, somewhere on the sanity-scale between normal and eccentric.
