Thursday, May 31, 2001

How on earth do you follow that kind of weekend (see below)? Well, caught up with Nick as I arrived home who was back from the Tavern. Texted Tony in Oz as it was his birthday. Ended up messing around on the net until almost 3am - why?

Slept until about 9am and phoned Tony, but he was out at his birthday drinks. Vegged for most of the morning, and then spoke to a few people - Brett (who'll be here on Thursday!!), David O, Darryl etc. Met Darryl in Clapham and we lay in the sun on the Common. Perfect. Coffee and cake and then into town for little Davie. Met Gill at Capital and then had beers in the Lamb and Flag followed by Pizza Express. Marvellous. Home, veg. Phone calls. Bed after midnight.

Today was relaxed. Lovely day, but didn't leave the house through the day. Caught up with Andy and also, as described (now) much further down, did chores and so on. Gymmed tonight and came home and had the hugest salad and glass of wine. Feel very mellow. Time for bed, said Zebedee.
Well I'm on a roll so I might as well get right up to date.

LOST WEEKEND #2 (in a farmhouse in Ripponden...)

Was meant to be up in time to go to the gym. After the few beers from last night I decided this wasn't wise. Good move. Got myself organised and ended up in Soho at the Edge to meet everyone at 1pm for the minibus trip up north. The gang eventually all turned up - Stevie P, Richard, Suzie, Craig Wa, Craig Wr, Bruce, Billy, Javier and my good self. Thus by 2pm we were on our merry way. We stopped for scran and so on, and finally arrived at the infamous Misty Moor at about 6.45pm. Many an introduction and then people started getting ready. We'd very kindly been invited to a house-warming party by some people we didn't know, and we got there at 9pm. Not before I'd spotted a very nice man by the name of Andy. The party was fun - nice place, nice people - and slowly we began to be more a part of the crowd. Guest list to Essential had been organised, and so we had to be there by 11.30pm, so we made a move at 10.30pm. I was sad to hear that the lovely Andy wouldn't be joining us, though would be back at Misty later.

So, minibus ho to Manchester. Arrived at the club and met up with more people - Jonnie B for one. The club was fun - friendly, nicely laid out - I had been once last year but had forgotten! The locals didn't think too much of the music, but most of our crew thought it OK. There was a tragic PA - Sweet Pussy Pauline - guest vocalist on the Candy Girls tracks from 1996(?), and she was a shocker. Things picked up after that - they managed to get everyone back dancing again by playing Revolution by Rich B - a tune that Darryl had heard the previous week and been banging on about. Great track. We danced until just after 3am when we thought we should head back to Misty. We were there, showered and changed with drink in hand to let the minkering commence around 4am. And did it commence. Boy oh boy oh boy!

I don't think I've ever been anywhere quite like it. Paul and Alan (our gracious, lovely hosts) have converted an old farmhouse into a great house - and a great party venue. Enough room for dancing, quiet areas, balconied areas, mantle halfway up the fireplace to dance on, disco lights, club style sound system - fantastic. Must have been around 70 people there. It just went off. Completely mad. It beggars description unless you were there really. I think the music was only really turned off properly at 4.30am Monday morning. Ay caramba. Never seen a crowd so up for a good time. Met loads of fantastic people. Best news of all though was that Andy was there as anticipated and he turned out to be the most lovely guy. We spent most of the weekend together and it was a lot of fun. I finally slept for the first time about an hour before the music went off, and woke at 9.45am Monday morning.

The place at that stage looked like carnage. We were meant to be heading home by midday. However, once people had coffee and toast and kind of came round, it only took Revolution to be back on the stereo (about 8 times in succession) and it kicked off again. We were then leaving at 2pm. Then 3pm. Then 4pm. Then 6pm. We left at 6.20pm having had the most fantastic time. Andy is a very lovely man indeed. He'd gone home and returned and it was nice to catch up with him again before I left. Everyone was very sad to leave, and the minibus trip home was much more subdued. Eventually home by midnight. Thanks to Stevie P for organising it, Paul and Alan for hosting it, everyone else for being such good fun and to Andy, just for being so lovely. Sigh. I'd heard so much about the Misty Moor parties from Paul who we met in the Canaries and it was my first (and last) one. I'm so, so glad I didn't miss out. Next stage? Misty Moor International - the web cam link to Sydney for the first two centre party experience!!
We're up to just over a week ago now - I will get there and then I can start and write witty and erudite things instead of just 'I did this, I did that'. Until then, tough!
Last week then.
Monday: Not really in a fit state to do much at all, but mysteriously (well to me on Monday anyway!) I'd arranged a gym reassessment. Down there at 5pm, and I left sometime near 7pm a shaking wreck! Most weights hiked up by quite a lot, and a couple more exercises to build up arms and chest. All I need to do now is continue to go!!
Tuesday: A glorious day. Ended up having the most fantastic picnic in Regent's Park with Sarah, who has now also left Chrysalis. Thank you Sezza! Wine and lovely snacky things, and a lovely view of the elephants. No, really. Back after treating ourselves to a McFlurry™. Down to the pop quiz, though I arrived late as I was feeling a bit miserable as the flat had been delayed again. Joy.
Wednesday: Can't remember doing a great deal. Think I ended pottering around town and then hitting the gym. Good boy!
Thursday: Nice day. Lots of social activity. Met Danny for an impromptu lunch/cruise in Soho Square, then just wandered around until meeting Darryl at Costa Coffee at 3pm. Finally headed home and showered and changed, and met Garry (future Oz flatmate) in the Admiral Duncan to say a quick goodbye. This was coz I was due at Butler's Wharf to meet Andy and Sue for our bimonthly meal. It was very nice (if a touch pricey) - Tentazioni - and it was great to catch up with Andy and Sue. Home from there.
Friday: Up EARLY. We're talking 6.45am. This was to prepare for a phone interview from Oz - there were a couple of people I needed information from, and as it turned out, they were well worth talking to! The interview lasted an hour, and I'm very hopeful. Fingers crossed. Have a second interview sometime next week. Yippee!! Was meant to go to the gym in the afternoon, but frankly I couldn't be arsed. Opted for the 'doing bugger all. meet mates in the pub later' option. David P, Little Andrew, Chatty Paul and Danny joined me at the Yard and then on to Barcode. Left in time for the tube as needed to be up early for the trip up north.
Cast your mind back almost two weeks... that's actually the last time I blogged properly. Here's a quick rundown of some of the things that have been going on, and list of stuff I'll catch up with very, very soon.
LOST WEEKEND #1 (but not in a hotel in Amsterdam...)
Fri 18th: Rob and Wayne for dinner. For those Delia types amongst you, you'll be pleased to see that the menu consisted of: homemade smoked mackerel pâté with melba toast; chicken roasted with mushrooms and onions, crushed new potatoes with black olives and truffle oil, cumin and lemon carrots, roasted beetroot with balsamic vinegar and mangetout; lemon meringue roulade with raspberry sauce. We drank copious amounts of wine and coffee and you can see that Wayne's been at it with his digital camera again. It was nice to see the boys in a normal environment instead of minkered at the Tavern!
Saturday 19th: Closer to Heaven - the Pet Shop Boys musical. Everyone's reviewed it already - that's what happens when you get behind with your blogging. See what David, Jonathan and Ian thought. I enjoyed it actually. Thought the music worked well, and yes, although the ending was a bit of a cop-out, when was the last time a musical tried to change the world?
On to Hope at George IV in Brixton (via Barcode where I hooked up with Danny and Brad, Dave and Ric and so on). We got there just after half past 12 and it was already 1 in 1 out!! It's proving more popular each time it's on. Still the door staff were great in letting everyone sit around having given queueing tickets like at Sainsbury's, and they were also up for letting one person from each group in to buy beer. We got in before that eventuality however and had a great night. Very hot, but everyone was there so fabulous time had. So much so that we ended up in Trade, where I knew Nick and crowd would be. I danced for about 5 hours non-stop. Mad.
Sunday 20th: Home at 11.30am ish and managed to sit and chat to Nick until Tavern time. Think that was maybe why I didn't enjoy it that much. I was knackered! We sat out a bit, which was good, but when it got going it was just too busy. Managed briefly to hook up with Alan who was in from New York, but by about 10.30pm I was over it and so went home. To bed.
So, today was meant to be a day of numerous phone calls and sorting out many things. Well, the latter part is true at least - since getting up I've spent my time sending emails, text messages, cleaned and tidied, done loads of laundry, sorted through shitloads of paperwork and drunk a gallon of coffee. I'm meant to be going to the gay Blogmeet tonight, but I think I may have to bin it in favour of the gym - am feeling guilty about not going at the end of last week, and haven't been this week yet. We'll see how I get on with the last of the chores. Not working is such domestic bliss!

Wednesday, May 30, 2001

Blogger was playing silly bloggers last night and so posted the same thing twice. I've changed it to this now so at least it says something different!
Oh, and they won the quiz again without me. Great. Only thing for it is to leave the country. Can't bloody do it fast enough!!
Yes I know. 100 years behind. Updates now to include last week's out-and-aboutness, and the most fantastic weekend at Misty Moor. All I'd been led to believe was true. Only more so. The most lovely people. Full report on your desk(top) by 9am (yeah right).

Saturday, May 26, 2001

OK, so it's back. But I'm not. Off ooooop north for the Bank Holiday shenanigans Manchesterford stylieeee. Later kiddoes...
Rumours are that Blogger's back after its outage. Going to publish this to see what happens...

Wednesday, May 23, 2001

OK. I didn't blog. So shoot me already. I can't tell if Blogger's up or down right now - this editing bit seems OK, but the pages won't load. I'll try again a bit later after lunch.

Monday, May 21, 2001

Check back later for full blog update. Things to anticipate and bate your breath...
Weekend update, including:
Meal here with Rob and Wayne
Review of Closer to Heaven - musical collaboration betwixt Jonathan Harvey and the Pet Shop Boys
Hope/Trade - a typical Saturday night/Sunday morning?
The Tavern - why wasn't it fun this week?
Some overdue CD reviews: Ladytron, The Avalanches, Geri Halliwell (just to irritate David).

Friday, May 18, 2001

Right. Time to get on with stuff. More later if you're lucky. Got gym to go to; Tesco's to shop at; dinner to prepare; phone calls to make about things from 'What's happening with my house?' to 'Where's the lime green rubber radio I ordered before Christmas, lastminute.com?'.
Went to see The Broken Hearts Club last night. David has already reviewed it here. I have to agree with a lot of David's sentiments - the film does have a made-for-TV movie feel; and his comparison to Dawson's Creek becomes more apposite when you realise it's from the same director. We also went as a group of roughly eight people and it is a nice way to see it. There were a few laugh out loud bits (which for me and American comedy is unusual) and I guess a lot of stuff for gay men to identify with. They wonder what a film about themselves would be like. Now there's a question. What would a film about me and my mates come across like? (Incidentally QX gives this film 9/10 - that reviewer needs to get out more!!)

Thursday, May 17, 2001

Was also very sorry to hear about Rob's redundancy yesterday. Hang in there mate - and I'll buy you a consolation beer in Barcode tonight before the piccies.
Hold on to your hats. Yes, I am actually blogging two days in succession! Remarkable.

After yesterday's afternoon of sorting out, I made my triumphant return to the gym. First time in over 3 weeks due to the cold/flu-ey thing. Wasn't too bad, though I was really knackered by the end. Going again in a few minutes, so see how I feel after that. Nick and I had a chicken noodle thing and vegged a while. I caught Episode 3 of Residents on BBC2. Kind of black humour, lots of stereotypes and acting that's a bit OTT, but somehow still entertaining. I'll persevere as there seem to be some plot strands out there that could be tied up in amusing ways.

My solicitor called this morning returning my call from yesterday. Apparently there's some clause in my mortgage contract forbidding him to talk to me for a few days so I can read and digest or something. Great. I just want to get on with things! Anyhoo - he also rather nonchalantly dropped into the conversation the letter about the fixtures and fittings/search etc. Which letter said I? The one I sent on May 10th said he. Bollocks. Just what you need when trying to expedite processes like this - Royal Mail skullduggery. Another one's on the way. That'll just delay things a bit more then. Thanks.

Today's been spent doing that, a bit of surfing, a bit of blogging and eating nice things like melon, crumpets, yoghurts and bananas. I feel so much better than I did last week and so am aiming to continue the healthy eating and gym thing until I leave.

Wednesday, May 16, 2001

There are times when you wonder about your friends. If they're your friends that is. I have Wayne to thank for lots of people last night at the quiz doing an impression of me - eyes wide, hands out in front of me. Let me explain. Wayne decided to take his digital camera down to the Tavern on Sunday. Lots of pics taken early on before people got too trashy, and then the camera was put away. I arrived late though (back from Brighton) and so Wayne wanted some pics. The camera was taken out of the coatcheck at the end of the night, by which time I was more than a little worse for wear. Hence, if you've ever wanted to know what the true definition of minkered is, then follow this up and coming link. Be warned - people of a nervous disposition and any future boyfriends should think very carefully about going here. Thanks Wayne. You're a star. Oh, and don't be at all nervous about coming over here for dinner on Friday... (evil laugh!).
Great. First big posting for ages, and it's posted and not published. This is to try and force it up (if you know what I mean!).
I left you seemingly months ago. Actually it's been just over two weeks since the last proper update, and I do feel bad about that. To finish off the last big weekend's entry, I went to both the Tavern and the LA3 on Sunday 29th April. Fun, fun, fun. Spent the next couple of days up north with my Dad - great weather, and so we hit Whitby for the Tuesday. Really nice. Good to spend some time with Dad, and we did stuff like eating fish, chips, mushy peas, white bread and butter and cups of tea. Fantastic. Came back on the Wednesday and felt very rough, hence the subsequent blog about going to the doctors.

Was meant to be calmer that next weekend - the Bank Holiday one, so that I could let my body recuperate. Hmmm. Best laid plans and all that. I can't even remember what I got up to, but I know it ended up being much bigger than I'd intended. DTPM and the Tavern were in there somewhere, and I know DTPM was fantastic. I did miss the Tavern on the Monday, and went for dinner with Katrina and Jo - really nice to see them. Had dinner with sister Sue and niece Julia on the Tuesday - also good, and then was back up north for another swift visit on the Wednesday. Saw all Dad's side of the family for the last time before Oz at the family business AGM. Back home on the Thursday, and met up with Garry in town. Garry will now be my flatmate in Sydney! Yippee? Does he have any real idea what he's letting himself in for?? Met up after that with Jason (non-Oz one) for a beer and bumped into Tim and David and so on.

Again was meant to be being calmer, but we ended up trashed in Barcode on Friday and I drunkenly phoned Tony when I came in. Apparently I sounded vaguely together, which is nice to know. Met up with Danny on Saturday and went down to Brighton for a Eurovision party. Yes, that's right! Lots of very horny men - Dave our host and his boyf Ric, Danny, Tom, Rog and Tony, Richard, Ian, Gareth (woof!). Didn't know them very well before we got there, but we had a great time. Weather was great and I was reminded how nice it is to get out of London. Great now I have only 4 weekends left! Home in time for the Tavern, and Darryl persuaded me to go on to the LA3. Fun.

Since then, I've been sorting, tidying, making phone calls and losing at the pop quiz by half a point again. Typical.

Right, that's us up to date. Back on track. I promise things will be more interesting from now on!!
OK. Blogger is up. I have a few phone calls to make, and then we'll be back, updating Minkered as it's been long overdue. And yes, all those who asked last night at the quiz, I will be linking to THAT photo of me. Before anyone else does. Come back later and see me in all my g(l)ory. You have been warned.

Friday, May 11, 2001

Please don't hate me. The mother of all updates will be with you shortly. I've been up north again, and am still PC-less. Bah. Please keep the faith! I did try and update today, but Blogger was down. Excuses? No!!!

Tuesday, May 08, 2001

Apologies to one and all for not updating recently. PC is still being fixed, and I've been gadding about. Thanks for those messages of concern from those wondering where I am!! Stuff to do this afternoon, but full blogging update later. Honest. No really. Really. :o)

Thursday, May 03, 2001

Still feeling crap. Have been to the doctor's. Got antibiotics to try and sort me and have to take increased asthma stuff and paracetamol. I'll be rattling round next time you see me then! Apologies for blog being a bit uninspired - once I'm feeling better and have the home PC back, I'll soon be back to my old self. Honest. Meantime... sniffle, sniffle, cough, cough - later...