fireman uniform

Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in some of my friends to look at a uniform before they look at the person in it. Okay so some of them have always been like that but it seems to be getting worse.
Now I’ve noticed that even though I have never really been into the whole ‘fireman uniform’ or ‘sportskit’ look I’ve begun to use phrases like ‘ooh firemen’ when a fire engine whizzes past.
Who says your friends don’t affect your behaviour!
Tuesday for instance. Mike and I were on our way home when I wandered up the platform so we could get on the carriage with the guys in shorts. It was obviously a football training night or something. I mean I know I’ve been to my own fair share of sports kit nights but it’s not because I am really into it. More because all of my friends seem to want to go there.
So anyway back to the fireman uniform. Matt and David were discussing wearing theirs to Pride in the Park at the weekend. I think they have decided against it now. Matt mentioned though that searching for ‘fireman uniform’ brings my site up. Quite why he was searching when he already has one only he can answer 😉 Although he isn’t as bad as Ben who sits and bids on items via text message on eBay.

Gai Paris

I was in Paris at the weekend. Well Saturday night actually. It sounds like a romantic extravagant gesture. It wasn’t 😉

Essentially 4 friends have birthdays around the same time. I only knew one of the birthday boys and a few of the forty people going. Mark one of the birthday boys works for eurostar and so we got a very good deal on our trip. We had an entire coach to ourselves and it was just as well I can tell you. With only 1 girl that made 39 boyz ready for a night out.

Mike and I arrived at Waterloo with bubbly and wine raring to go. (okay so not exactly raring but ready). We met Matt and David and a few others before fighting our way through the crowds of desperate people trying to get last minute tickets due to a flash strike by BA staff at Heathrow. We briefly considered selling our tickets for an obscene profit and going into soho but soon we were checked in and spotting the others who we though might make up the party.

Starting early with beers, fizz and wine on the train. Lots of it ended up on people and the floor but a fair proportion ended up making us fairly merry by the time we arrived in Paris. Despite Mark egging us to join ‘The Mile Under Club’ (eurostars equivalent to the mile high club) and the fact that the baby change room had ample space to make joining fun and hassle free we managed to restrain ourselves. Well most of us did at any rate! Plus we only have 20 minutes of being in the tunnel and it simply is not enough time for some of us 😉

Mark truly was a star what with complimentary tickets to the lounges and pre buying metro tickets, we breezed through Gare du Nord and headed off into the balmy summer evening in Paris.

Lovely meal at a 4 star hotel (with more booze) before heading to the bars. Yet more booze and some cute french boyz later we headed off to le Depot for some dancing and some cruising. Boy was there some cruising! The rest of he night was a blur of music and naked flesh before we headed out into the quiet of a Sunday Paris morning. We arrived back at Gare du Nord almost 12 hours later we had arrived and made short work of the croissants and coffee in the lounge. Despite not having had any sleep the group managed to break only one glass and burn two slices of toast in the lounge.

The coach on the return journey was a lot more subdued than the way out. I think the baby change room got more use though 😉

So that was pretty much my weekend. Next weekend it’s Pride in the Park. So we’ll see how that goes! Then of course there is Brighton Pride, Manchester Pride, Edinburgh Festival and the list goes on. I love summer 😉

Pics to follow courtesy of David

I need a PA

No really I do. Okay so I double booked myself on Saturday. So I rescheduled one of them to Friday – now that is double booked too :o(
It get’s worse as I was going down to Bournemouth next week end to see Steve and David. Only to remember that I am having my eyes sliced and burned that weekend :o(
Grrr
I may resort to using a diary of some sort soon.

Fire Fire

Whilst having a barbeque this evening with the lovely DR David and also Andrew we noticed a fire around about the Mayday Hospital in Croydon. Thick black smoke was apparent in a few moments and lasted for no more than 5 minutes. Amazing to think how fire can spread so quickly. Earlier in the Day David and I had gotten excited by the firemen stopping in our street to extinguish a fire turn around and see the meat on the babreque had caught light.

Alcohol is NOT our friend

Saturday
Spence, and Glenn along with David [yes another one] and Benjy and I had dinner in Leicester Square. The table next to us managed to set their candle on fire – yes I know they are supposed to burn but not the entire thing all at once. The waiter casually opened the door to prevent the smoke alarms from activating ina a manner that suggested it may be a common occurence. We were joined later by Scally and the lovely Bruce for coffee before heading over to Barcode for a couple of drinks. Oh and meeting Chris again too.

Sunday
Pub lunch with alcohol and smutty comments about 20 year old waiters and 18 year old bar men, with Spence, Glenn and David [yes yet another david – common as muck that name] was followed by coffee back at mine and then yet more drinks and smutty conversation at bar ABV.
I then ventured into soho to meet up with Dave, Tom, Simon and Bart. Poor Bart I think was a little overwhelmed by the banter and it only got worse from there. We started in the Friendly Society which I must say must be one of the most stupidly expensive and dark bars in London. May as well have been in a dark room for the amount we could see. Low ambient lighting I can cope with but when someone lights a cigarette and the entire bar lights up you have to wonder if they have taken subtlety to the limits. Village was a stagger [well 2 or 3 steps] away. Dave decided to enlighten Tom about some of my history – thanks. I then decided to embark on making it worse. Somethings you should never discuss whilst drunk. Like job interviews for Bass pubs 😉
Swiftly moving along Compton Street to Manto’s where Tom and I read a smutty comic in fits of giggles to be scolded repeatedly by the ever mature Mrs Davo. We also leered at some cute guy for a while before practically begging him not to leave – well we sort of did it quiet enough so he couldn’t hear and he left anyways without noticing.
All in all a very pleasant weekend with good company and way too much alcohol.

I’m sure there was something I was supposed to blog about Tom but can’t remember now – will need to ask him to remind me later 😉

So Mardi Gras, I guess

So Mardi Gras, I guess I better write a bit about it then? Met up with the usual suspects and friends before wandering down the path in hyde park thereby cutting off the start. Mark and Ryan who were staying with me [and had helped start the day with champagne on the roof terrace] asked if this was it 😉 Little did they know. It was Ryan’s first Mardi Gras/Pride event so I guess he didn’t realise. We merged with the actual ‘parade’ at this point and I lost everyone a few times and spent a lot of time trying to get the works camera to function. Some good shots and some bad shots but more importantly some missed shots :o(. Cute boy in cap with boyf you know who you are 😉 We were bored by Picadilly Circus despite frantically looking for the closer to heaven float to try and catch a glimpse of Paul Keating – I am not alone in this however as Ian had already texted me about the man and the float!]. We then made our way to Finsbury Park.
Jacs and I went in the press entrance and then arranged to meet everyone else at the champagne bar. After wandering around for a bit, I went in search of the regular big events crowd. You know the people you only ever see at pride or Walk for Life and such. I went looking for Tony & Baloo at the line-dancing Area [which was as usual one of the busiest venues]. Bumped into some people at the bungee that I knew from somewhere but couldn’t place the name. Saw a few of the blogger boys – erm David, Jonathan and Ian, or was that 2 David’s? Not sure now – Oh cos I had met up with Scally too cos he is part of the gang so you know he’s always around.
Wandered back to the champagne bar and watched some of the main stage stuff and then saw two guys from holiday in Gran Canaria Rob and Steve [Mark who was staying, was another of that crowd] we made vague plans for a return trip and drank some more champers [?35 a bottle was a bit steep mind]. Now my usual gripe about Mardi Gras is the nasty pop acts you normally get at G.A.Y. all onstage together. This year though Steps joined the line up and the crowd went wild [well actually it may have just been Camilla]. Wandered backstage purely because I could and met up with Mark who I haven’t seen for ages [he is a promoter for DTPM and has been jet setting around the globe the last few months which is a step up from being a waiter in the London Ryan Hotel].
Supergirly did a couple of classics which reminded me of a. when I saw them recently in Croydon with Spence and b. when they came to our Christmas Party and the microphones didn’t work so they never did the act. I missed Ken Livingstone and Peter Tatchell who by all accounts were actually quite a laugh. The pre-recorded video message from Josh from Big Brother was no surprise as it had been widely rumoured he had taped one [not that he is doing BB purely for the publicity you understand or that of his company]. Now the problem with ego and pre-recorded footage is clear. He is full of himself but has not been popular. A chant from the crowd made it clear that they would have preferred a message from Brian – “Brian, Brian, Brian, Brian” they chanted clearly they have picked their favourite. Oh and the fact that the event rganisers had managed to obscure the company name Josh had plastered across the bottom of the screen only made things worse for him 😉
Wandered back to the champagne tent where I was looking around for the others when a nice young gentleman crossed my path and looked back [result I thought] but did absolutely nothing about it as usual. So met up with the others and then made to sit down and who should be nearby but the cute guy. So anyways after a bit of looking back and forth I finally wandered over [very unlike me – must have been the champagne] and uttered “um errr Hi erm um how’s your day been?” So Stevie if you are reading this [in the EasyEverything Internet Cafe in Amsterdam] I’m amazed you actually spoke to me but glad you did 😉 That’s all on that particular subject until August the 4th.
So how was email(‘your’) Mardi Gras?

Just catching up on other

Just catching up on other peoples blogs this morning [in between work honest] and realised that I was not the only blogger at Saturday evening’s sports and shorts event. I was wondering where I knew a few of the faces from [and some were from a past life] but others must have been from this life – only I am so messed up from years of drug abuse that my long/short term memory is shot. David and Ian both seem to have been at the stag on saturday night. I did spend some time wondering where I knew at least one face from but was more concerned about wearing a wimbledon football strip at the time as I recall [oh and watching mud wrestling]. So I better look for one of those memory aid tapes they keep advertising on the late night shopping channels – either that or I should socialise more at the UKblogmeets?.