Hours in the day!

The start

Thursday, the day started like I could expect a bit of stress, it was foggy at 6:30am, enough to make me think about giving up my 3 hour drive down to Woodford Green for my overnighter with Ivan, and for the arranged Christmas gathering of The International Drinking Society.
I knew I couldn't back out of it,and I didn't want to, so I had myself some egg& bacon and set off just after 7am.
It read -.5c on the car thermometer, but the windows weren't frosted.
As I got down to the flatlands, the temperature dropped to -3c and there was a heavy frost covering as well as fog.
Anyway onwards and upwards, well downwards I started to feel the doom prophecies building up in my mind, I'm going to be late, it's going to take me hours, the traffic will be crap!!
As it turned out all roads were relatively clear,apart from the usual build up where the A14 meets the M11 and it took a little over 3 hours to get to my B&B, from there it just got better.
We all met at the White Hart in a back street opposite Waterloo Station and only Dave from Petersfield and John from Redhill were a little late.

We started with Sharps Doom Bar after deciding that the other ales on offer would not assist us in making the session last. At 4.0% whilst no being a session beer, it was the lowest available!
I daren't tell Mick in my local that Lundun pints are £3.80 and upwards.
We were advised that as there was a Christmas party for 30 odd office workers about to start, there were already some funny hats around, and that food wouldn't be available until 2.30.
We decided to stay and suffer the beers available and not go curry hunting.
I have to say we managed the long wait to order food, but some of us were on our sixth pint, and needed to take on ballast.
Job done we filled ourselves with bangers and mash and cod and chips. Very good they were too.
We abandoned the pub at around 6pm, after a top up of  few bottles of red and a glass of port and headed off towards Waterloo and our various journeys home.
Ivan and I back to Woodford Green for a night cap, or was it two?
At 7am next morning, just as the cricket was stopping for tea, we were in the local cafe, having the "works". I got home just after 11am.
Weather permitting the next function will be at my local to celebrate my 65th in March. I'm lining up B&B in the pub for those that make the journey up.

Loadsamoney

Talking of my birthday,I just got confirmation of my state pension payable in arrears from next April.
550 notes every four weeks, can't be bad...more holidays!


Lamb chops

The evening came around quickly, and an unusual knock on the door, unusual in that we don't usually get knocks on the door in darkness. Anyway it stirred me from my nods, it was the lady with our lamb order.
She told me the Tup was already in the field when I said put us down for one next year.
We now have some really good meat to look forward to over the coming months

More celebrations

Today we had an enjoyable 60th wedding anniversary lunch celebration for our former next door neighbours, Ray and June.
Tomorrow we shall be celebrating the 80th birthday of Bob, one of the old boys I fished with when we had a pub club

Fishing rods and a sore looser

When I first got lured into barbel fishing one of the first especially labelled barbel fishing rods I bought was Fox kevlar barbel multi tip, I had it for a few years but then got an offer of two Nash barbel specials as a swop for a Shimano10000, so I sold it, from memory via BFW.

 Fox Kevlar barbel Multi tip rods 1.25/1.75 

It was a good rod and after a while I very much regretted selling it as it was a very versatile piece of kit
I have just bid and won two in the R&C auction at good prices. So will no doubt be offloading, one Nash, and one Fox barbel special, and a Fox 2.75 flood rod. I've also got myself a nice used Drennan IM9 float rod in the auction which should come in handy for my rediscovered trotting experiences.

Then and again, I may just take a hefty profit on the 3 rods won at auction just to keep the anonymous looser happy. I found this on my last blog comments this morning. 

 Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Chuffed": 

I will look out for all the rods you bought in the Auction on Ebay. As everyone is saying - you are a greedy selfish bastard.

Yes, I still get the snide comments, always anonymous though, from some poor weak minded soul who didn't bid enough. I was very tempted to buy a Twyford AC ticket that went cheap too!

By the way the auction is still running, if anybody wants me to  bid on anything, many lots are still available at bargain prices .