Grrrr...

It wasn't exactly a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it was a rare occurrence and needed to be taken with both hands. So, that being said, FP and I flew to Bristol at the weekend for a major sporting event. I like Bristol - E and I used to spend some great weekends there, chilling, getting drunk etc. The problem was, it wasn't just FP and I. FP's friends were along for the ride. It's not that I don't like FP's friends, but their company can be frustrating at times (they only talk about the same three subjects). For the record, they're father and son.

This weekend was no exception. They weren't meant to be coming, but their various prior arrangements fell through and they were able to join myself and FP. As far as I was concerned, they were tagging along with me and FP. After all, we'd done all the legwork and arranging, they'd just turned up. FP and I had done all the research - hotels, flights, pubs, trains, directions etc. They'd just turned up.

We had arranged to meet at the hotel entrance, but Friend Snr called FP and said they'd gone exploring. FP rolled his eyes and said we'd be at the train station.

The town was heaving with people, but luckily I'd been in touch with a local who'd given us a couple of good pubs off the beaten track. But, no. Friend Jnr had been advised by his co-workers about a craft beer bar that he simply NEEDED to go and see. None of this had been mentioned previously, even after my mail a week previously about the pubs the local had recommended. I voiced my disapproval about the fact there was no group decision and followed them.

At the craft beer bar, I mentioned to Friend Snr that I was happy enough drinking there until the event, but afterwards, we had already made tentative plans to meet up with friends for an hour or so (BR, G, M and a few others). Friend Snr seemed to think that this was reasonable, so that worked for me. After the event, I bumped into an old school friend. An attractive, female friend. FP and I chatted for a few minutes. We made semi-tentative plans about meeting up with the other friends (they all know each other), swapped numbers and trundled off. Jnr and Snr were nowhere to be seen. Not even common sense to hang around waiting for us. FP tried to call both of them. No answer - straight to voicemail.

It only took us about ten minutes to find them... back at the craft beer bar. By this stage, I was getting quite angry. I dislike people who are selfish in this way. Friend Snr came over.

"We were trying to phone you."
"My phone's in Jnr's bag"
"That's handy."
"Ah! Making yourself scarce gives you more value" he quipped.
"Are you fucking kidding me? You walked off in a massive crowd, leaving us to find you, and your phone is in your son's backpack? And what's his excuse for not answering the phone?"

Snr stood there with a blank look on his face.

"We had an hour or so at best to catch up with our friends before we had to head to the train station, and you effectively run away to come back to this fucking bar?"

"You were talking to that girl then you were going to meet your friends" he spluttered.

"Together. You agreed to it. There's no sense in splitting up in a crowd this size."

There was no shouting, but there was a tone to my voice that some people know never to argue with. Snr is not one of these people. He doesn't know me well enough.

We finished our drinks and left.

On the way back to our hotel (it was an hour's journey), Snr must have stated ten times that we needed to go for something to eat. Jnr stated about the same amount of times that he wanted to go to the Wetherspoons closest to the hotel.

We adjourned to the nearest bar to make a decision. In the twenty minutes it took to have a pint, Snr stated another four times he wanted something to eat. Jnr stated half a dozen times that he wanted to go to the Wetherspoons a hundred metres up the road. I finished my pint and went to bed.

The next day, we trundled up the road. Then it started again. Jnr wanted to go to Costa for a coffee. Snr wanted to go exploring. They both reiterated their desires multiple times.

Eventually they left to catch their respective flights, leaving FP and I in peace. On reflection, I don't think I like either of the two of them any more. If it wasn't the incessant reiteration  of their own desires rather than trying to suit the group, it was the fact that the only conversations the entire weekend were motorbikes, cars, aeroplanes and trucks. None of these subjects interest me. If they weren't talking about one of those topics, then anything that came out of Snr's mouth was advice. "You should do this..."

Snr never listened to me all weekend. I hate that. Even at breakfast on the last day, it was all too apparent:

"How did you sleep?"
"Not bad... woke early and never got back to sleep though"
About 90 seconds pass...
*nudge*
"How did you sleep?"
"As I've just said... I woke early and never got back to sleep though"

I don't think I'll be doing anything involving those two again.

Plus, being in Bristol just reminded me how much I missed E.

The end of the line?

Things are taking a little longer than expected to get sorted with the housing situation. Heating Guy is due to move out in a few days - he's been unbelievably childish recently, crying about a shortfall in the electricity bill (that simply made us even due to a deliberate underpayment for the TV etc. and he knew was going to happen.) Clothes of mine have been taken off the clothes horse and left on the ground and in the mop bucket - nothing serious - just little things. He at least has the intelligence not to do anything directly to me. His histrionic slamming of the doors etc. is becoming tiresome though.

I'm only here for another few weeks myself. TV Guy is on his own from the end of the month. It'll be interesting to see how he copes with two new people. He's gotten away with a fair bit this past 12 months - no housework, not being available for the landlord's handymen, not paying any gas money (dunno what Heating Guy  makes of this) and regular complaining about how much we spend on internet etc. With two new guys coming in, this will all need to be sorted and he might even have to take responsibility with one of the utility bills.

I'm in limbo for a few weeks until my own housing situation is finalised and I can't wait for that to happen. I just want to move in, get settled and relax again. That's looking at being the end of next month though.

I dunno how I feel about moving out of here though. It's been four years. Maybe five? I can't actually remember. I don't know that I was ever friends with any of my flat-mate, though I did get along with TV Guy and MfW to a certain extent. Come the start of October, it's a new chapter regardless.

About time!

While out with GM , S and Sports Girl last night, I took the opportunity to chat to GM about CH. I've been meaning to do so since I first realised that the communication issues were more serious than I had realised. For the record, if I haven't already said it before, I don't think there's a solution. CH is too stubborn to admit she's wrong or to back down and agree to meet me/talk to me. And, to be honest, I think it's difficult to get past - at a time when I wanted and needed to talk to CH, she distanced herself and made herself unavailable. Even if there is a supposed excuse in crossed wires (according to KfW2, I don't agree) that's not really what I look for in a friend.

Back to talking to GM, I think it was simply wanting GM to know the score, even though he's not likely to be seeing or talking to CH any time soon himself. We didn't get all of the chat out of the way - I managed, semi-drunkenly, to get the gist of the issue to GM but none of the details.

During the time, he only asked one question, about whether I was non-platonically interested in CH. I said that "if she were single, I'd be all over that", but said that I'd been hoping that me and CH could have the same kind of friendship that I had with KfW2.

So, before we got into the meat of the conversation, S and Sports Girl rejoined our conversation, and the CH topic was dropped.

I said to GM, at the end of the night, that I'd be revisiting that conversation soon, and I do mean to follow up within the next few weeks.

Seven!

I'm not usually a big fan of these Saturday night shows in Winter like X-Factor etc. I've been more tolerant of Strictly Come Dancing, but wouldn't class myself as a regular viewer.

However, with both Katie Derham and Kirsty Gallacher competing this year, I could easily be tempted into watching more often.