24/09/2007 by Neil.

Well lets start my first blog with one of those strange holiday stories.

As you all know we had a small trip to sunnier climes recently, a chance to top up on my sunburn, mosquito bites and liver deterioration. Jen had a relaxing time too.

We arrived to be greated by an Indian version of David Bedford. “got your number” we said to ourselves. (although I thought he looked a bit more like the Harry Enfield Scouser characters). Anyway, we had a little chuckle about this whilst filling in our registration card, which we then handed over to get our room key.

We were in room 118.

Oh boy here we go. And when we got to room, there laid out on the bed were our numbered beach towels, so we just couldn’t resist a photo opportunity. The moustashes are real by the way. Well it was a long journey and no opportunity to shave.

But to continue….. we unpacked and got the valuables put into the safe. One of those digital ones, where you set up your own code number, which we usually set to the first 4 digits of our phone number, which are………..

0118

Note, any potential thieves out there, who are planning to follow us on next hol’, and try to break into the safe using the above numbers, we will of course not use them again. we will use the last four instead.

So where else could those numbers crop up.

Palm trees.

Basically, every palm tree on the island is numbered (a way of keeping track of the coconut cropping we think). So on our first night, we go to dinner and we get allocated a table for the week. Ours was by the wall, where we could look out and see………….. a certain palm tree. I wont bother to tell you the number painted on it, but a photo is supplied.

I think we will be taking the hint and get some lottery tickets. How many derivertives of 118 can be used?

1, 8, 11 & 18 to start. 9, 10, 19 perhaps?……..

The rest of the holiday went as normal as a Maldivian holiday can go. Plenty of book reading, snorkeling, and attempting to work our way through the cocktail list. Of the 59 we got through 26 of them. Not bad for just a week. Many of the remainder were just the boring ones, Screwdriver, Bloody mary etc. They hardly count. Besides, the beer was ice cold, and more my cup of tea, or cup of beer…. Mind you drinking too many, can make you wear silly shirts. Look what I ended up in after a few dozen jars !

Should have stuck with the cocktails………..

Well thats it for now. I’m off to scratch and pick at my mosquito bites (well over 60 of them…….nice) usually, they always go for Di, but she not there !!! I was a suitable substitute it seems.

laters

neil

Posted in Holiday | 6 Comments »

24/09/2007 by Paul D.

I thought I’d try and post a pic for my first  contribution and this is the best I could find at short notice…..

}¬)

Mad woman attempts to ‘eat camera’.

Handy hints:

Click this thumbnail for a bigger image. (Are you SURE you want to?)

And hit BACK from that to get back here. Don’t hit X to close.

P.

Posted in Beer | 3 Comments »

24/09/2007 by Steve.

Bumping into an old aquaintance is one of those little moments in life which could be considered priceless. Such an event can never be planned so the surprise itself is significant. However the ripples from such a meeting could extend far beyond the moment itself.

This thought is on my mind because on Saturday I met an old colleague from my very first job. I probably haven’t seen him for 20 years or more. He recognised me through a shop window. At first I just saw some strange old bloke waving at me from the outside (my mind was elsewhere, lusting after an array of unaffordable equipment in the music shop). My first thought was ‘Who’s that nutter?’. But then that wave of recognition crashed over me and he no longer looked old - he looked exactly the same as I remembered him when we were both 20.

I went outside, we greeted each other and quickly talked through old and current times.
‘I saw Dave from ‘Security’ at a reunion 10 years ago’, he said.
‘I still see Jerry about twice a year’, I added.
Etc etc.

We compared family - mine was actually there, complete - the second-wife and two semi grown-up kids (we couldn’t have imagined a posse like that back then!) His wife is the same girl who I had known as just his girlfriend - they have been married now for 21 years! And they have two kids of the same age as our two….

A similar event occurred a couple of weeks ago when Vanessa met an old colleague in a shop. He came rushing round the end of an aisle and they both immediately recognised each other. Same old Michael, he was, always a story to tell, camp as ever and resisting 40 with a vengeance. It was like they had been working together just last week.

And after your chance meeting? You swap numbers and emails. You even get in touch and go out for a drink. But where does it go from there? Maybe it depends on who you meet, and when…

I think most people would enjoy bumping into an old flame. The spotty-faced youth that she remembers will have turned into a successful and wordly adult- a potential chance to impress not to be missed. Unless you are out with your wife at the time, of course!

Conversely, if you are unfortunate enough to have a ‘previous’ spouse out there somewhere, what would you do if their face presented itself to you out of the blue? It would be embarrassing enough if you were on your own but imagine if your current wife was with you!!! Would Wife 1 still pass as good-looking enough for your current standards? Has she aged well? And while Wife 2 might like to get to know Wife 1 better (for the purposes of comparison on ALL levels) you would probably rather curl up and die.

And finally, some people meet accidentally under some very unlikely circumstances. You occasionally hear stories of people walking down a street on the other side of the world and recognising an old neighbour. Given the billions of people in the world and the miles between them, it’s amazing that it happens at all!

Posted in General | 1 Comment »