That was the night that was

God I feel tired today...

Saw Ty on Friday. We were supposed to go walking but rain stopped play. Instead we sat at my house and Kaz came home and we looked for villas in Ibiza. (This is a holiday we're all supposed to go on. Ty, who dances like my dad, wants to go to a super club or five. I can't think of anything more hideous, except possibly... no actually, I can't think of anything more hideous FULL STOP!) It feels like we're looking for a villa that can sleep the entire England Football squad, the WAGs, the coach, managers, physio etc!

Anyway, while we were doing this we sank several libations... well it would have been rude not to, wouldn't it? Latter we had a Woodcraft Folk district meeting at our house- where I had to drink some more gins.

The following day we started doing my favourite three letter thing... no, not that! I mean DIY! Yuk! I always feel like the schoolboy being dragged to the dentist, and try my best to prevaricate as much as I can. Ty, as always, has the solution. He throws money at it instead. I think I like his DIY activity more than mine. Mine involves measuring up, going off to B&Q, pondering, doing, appraising, standing back, drinking tea, swearing, being horrible to Kaz and the kids, sucking my teeth, rubbing my chin thoughfully etc. Ty's involves opening a cheque book and signing his name!

So Kaz dragged me out of the house and we went to the timber reclamation yard just behind the Grand Parade Art College near the all night cafe (the gutbuster breakfast after a night out would just about finish you off I recalled from my younger days). We looked high and low and settled upon a nice piece of oak which they cut down to size. The total cost £20. Bargain! And you get to feel smug and environmentally sustainable... as you drive your people carrier around the narrow streets of Hanover. Oh yeah, and I found a spindle for the banister, which has been broken for about three years... Well a job like that requires a lot of thinking about.

In the evening we were invited over to the Goddard's maisson. They cooked and we ate...my favourite combination. We did take wine (Fair Trade naturally) and a Belgian chocolate cake from the Co-op, which turned out to be as dry as a speech by Gordon Brown, and just as indigestible. Still the thought was there...just.

Ty and Tina, my ITC Luddite friends have finally joined the 21st century and...I don't know how to tell you this... they got BROADBRAND! And now instead of conversation, they lug the laptop from its cupboard and start showing you sites at the dinner table- WIFI has a lot to answer for!

So, Nigel comes round and the conversation turns to Ibiza again. And we start looking at villas that sleep 18 or something. Other villas that formed the backdrop for some photo shhot or other. Beautiful, minimalist and expensive. And all the time I envisage Izzy (Ty and Tina's gorgeous little girl just over a year and half) walking round with chocolate fingers or drawing with a red felt tip on the pristine white walls! My mind wanders and I think of the Durrell's in "My Family and Other Animals"... their villas always seemed like ramshackle affairs. Yet the villas were clearly a great base for enjoying yourself.

More and more drink gets consumed (Ty complained that Kaz and I didn't drink enough gin on New Years Eve, and so I'm trying my best to make up for it tonight). Another friend, I'll call her Madam X, came round but didn't eat...although as she got more drunk, and her words started to slur, she went off to the kitchen for a snack!

It was a great night. Just sitting around talking about college, exes and the problems of child rearing. Izzy was up for a good proportion of the night and then Izzak (her older bro- 14 years) took her off to bed to read my all time favourite tots book "The Little Mole Know Knew It Was None Of His Business". Its a book about a mole who some animal does a poo on. And he goes round with this turd on his head asking everyone "Did you do this on my head?" Its a true classic! I used to read it to my son Liam... whether he wanted me to or not!