"Come in", she said

... "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Axel gave me this bottle of Gold Strike for Christmas this year. Gold Strike is something of a favourite - in first year, when Daniel accidentally left his friend's bottle with me, we drank it during an entertaining game of shots-chess, and generally the end of the year. Then in second year Axel discovered Fireballs and never looked back. He gave me this after/during a slightly rocky patch for me, so I appreciated the sentiment even more.

Yesterday evening, I came upstairs to find that half the bottle had been mysteriously consumed... thought I'd document its existence before it disappears completely!

Today was a really, really good day. Last night was horrible. Didn't get to sleep until about 6am. In the evening I'd asked Sam if I could come and see him - and thankfully he said yes.

He picked me up from the station just before 2, and we headed straight to Toby Carvery for our traditional lunch (breakfast for Sam, actually!) - only the trimmings for me, obviously. No scraps, or crackling.

After a brief palava with the car keys (sorry Sam, I think I'm your bad luck charm), we drove around for a little, detouring on the way to the house, and an amazing series of coincidences took place... First, Sam decided to go by his old house, and just as we slowed down in front of it, Domino came on the radio! Elated and driving around slowly and aimlessly, Sam checked his phone remembering a text he'd got while we were eating, and who should it be from but the one and only Dan, saying that he was in 'your home down go-karting, mate!'. We took the chance that he'd still be there and raced down to surprise him... Such a happy coincidence! Was really lovely to see Dan, especially as just recently I'd been thinking that I have no idea when the next time we'll meet might be!

When we got back to Sam's, his legendary (seriously, there are actually legends about her) grandmother was arriving. :) Settled down with a cup of tea or two to jam on the piano (he's so talented...) to #Beautiful, Just Give Me A Reason, and the rest. And of course, a bit of Julia in 'Human Remains', and Green Wing. It's been too long.

I got the train back feeling like I'd had an hour long massage session. Suddenly more relaxed, at peace. Still got those nagging thoughts from last night, but they've been put to the back of my mind for the time being. Thanks, Sam, as always. :)

Oh, and a quick Skype session with the lovely Adam (and a 'welcome' message from the Visa Waiver people across the pond) to top it all off. :)

I thought my grandmother was exhibiting her usual superstitious edge when she visited a few months ago and told me that it's good luck to see infants on your journeys. But I think I know what she meant after today. On the train up to see Sam, there were two such sweet little kids sat opposite me, making me smile. Then on the train back there was a very young baby in a sling with his mother making the most adorable sounds, and later a lovely talkative little girl - made me laugh, she did, reassuring her auntie (I think) that they weren't going to die if they didn't hold on tight... Obviously spending the day with Sam is what has cheered me up (understatement), not to mention the 'cherry on top' of seeing Dan - but seeing those kids at the very least ensured that the journey back didn't bring me back down again!

Edit: I have a backlog, including some photos on my phone that I can't get on to the computer until I sort out some technical difficulties! To be honest, some of the past few days I don't know if I can face blipping. Bit bleak. Except for Thursday and maybe Friday. This blip makes it sound like today was my only beacon of hope, but I visited Axel on Thursday night and the second I stepped off the train I already had a massive smile on my face. Always good to be back in Leam, so hopefully you'll be hearing about that soon.