A long day of sunshine and being sociable...

I went to the office today as was normal for a Wednesday. It promised to be a lovely day so I felt a bit stupid with my black leather and umbrella but that's me; always expecting the worst. I'd be laughing if there was a torrential downpour in the middle of the afternoon though.

I was sat in McDonalds drinking my tea when glancing down I realised I'd forgotten my work pass. I put the lid on my tea and hurried up to the council house. If you aren't there when the door is opened by the porters, you are really stuck without a pass and if the porters are off taking deliveries etc., you could be stuck for ages on the doorstep waiting for someone else to show up. I just got there just as Eric was opening the door and he let me
in promising me a temporary pass a bit later. A couple more people eventually arrived at 8:30am so I borrowed a pass to get my egg toastie, visit the loo and finally popped down to the DBA office to pay over my £2 for my World Cup sweep entry. I was working from home yesterday when some kind soul had unknowingly pulled Brazil out of the hat for me. They all greeted me with a sorrowful expression but you can never take anything for granted in this life, especially football.

I got my temporary pass from the porters on the way back. Paul was pleased when I returned his as I had threatened to leave it in the ladies' loo deliberately.

At lunchtime, I popped to Robert Dyas to stock up on birdie stuff but there was nothing there apart from nuts and feeders. There were no suet cakes or mealworms! I was distraught thinking of all the hungry faces pressed up against the window!

The rest of the work day whooshed by and then it was a case of heading over to Stratford upon Avon to meet Julian (Oracle teacher from Swansea) for a pint and dinner. He was teaching in Evesham all this week and suggested popping over to Stratford. I wished I'd got the bus over there but decided to catch the train from Birmingham Moor Street for a change. I had forgotten that getting anywhere between 3pm and 6pm was a nightmare! It was just one of those days and I missed every single connection. It didn't actually matter as allowing three times as long as I needed in my pessimistic way, I was still there early, people watching, admiring the motorbikes (and bikers) when Julian sauntered up still in his work clothes to where I was sat on a bench near the theatre in the brilliant sunshine.

We do communicate most days via email or text, swapping rude jokes, 'Hello's. I would say I know more about him and everything that has happened to him in his entire life than anyone else I know and he knows as much about me. It's still a bit odd to meet up with someone you seldom see in person. The last time was probably 5 years ago or maybe a little more. I found this meeting a lot easier and friendlier than previous occasions. I guess the years and life events take their toll, changing you completely, certainly in my case. I was able to be my proper self and really enjoyed the walk and chat. My choice of The Windmill where he had never been before went down well and I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed my scampi dinner. Julian really liked his salmon and happily finished my left over few chips and mushy peas.

The time flew by and it was time to go our separate ways but that certainly made for a nice change of an afternoon.

I finally got back home around 11:30pm which was pretty good really although I had left the house at 6:15 in the morning. There was no way I wanted to write my blip at that hour so left it until today.

Today's picture is just a typical Stratford upon Avon river scene with people enjoying themselves in the sunshine. I was torn between this, a very nice pigeon and trains. Those of you unfortunate enough to be my Facebook pal too will see them all anyway!

Go large...

Track? I haven't heard this one for a while - The Riverboat Song