Sometimes this blog does become a great burden I bare. Particular when I am busy and have several things going on one after the other, I do not get a break and as a consequence I do not get a chance to blog. However, today I finally have some time aside to update the world on my adventures for the past few weeks or so. Stay with me on this, there is a lot to cover and if I miss anything out, I will try and come back and add it later. On Wednesday (1st) I left the office promptly at 4.30pm, I was on one of my missions. You will remember this as being the hottest day of the week, my temperature gauge reached a peak of 33 degree celisus while I was driving around. As my MOT is due I had to get my tyres checked out, so I drove to the Kwik Fit at the industrial estate the other side of the Robin Hood Roundabout. While waiting to enter the park (and come off the A4 London Road) I was listening to Scott Mills on Radio 1. I had given up on my CD which I had now had for at least a month or so and was bored. He introduced a great new track by Tinchy Strider, so I gave it a listen. It was fantastic and was just the little pick me up I had been looking for. The Kwik Fit was dead (so dead that one of the guys came running out to help me). The prices were just unbelievable, but I was only using them as a gauge. I knew their prices could be beaten and would be. I then walked across to the Audi dealership, just enquire about a service and MOT. They tried their best to get my business but it was no use, my car was already booked in at Amersham Audi next week, it was just a case of sussing the place out and finding out how good their customer service was. I then headed back to the flat and a big chunk of my afternoon slash evening had been eaten into. Checking online, I went to Black Circles whom I have used before, however even their price was not amazing (although a great deal cheaper than Kwik Fit. Pav had recommended Bracknell Tyre & Battery a while back, so I arranged to give them a call the following morning. I did, they did answer the phone eventually and a very helpful man took my tyre size and brand details and came back with a shocking price. I booked the car in for first thing Saturday morning, even though if I had left work early, they would have had me through the door at 5pm and done before closing at 5.30pm. That was a job for Saturday morning. It was Lee’s housewarming this evening. I had not planned to stay out the whole course but ended up getting in around 2.30am. I finished work at 4pm and came home, waiting for Lee to text me or call me, as we had planned to go shopping together to get a last few bits before the party started at 6pm. It had gone 5pm and as I had not heard from him, I headed off to Tesco on my own. As I walked through the entrance, I got a text message. Lee was on his way back to Victoria Gardens and would be a few minutes. I explained I had flown solo and got a request for some bits. As I already had planned (on paper) what I needed, I did not spend too long in the supermarket, it was getting busy, it was Friday night after all. I dashed back to the flat, put everything away, put on the television to watch the tennis and got changed with it on in the background. Just just after 6pm I headed over to his flat. We had been asked, to honour the passing of a musical icon to don white socks as a fitting tribute to MJ. I duly obliged, and later found, I was the only want to do so, with white socks and black shoes. When I got to the flat, there were a few work colleagues there already, all engrossed in Wimbledon. We settled down to watch Murray. I had a feeling this was as far as he would go this year and it was so. After the tennis, it was time for something rather more active than being a couch potato. The Wii! Before the Wii was switched on, we all had to pick an MJ album which would be played as background music to the game. I picked Off The Wall but everyone else (Fran, Belinda, Johnnie and Gavin) chose Thriller. Matt tried his best to woo the ladies by strumming a little Billie Jean, Beat It and Human Nature on Lee’s guitar (A customised Cort Acoustic – Standard model I am informed). He is a lot more talented that I am on the piano, I must admit. You may or may not know that I lost my Wii virginity back on New Year’s Eve last year. I am rubbish at computer games which is one of the reasons I seldom play them. Plus I just do not have the time on my hands to sit around and waste away several hours on FIFA or PES or the latest shoot’em up! I do not know how my best friend Dave is able to stay awake into the small hours playing. I also lack that competitive edge when it comes to these things, Lee went to answer the door while we were playing boxing and even though there were shouts from the onlookers for me to knock him out, I felt obliged to be sportingly and wait for my opponent to return. Boxing was poor but Golf was just a complete disaster. I took over from Fran as she went home to feed her fish (or was it plants, I cannot remember now). I was so bad, I was disqualified out of the game for taking too many shots (I think thirteen in total). My performance on the putting green in Bournemouth is therefore replicated and perhaps even worse in the virtual world of the Nintendo console. I disappeared in embarassement onto the balcony. We left for town around 9pm, although I had to drop by my flat to take back the Tesco Green Bag and get my wallet. We headed into town and the Canal Bar, although there had been some debate on where to go. The guys from Reading were checking their watches to see how much drinking time there was before the last train home. This was a night of many firsts. I had not been to the Canal Bar before. It was a nice setting down by the canal and we took some tables on the terrace. I got talking to Lee about school, Pav and all the usual stuff. Generally making plans that we were technically neighbours. After we had just got our second round in, Johnny (Fran’s American friend) tried to convince us all to go to Varsity. This was out of the picture for me, following on from my experience a few weekends ago. However, a few people were up for it, and headed out. Meanwhile, after our drinks, I walked back to Victoria Gardens with Lee and his friends Sophie, Dev and B as they had to leave. It was at this point, around 11.30pm, I was planning on calling it a night and crashing out at home. However, for some reason, I decided to stay out and keep the party going. We headed back into town and Lee called both Matt and Fran, no answer, so text instead and got a response that they were still in Varsity, so we headed in that direction. It was busier than on 21st June, but not exactly rammed. They were playing Drum n Bass, not exactly my favourite genre of music. We got a drink and sat outside on the terrace chatting for a while before headed back into town and to Document House. Once again, my first time at this venue. It was Pirates Day and there were a handful, of people dressed up. We made it onto the dance floor eventually and they played The Way You Make Me Feel. What is it about MJ records that just make you want to get up and dance? The place was starting to thin out a little bit now, with only the party animals on the dancefloor. I got into a major discussion on MJ with Lee, about how much I was still not truly over the loss of the King. He agreed that when you have grown up with someones music throughout your life, from taking your earliest steps to your first year at University and beyond, it is difficult to cope with them not there. Around 2am, we were thrown out (or rather gentley asked to leave by the bar staff and security). We took the gentle stroll back to the block. I had a very busy weekend ahead and had never planned on being out so late. When I got in, I crashed out into bed, almost instantly but not before setting my alarm for 6.30am, less than four hours of sleep. Rock and Roll! Probably the best big brother in the world…