Winchester

It's been a couple of days since I wrote in here, and it's not because I've had nothing to write or that I've grown bored of writing down things, it's just that I've been a bit busy on Thursday and Friday, plus of course I was away in Winchester at my best friends wedding celebrations....

So considering all the uncertainty that I had created in my own head about the road trip I went, and did I enjoy myself?? Yes, I certainly did though for those there it might have seemed like | didn't, but that was always going to be the case as I was the only person apart from my best friend who was from Manchester. I was alone in the middle of a pub, without anything other than a drink and an occasional chat with my friend or her husband. That sounds awful I know, but they did have lots of people to talk too, and most people who were there knew each other as well. We've all been to such things and if in circumstances similar to the one I faced, you may find yourself in a similar situation. Not being too confident with myself to really jump in on anyone who I didn't know didn't help.

Strange thing was I did get lonely, I did want out, I did want someone to talk too for most of the night, but I wouldn't have missed that for anything. I know they asked me to go away with them, when they got married, in Vegas, but I couldn't afford either the money or time off work to join them. I would have crawled down to Winchester for this shindig, after all Lisa is the greatest friend anyone could ask for and she's certainly my best friend. I'm just honoured to have her as a friend.

Still after 10 or 11 drinks I was ready for bed early on Sunday morning, knowing that I couldn't care less about the world. I slept well enough in the bed and breakfast place I was in, handy it was the pub where we'd had the party. I knew I didn't have to struggle home to bed, it was just up the stairs and fall into bed. Well I didn't, I made myself a cup of coffee before bed, and watched some tv. Though I can't really recall what I saw, I know it was football, but hey it was late and I was drunk. The breakfast wasn't the greatest, but hey what did I expect, a meal from a 5star chef?? Although I was hoping to find a said chef's shop whilst out and about in Winchester I didn't find it thoguh!!

Winchester is a nice place, or should I be honest?? Yes, honesty is the best, it's very nice in the sense of all the historical buildings and the importance it's played in the history of this country, but..... They have built up the town around the old place and it's a mish mash of old and new, often blighting the beauty of the original town. Of course, a lot of the original town will have been lost, but I think that something like Chester or York is how I sort of expected Winchester to be. It reminded me of Lancaster, to which I do enjoy going to, apart from seeing my friends Lauren and Leanne up there, I just enjoy Lancaster. During a walk around on Saturday, I noticed how similar to Lancaster, Winchester was in the way the city has been built, and how they've used the older buildings. I don't know what it is though, but I could go and live in Lancaster tomorrow, but I couldn't do the same with Winchester. At this point, let me say something. In a previous post, I mentioned my dislike for churches, and that I really don't like even going in them. I didn't exactly go into the Cathedral in Winchester, but yesterday afternoon, I was just walking around the front of the said building and the sheer size and beauty of it was beholding. I admit that I just sat down on the pavement (sidewalk for those of you in Canada and the US who), and let the world go by me for a good 10 minutes while I took in the sheer elegance of the place. I may hate the church, but the building capivated me.

So too the journey home yesterday. I was expecting a call from my best friend to tell me what her plans were for the day around lunch time. I had intended to watch the football match with them, either at there place or in a pub. What was required was the information from them as to where. After leaving the pub where I'd spent the night and sorted out the bill, I wandered around Winchester looking at everything either for the first time or the second time. Taking in the beauty of things and reading all I could. I do like history, it was my second subject whilst doing the first two years of my teaching degree, that's another story. Anyway, after wandering around for ever and a day I decided that enough was enough and went and got my car. Went to the local supermarket to get some snacks for the journey back, not many though as I had the intention of stopping for a meal. On getting into the car, I put a bit more fuel in, mainly so that I would last the rest of the week with fuel apart from putting fuel in today.

After fueling the car up, I went to sit back in my car, and disaster, my jeans rip... All the way from the below the belt line, down through the back pocket seam and beyond. How could I carry on, the only thing to do was to call my friend, she wasn't in though! I had to find somewhere to get changed, where no one would see me. I did find somewhere to put my shorts on, and on my return to go home I saw my friend and subsequently went to her place and watched the soccer, but it was far too cold to wear shorts on the journey home. I put on another pair of jeans and off I trotted, with the intention of stopping to eat somewhere in the country. That though didn't happen! I sped off around 6pm from Winchester, it's a 3 1/2 hour drive, and so I wasn't expecting to be home till around 11pm, if I stopped to eat that was. After getting going I was thinking of what to have, and decided that after getting past Birmingham, I'd come off the M6, and grab a pizza somewhere on the A34 road. I'd traversed this road coming up and down to Winchester, or should I point out that it runs from Manchester right the way down to Portsmouth, but it's a winding road up beyond Birmingham, and nothing like the motorway like continuation beyond Birmingham. I didn't find a single Pizza shop on the correct side of the road from leaving the M6, the only 2 pizza places I found were on the other side of the road, and both meant doing U-turns about a mile or so up the road. I couldn't be bothered, so I was back in Eccles before I ate. I gotta say that I loved the pizza I had last night....

Just as a side note, I bought myself a new mobile while in Winchester. It's a dragonfly mobile, it's really nice, but really big. If you are confused by what I mean, it's not a cell phone, as mobile is what we Brit's call them. This is the hanging thing that are mainly hung in children's room, in an attempt to help them sleep. I collect these things, and love them to bits. I've around 20 mobiles or things dangling in my room, and you have to understand I only have the one room to live in. I'm slowly running out of room to hang things from....