My Weekend
Mar. 22nd, 2009 11:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cassandra_7Right this post has two separate purposes:
1) Provide an apology and explanation to those I 'abandoned' this weekend
2) To provide a record of the fabulous and relaxing weekend I had.
First, apologies and explanations. I was supposed to go to York this weekend Knitting. Right up until Friday morning that was my intention.
But this week (as some of you may have seen in the short-lived Tuesday night emo post) was not a good week for me. I hit some pretty low bottoms and spent most of the week on the edge of tears. I finally realised (and I apologise for this sounding a bit twee and cliché, but it's the only way to say it) that it was because ... well... half of me was far away. I decided it was kind of a case of missing half my soul. So at the last minute (and relatively 'great expense') I changed my plans and headed down to Oxford, where Alan would be dancing this weekend. I did really miss the knitting in York, and thought about you guys every time a red tour bus went by. I hope (and believe from what I've read so far on LJ) that you guys had a great time without me, which I'm glad of!
Second, what I did this weekend. I arrived Friday night, Alan picked me up from the train station and we went back to his house, the ceilidh being not worth going back to. Saturday we got up at a leisurely pace, and headed into Oxford. The park and ride bus dropped us off right outside Oriel college, which started us on the "where Amber ate/slept/had classes/drank beer when she was at Oxford 10 years ago" tour. This was fun. We then walked over the bridge to try to find the 'session pub' that I sang at, and we're pretty sure it was the "Half Moon". While wandering around, we found a WONDERFUL tapas bar. The courtyard was glassed over, but open because it was a lovely day. The entire restaurant was exceedingly well themed to be a middle-eastern plaza type thing. We had some half price tapas and sangria while enjoying the sun, music, incense and surroundings. Then we walked back into town to see some Boggarts dance. We also drank some very good beer, with Alan making notes. (nb: Samuel Smith Extra Stout - VERY YUMMY)
BTW - What do you guys think about me recording beer preferences/notes here in my journal? Interested? Not interested? Should I filter? Have a poll?
Anyway, back to the story. We then wandered back over the river to have a half at the Half Moon (enjoying some session music in the process) and then headed to find food. We veered toward what looked like a pub, but - in fact - was a very odd but very tasty Chinese restaurant. I ordered monkfish. I probably should have ordered almost anything else. But the fried rice was stunningly good, and the home-made Ho-Fun Alan had were also exceedingly tasty. On to the Ceilidh, where the band (Cock and Bull?) was very good, the caller was competent, but I was too exhausted to dance much. Chatted with friends (Fairy thankfully shared her cider with me, as there was no bar and we were unprepared - as were many others) and hung out for a bit then Alan and I headed home for an early night with a minor detour to see some cool cat's eyes.
Sunday, we did the Morris tour thing, I got to see Alan dance quite a bit.
All in all it was a lovely weekend, restored my self and my soul, and I feel like I'm me again. I am sad to have missed the knitting weekend, but am hopeful there will be another one 'soon'. I don't regret my decision, I can't imagine I would have been good company at knitting in my state of mind.
1) Provide an apology and explanation to those I 'abandoned' this weekend
2) To provide a record of the fabulous and relaxing weekend I had.
First, apologies and explanations. I was supposed to go to York this weekend Knitting. Right up until Friday morning that was my intention.
But this week (as some of you may have seen in the short-lived Tuesday night emo post) was not a good week for me. I hit some pretty low bottoms and spent most of the week on the edge of tears. I finally realised (and I apologise for this sounding a bit twee and cliché, but it's the only way to say it) that it was because ... well... half of me was far away. I decided it was kind of a case of missing half my soul. So at the last minute (and relatively 'great expense') I changed my plans and headed down to Oxford, where Alan would be dancing this weekend. I did really miss the knitting in York, and thought about you guys every time a red tour bus went by. I hope (and believe from what I've read so far on LJ) that you guys had a great time without me, which I'm glad of!
Second, what I did this weekend. I arrived Friday night, Alan picked me up from the train station and we went back to his house, the ceilidh being not worth going back to. Saturday we got up at a leisurely pace, and headed into Oxford. The park and ride bus dropped us off right outside Oriel college, which started us on the "where Amber ate/slept/had classes/drank beer when she was at Oxford 10 years ago" tour. This was fun. We then walked over the bridge to try to find the 'session pub' that I sang at, and we're pretty sure it was the "Half Moon". While wandering around, we found a WONDERFUL tapas bar. The courtyard was glassed over, but open because it was a lovely day. The entire restaurant was exceedingly well themed to be a middle-eastern plaza type thing. We had some half price tapas and sangria while enjoying the sun, music, incense and surroundings. Then we walked back into town to see some Boggarts dance. We also drank some very good beer, with Alan making notes. (nb: Samuel Smith Extra Stout - VERY YUMMY)
BTW - What do you guys think about me recording beer preferences/notes here in my journal? Interested? Not interested? Should I filter? Have a poll?
Anyway, back to the story. We then wandered back over the river to have a half at the Half Moon (enjoying some session music in the process) and then headed to find food. We veered toward what looked like a pub, but - in fact - was a very odd but very tasty Chinese restaurant. I ordered monkfish. I probably should have ordered almost anything else. But the fried rice was stunningly good, and the home-made Ho-Fun Alan had were also exceedingly tasty. On to the Ceilidh, where the band (Cock and Bull?) was very good, the caller was competent, but I was too exhausted to dance much. Chatted with friends (Fairy thankfully shared her cider with me, as there was no bar and we were unprepared - as were many others) and hung out for a bit then Alan and I headed home for an early night with a minor detour to see some cool cat's eyes.
Sunday, we did the Morris tour thing, I got to see Alan dance quite a bit.
All in all it was a lovely weekend, restored my self and my soul, and I feel like I'm me again. I am sad to have missed the knitting weekend, but am hopeful there will be another one 'soon'. I don't regret my decision, I can't imagine I would have been good company at knitting in my state of mind.
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-23 06:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-23 08:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-23 09:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-23 09:24 am (UTC)I would love to read the beer tasting notes. *nods*
no subject
Date: 2009-03-23 09:39 am (UTC)We did miss you but we all understood that you needed to do whatever made you feel better.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-23 11:18 am (UTC)National Express comes out with tickets on Thursdays 3 months in advance with fares that are sometimes £14 one-way (probably even cheaper for you!). So, sometimes it's worth booking and then not going. ^_^
Yes, beer reviews!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 10:05 am (UTC)Reading about beer is always interesting :)
More generally, it's your journal, write about what you want. People can skim or skip the bits they're not interested in. If it gets big, use cuts (which you do anyway).