What I Did On My Half-Term Holiday

I'm back at the keyboard once more after a hectic week of fun and games.
What've I been up to?  Let's see...

Last weekend was Hugh's stag do in the Lake District, where we:

• Went ape in Grizedale forest (great fun, recommended).
• Tried our hands at archery (I wasn't very good..)
• Took a ride in an Argo-Cat (crazy!)
• Hurtled round a horseshit-covered barn in go-karts.
• Witnessed a teenage girl burst into tears in the Penrith branch of Threshers because they didn't have any peach schnaps!
• Slept on a barn floor (but hey, it was cheap!)

...then on Tuesday Jocelyn and I visited Liverpool, where we...

• Visited the Beatles Story (not bad).
• Mooched around Albert Dock.
• Went to the cinema to see Marie Antoinette (surprisingly enjoyable - great costumes).

...before catching an awfully early flight to Dublin, where we...

• Visited the Guinness Storehouse (naturally).
• Wandered around Trinity College and Temple Bar.
• Took in some Irish history at Dublin Castle and Kilmainham Gaol (both very interesting).

...then caught another flight up to Derry and picked up a rental car which we took to see the Giant's Causeway in Antrim before catching the Lough Foyle ferry back to the Irish Republic and down to the wonderful Carlton Redcastle hotel, where we...

• Helped Bruce and Suzanne to celebrate their recent wedding.
• Caught up with very many of my old university friends.
• Treated ourselves to massages of the scalp (Joce) and back (me) varieties.
• Took a dip in the pool (most unusual for me).
• Made the most of the extra hour of drinking time.

All this and I even found time to have a much-needed haircut, and finally got round to reading The Time Traveller's Wife, which Jez recommended to me over a year ago.

Now, after all that fun, I'm tired, skint, back at work, and we have five months of darkness to get through...!