Home, Shades....

It's coming back that gets me down. Doesn't matter how nice an evening you have away, sooner or later this town opens it's mouth like a raddled old toothless predator that's beyond the point it should have died and drags you back. Which is why I'm sitting here on a glorious afternoon where I should be out doing things, and frankly aren't, 'cause I'm a little mardy.

Been off on my travels, putting the world to rights with a buddy in the west; very entertaining evening which involved an excellent public house, and a very large amount of excellent beer (Cains FA and IPA, both excellent beers of their type; Little Valley "Tods Organic Blonde"; Handby Cherry Bomb (another big six percenter, a British fruit beer) and a nice bottle of Leifmanns cheery beer. Clearly a night for fruity bevvies. Didn't leave me much in the mood for travelling on Friday morning, but drive I must as Warton beckoned. Never been to this factory airfield of British Aerospace, and I forgot my airband and my maps, so I just bimbled into the approximate area and drove about until I found somewhere with a runway view. Not, as it turned out, the spot that everybody else uses but not a bad one anyway. My time wasn't wasted, I shall pay it another visit later in the year. A couple of unusual things ... saw something today I've never seen before. Polish planespotters. We're used to seeing the Dutch around, but here's a couple of guys with Z's in their names. Working here of course, but hell, not something I expect to encounter! And midway through the afternoon, there was a very pretty rainbow, but at high altitude. No idea what could have caused that. But considering Warton's a research airfield, maybe it's best not to ask.

So, monster hangover ensued, for which as we all know the best cure is continued exposure to the British climate, jet engines and burnt kerosene. Departed Warton, tried to find the BAe plant at Samlesbury and it's two gate guard airframes, but the AA's map lies and I ended up struggling to get out of the middle of Preston. Next trip, I shall see them.... I am patient..... Eventually pointed Christine in the directon of Manchester, then home, via a couple of rest stops as I was really quite knackered; and thus the dull feeling kicks in as you know home's coming closer with no real reason to be there. To be frank, the going's better than the coming back these days.

So onwards... today at work is just a day... not that I can't say anything about it, it's just that there's not much to say about it. Controvosy still rages about aforementioned staff redeployment, morale has taken another knock. Curiously, I'm not much effected by this; unlike our new guys I've no illusions about the character of the organisation that pays my wages, so it just washes off me. Looking forward to the rest of the week though. A beer festival at the end of next week; followed by three in four days the week after. It's an insane idea to attempt to attend all four. But then, always was a sucker for insane ideas....