Attilio's Ristorante

London! We can feel the trip closing to an end and we don't want it to, we really don't want it to; but it's the inevitable conclusion of any vacation. Kelly, Edward & Joseph had beat us to London, so with the wonder of the cell-phones that George had so very thoughtfully provided, we were able to get in touch with those crazy kids and arrange a meeting. Kelly & Joseph had, the night before, located this charming little restaurant somewhere near King's Cross, so off we trundled for good ol' Italian food, the English way. Actually, the food was delightful, the wine was good, and the company brilliant. I'd have had it no other way. Marita Beth & I were in a bit of a hurry, sadly, due to theatre commitments that we had so our dinner was a bit more rushed than I'd have personally liked; but great nonetheless. Kelly, Joseph, thanks for locating the spot; Edward, thanks for joining us there. It would be the last time we saw these fine folk on this trip, so we made it as wonderful as we could. Thierry still has not put pen to paper on a very lucrative contract; but I like to look at as though he's already made the commitment to stay and proves it on the pitch. He's a right purple man at the moment and when he goes purple, so does the team. The Arsenal have Portsmouth on the weekend, which hopefully will be somewhat of a waltz. However, Pompey are in desperate need of the points, too, so it may be more akin to a polka. Then there's the fact that both Reyes & Campbell look to be fit again. Of course, Wenger puts it more delicately in Sol's situation by stating that he is 90% read to compete for a place. Delighted to see that the overblown centre-back isn't just going to be gifted his starting berth back. It looks as though he'll have to prove he wants it more than Senderos or Toure, who have been marvelous. Lovely time, this. It's Friday. I'm staring at the arse of the week and thinking of having a beer to celebrate its leaving. So, that's it for now, headed to the pub. Wastrel On! (Listening to: On a Carousel by the Hollies)

The Peacock

We've left Arbor Low and scouted out a location to spend the night. We've gone as far as we could and have ended up in Matlock, Derbyshire at some hotel called the Grouse & Claret. A nice enough place owned by a couple of decent folks who, oddly enough, seem to care for their tenants. The owner actually even came up & unscrewed our window so we could open it, as it was blistering hot outside (and inside our room, too). Just down the lane from the Grouse & Claret was this charming Inn & Pub, they were full up (and expensive). The Peacock has a charm & appeal to it that struck me. I hope to visit it again and actually stay within it's confines for a night or two. The Peak District in Derbyshire is beautiful & full of great walks and sights. Of course, I gots to lose me some of this extra weight I'm carrying about at the moment so that the walking isn't such a chore. That's it today, have to get to work. I've lost an entire week's worth of time with these crazy webmeetings I've had to host. So now back to coding. Until then, Wastrel On! (Listening to: From Hillbilly Heaven to Honky Tonk Hell by Kenny Chesney & Terry Lawrence)

One Last Image from Arbor Low

Well, my personal goal of posting a write here every weekeday until my journal of our Trip2Scotland is complete is shot all to hell. It's been very busy at work, and I just don't think about it when I'm at home. This is one last image from Arbor Low. I have dozens of them I could have used, but this one I liked best. The cows in the middle, the wife off the side, the beautiful, if hazy, English landscape in the background and the astonishingly green verdant in the foreground struck me. As I mentioned, Arbor Low became, for us, a very special place for a short while and we were loathe to leave. But, leave we had to for we still had no place to stay the night. I expect we could have slept in the auto practically anywhere, but I'm pretty sure we both wanted something a little more upscale. So, there you have it. It's Wednesday & I'm knackered already. Guess I need a beer. Inter Milan is claiming interest in Henry (of course they are) along with Barcelon & Juventus. Real Madrid claims a new coach has been established, but won't tell us who. My money's on Eriksson, and as far as I'm concerned RM can have the windbag; he suits them, they suit him. Match made in hell. Liverpool demolished hapless Birmingham yester-eve in the FA cup while Chelsea take on the Toon army today. Come on Toons! So, that's it. Back to the grinding stone. Wastrel On! (Listening to: And You Don't Remember by Mariah Carey)