I met this cheery soul in the High Street after attending a Youth Literacy (better spell-check this!) seminar in the old Regional Chambers on Friday. Mind you it was a pretty sultry afternoon so I suppose he didn't have an awful lot to smile about ...
Unlike Mr Obama, of course, who finally secured the Democratic Party nomination. Mrs Clinton, of whom I have spoken often on this blog, characteristically refused to accept reality until the bitter - for her, very bitter- end, and even her 'endorsement' of her rival just didn't ring quite true. I do hope that Mr Obama has the good sense to resist calls to make Hillary his running mate in a so-called 'dream ticket'. I think for Obama that dream would quickly become a nightmare, with Team Clinton - yep, they come as a package - plotting away along the corridor. Don't fall for it, Barack.
It's been a fairly quiet week, punctuated by a couple of events which involved the partaking of alcohol.
Finishes early on Monday to put the finishing touches to my Euro2008 Fantasy Football team. As ever I overspent and had to make some drastic changes which resulted in my finished effort bearing no resemblance to my original star-studded (and too expensive) line-up. With the Championships kicking off on Saturday I also finally decided on who to back (you've got to have a bet, haven't you?) and - for reasons that I can't now quite recall - my money has been 'invested' on the Czech Republic and the very tempting odds of 20 -1. Granted, they were fairly p*sh in their opener against p*ss poor Switzerland in their opening game last night but at least they did win. I am counting the winnings already ...!
On Wednesday evening I covered an event at The Filmhouse - Telford's Drama and Media students were showcasing some of their degree work and excellent some of it was too. Not quite top-class - more top brass - was the prices they were charging in the theatre's bar. Over three quid for a pint of bog standard Tennent's Lager - the very same pint I can buy in the Unionist Club for ONE POUND less! How can this be, I ask myself? Anyway, it didn't stop me drinking five or six pints of the stuff at The Filmhouse, dodgy differential or not.
More of the amber nectar on Friday following the Lothian Chambers event. Being in town it was an inevitable descent down the High Street to Jinglin' Geordie's, my favourite bar in all the world (okay, I don't get out much). All of the old faces were in - it's becoming a bit like 'The Last of the Summer Wine' - and afternoon quickly moved into early evening as the drink flowed. I've always felt that the Jingle's has a timeless quality (an excuse I often used in the past when I was late home) and that's still true today. I emerged blinking into the sunlight some hours later and was still coherent enough to call the bingo (uninvited) up at the Unionist Club. What a pro! (Or what an *rse, depending on your point of view).
This unusually heavy intake of lager (and the inevitable late night snacks that follow) are sure to have done some damage to my new 'health regime'. At least I've lost a few pounds on the Czechs!
Next week, the government faces a challenge on the 42 day detention question. The word is that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has managed to talk round a number of waverers, but even so the vote could be uncomfortably close for Gordon Brown.
Personally I think the majority of the country is with the government on this issue and I think a number of MPs would do well to listen to the views of their constituents on this one. They should also be aware that it won't be civil liberties issues that will decide the next election. No, that'll be the economy.
I ask myself: with lager at over £3 a pint, would I now be better off drinking barrels of oil ??!!
See you next week
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