Catch up

You may gather from the lack of posts and also the recurring theme of recent ones that I am busy just now immersing myself in all things of an advanced motoring ilk.

This coming Sunday, adverse weather (i.e. snow or ice) permitting, I am sitting my advanced motorcycle riding test, then later that day I will be sitting my mock advanced car driving test, hopefully followed up as soon as possible with the actual advanced car test. I have been watching videos, reading books, and, not least, riding the actual motorcycle. Very easy to get caught up in all the theory but it's how you put it into practice on the road that counts!

Work is also very busy just now, and last weekend was spent singing with Glasgow Chamber Choir at two concerts, in St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh and St Mary's Cathedral Glasgow, so I feel like I haven't had much down time recently. Really enjoyed the weekend, it has to be said, even if it was French music! On the whole it was a good sing though, and it was certainly good company. That said, the pub we went into after the Edinburgh concert on Sunday evening, Deacon Brodie's (must remember to add it to my Website) was interesting mainly for the very drunk, and rather offensive Irishman with the pint of Guinness in his hand and two little lines of snot coming from his nose, who spat as he spoke while encroaching into your personal space. Staggering around, spilling beer on people, and stealing people's seats by sitting right next to complete strangers (i.e our crowd) and trying to join in in a most inappropriate manner. A quick word with the barman, and then a short period of putting some previous "interpersonal skills" training into practice (i.e. facing up to the bastard eye to eye and not backing off. Well, I say eye to eye, but as I am a short arse and he wasn't it was more like eye to chin!) and he was out the door, after of course getting really close to my ear and, so that only I could hear, firing off the most vulgar, rude, coarse invective that he could muster at me. Sticks and stones and all that. It actually put him up slightly in my estimation anyway! The decision had been made by then and he was about to be heading towards the door anyway so I had already won the battle and there was no point in entering into a discussion with him.

Layclerk 1, abusive drunk, nil.

I really thought I'd put all that "having to be assertive in the face of aggression" stuff into a previous life behind me. Oh well, at least I remembered how to do it I suppose. Like riding a bike. Oh dear, there I go again. Bikes bikes bikes!

I need a holiday. But I have no spare cash, having bought a new house barely 6 months ago and all the expense that entails. I might try to get away at least overnight somewhere over the Christmas holidays when I can finally get a break from everything. By then the seemingly relentless round of carol singing will have abated. I'm getting too long in the tooth and cynical to enjoy many of them any more.

I'm off for a glass of whisky.