Be Excellent To Each Other

So on Monday my friend arrived from the USA. For once I have been absent from beex in body and not just mind.

I decided to do a sort of write up. It'll probably be as boring as shit, but hey, I tried

Monday : Off to Gatwick at 5:30 AM. Found out the train doesn't go directly there and ended up arriving about 30 mins late. Sadly my friend had been waiting there for two hours on account of his flight arriving an hour and a half early Never ever known that before.

In the afternoon we went to Littlehampton. Fish and chips at Osca's right down on the harbor near the boating pond thing.

Tuesday : Back to Littlehampton for more Osca's. I think my friend has found a new pal in fish and chips, because he's bloody obessed with it now. In the afternoon we went onto Bognor (eww) and had a look around, before going over to my unc's house to see the family.

Wednesday : London. I had been absolutely dreading this day for weeks. Because of my Bipolar I don't like going to crowded places. I get really super nervous and depending on my mood (up or down) I can freak out in crowds. The morning started off well, we did the 2 hour train journey into Waterloo. I put my friend on the London Eye (I don't do heights I get vertigo and lose my balance) and stood there getting rained on whilst he marvelled at what is London.
He got off and we went to the Movieium or whatever it's called. Now that was great. They basically have all kinds of props and shit from movies from days past, aswell as an entire bogus set of Star Wars where you can (very expensively) get your photo taken and printed holding light sabres and posing with R2D2 and C3PO. Got a special offer on that, was only £12 to get in and IMO £12 well spent.

Onto Oxford St and Regent St on the buses. Did a bit of a tour and things got a bit packed and I had a bit of a moment and almost had a panic attack. Thankfully by the time my nerves got really bad we were on our way back to Victoria to head home.

Got home around 7pm, went to bed, got up at 12am to watch the Phils game (GO PHILS !) went through to the World Series, went to bed about 5am.

Thursday : Worthing. Time to hit the shops and watch my yank pal go through money like water. Got ripped off in Thorntons (yay) and got charged a pound for a carrier bag. Got some new clothes, Ryan (my friend) decided he wanted to buy the entire UK book collection of Harry Potter because, and I quote , "They have cool looking covers, dude". Couldn't get the books so tried Littlehampton again. They didn't have them either so it was home at around 8pm, collapsed on the sofa (god being a tour guide is tiring) and slept a lot. We also did Arundel Castle and all it's coolness on the way home by car (uncle took us) so managed to cram in some bonus stuff.

Friday : Bognor Regis (again). Went to Smiths where we managed to get every Harry Potter book bar one and came home. I have since ordered it for him from Amazon but I doubt it will arrive in time so I will have to pay out the bum to ship to him in the USA. He did seem determined to get them all so hey, couldn't let him down.
Walked the streets and did the shops, but something makes me feel uneasy about being in Bognor. I don't know why, I mean, it's not really a bad town it just kinda reminds me a bit of London by the sea, or Margate.

Today : fuck all ! today Ryan learned about the wonders of UK 'Soccer'. We watched the Villa game earlier today and it was a bit shit. I felt stupid because I had hyped up our football so much and told him how super amazing it was so many times that he seemed to be really bored lol. Thankfully Chelsea gave Blackburn a complete battering and he finally 'gets it'. He also regrets buying a Man U Wayne Rooney shirt (yes, I know, but he is a yank) and now wishes he had taken my uncle's advice and got a Didier Chelsea shirt. Oh well.

I'm not quite finished yet. Tomorrow we are off to the wonderful Chichester Cathedral and Monday we are going to Portsmouth to see the HMS Victory and the Mary. I have never really seen either because the last time I went to HMS I was in a wheelchair having been ran over by a car and suffering from a shattered themur and broken arms. I was about 8 so the Mary wasn't there yet.

You haven't done canterbury or stratford? Merkins love little medieval towns, man. They're like, so quaint, and the people really live there! Those crazy english.

Canterbury isnt that great.... there's a fenwicks and a canal, and the canterbury tales...

Also Cafe des amis, which does most awesome mexican food, but that's about it

Too far away sadly. We did see some of those uber old houses in Arundel where the doors are like, 5ft tall. His face was a picture haha, like "fuck dude that door is tiny, how would you get in there?!?!"

And yes, you're right. The yanks love all the old stuff. Chichester Cathedral is the best I can think of that's reachable. They found that it was built on an old Roman villa so you can look through the floor and see the old Roman floors. Cool beans

By the time he goes home though I will need a holiday myself. I'm not in the best shape of my life (back problems) so I'm so tired and aching it's crazy. My back's been flaring up so bad in the mornings I can't even walk properly for about an hour.. Need rest haha.

thats it mention the Blackburn game and upset me

Just got back from Chichester Cathedral. Was really good ! bit windy but hey ho.

Time for the UTD Liverpool game

And a cathedral, city wall, gardens, town gates, clock tower and abbey that are about three times older than the whole of the USA. And damned beautiful to boot. There are no towns like it, or stratford or nantwich, is all, because half the towns are older than the whole country. They tend to like that.

Still, sounds like a good tour.

americans probably love it... but when it's just the nearest city to go shopping in, it seems to lose it's wow-ness

Oh, aye. If you live there, or near there, these things always seem kind of invisible.

I rather like Canterbury on my one visit there for a weekend a couple of years ago.


Very much . Also, they gave me a free jar of habanero chillies, after I showed interest in a jar of them on display.

They usually have rather attractive polish waitresses aswell which is always a plus

Got this today at Chichester Cathedral. Apparently in 1966 some of the floor subsided so they dug it up and found this. A Roman floor dating to 200 AD. My mate was so excited

Deffo correct, our country has history they can only dream of

Aye, that's one reason I really like it when pals come up, down or over to visit. There's loads of stuff I've forgotten about or never noticed that I (re)discover

What's in Nantwich? I'm invisible to it, given I technically work there. It's a lovely little town, though. Brilliant sweet shop down one of the alleys, too. The whole place just reminds me of a small Chester, but without the smell of piss or the chavs.

This also happens when you have a baby. It gives you fresh eyes too.

So was this your friends first visit to England? Will he return?

You monster.

Also: The thread title is misleading.

Keep watching.

JC, does your fried rock a fanny pack?

Role Reversal!

He had what they call a book bag but he was soon banished from carrying it as it made us look like total plebs

Americans seem to bloody love Cambridge, too, but they don't like that they built King's College Chapel so far away from the railway station.

Nobody likes that. It's a pain the backside when you go visit. The tour claims it was to discourage the students nipping into London.

I do like Cambridge, though. My father is a Cambridge man and the missus and I had an excellent visit - we bought wine and strawberries and sat on a grassy knoll in the middle of the river near where there's some rollers for lowering punts down a change in elevation (near Silver St and the Mathematical Bridge if anyone cares) and sat and ate and guzzled under a tree while it drizzled and some chavettes were struggling to light a portable barbecue, and we were very content. We then hired a punt and I put my dad's tips to work and successfully punted my way around in the traditional way, with the lady sitting and admiring my exertions and 'fuck, nearly lost the pole then's for quite some time. Then to the pub for some well-earned cider.

King's College Chapel was built, says Wikipedia, between 1446–1531. I don't think there was much in the way of a high speed rail link back then.

Sarcasmatron repair team notified. Please remain seated.

I live in Cambridge.

That is all.

Oooh, idyllic.

I've been there a couple of times to stay with friends, it's well nice. Got infuriated each time by the "Awesome gigs and concerts and indie and punk and concertos and everything everyday all the time apart from the days you're here!"

The high street is the same as any in Britain and most of the areas around the colleges are rammed with tourists, so I was quite pleased to find that little peaceful bit.

There's also a nicer pond area to punt into, near where there used to be an excellent restaurant called Sweeney Todd's which was a mandatory visit for us back in the day.

That's what we do every day in the summer. For realz. Except a real Cantabrigian would be drinking Pimms or port, not wine.

(not a Cambridge graduate, I just live here, innit)

Snob.

No, I'm just better than all of you, that's all.

That's your job, isn't it?