andrewducker | What I did on my Livejournal Holidays

andrewducker aged 32 1/2

After discovering it was going to be down for a while, I logged onto IRC and checked out the LJ discussion, to find out if they knew anything we didn't.

Having ascertained that the answer was 'no', I then had a bath and then headed into town with Lilian to grab some remaining Kitten-needs (like a catnip scratching post and a litter-tray-scoop). I then threw her onto a bus headed to the airport and met

eduard_green in town to go looking for LCD monitors, printers and MP3 players.

That took a couple of hours, following which I headed to Glasgow to see Sarah - an old friend who I lived with about 8 years ago (yes, that's a scary amount of time for me too!). I hadn't seen her for 18 months and had no idea that she'd (a) split up with her husband (b) moved to Glasgow and (c) got herself a new job as a counsellor.

Despite the rain there were no problems getting to Glasgow and finding my way to a small station in the suburbs. I arrived first (15 whole minutes early) and was warned that everyone that was coming was either a counsellor or in a relationship with a counsellor. What I _wasn't_ warned was that they were also all women (yes, including the partners) - it's funny what people think to mention, and complimentary that Sarah knew that I wouldn't even blink (although it did amuse me by the 5th time someone arrived and their partner _also_ turned out to be a woman).

Anyway, there was a flat blessing - a fairly simple shamanic ritual - that I managed to not only keep a straight face during but also got into the spirit of. Not that I believe in it, but it was a fun 15 minutes, and seemed to make people happy. It also finished with each person there lighting a candle and making a wish for the home - mine being "May you be peaceful and contented, but not _too_ peaceful and contented"

There was then lots of sitting about, chatting, drinking and eating - with occasional shop-talk by the counsellors. Very interesting people, with some great attitudes about life. And I talked to a woman who works with groups wanting to do ecological regeneration - helping them to get grants, planning permission, etc. who told me of a couple of nice green places to visit. Now I just have to get someone to show me The Necropolis.