…and I felt dusty.

This London visit started as all London visits should now, with a long lunch and dinner followed by drinks. It was during this that I was introduced to the most amazing bar, restaurant and club experience called ‘Sketch’ in the heart of London.  We thought the bar was good, but a walk through the rest of the club led to a sort of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ underground ballroom all in pink with silver service waiters and bathrooms that are igloo shaped.  I waited for ‘off with his head’ to be called out, but it never came…so I sent my friends to see for themselves, it was true…I implore you to go there.

The next morning, ok – afternoon, my brother and I went to Cardiff to meet up with my youngest brother and his partner for a day of watching the Ashes (Day 2 of the 1st Test).  With a capacity of only 17,000, their ability to gain tickets thoroughly impressed me, and with all of us on the same day.

Firstly, Cardiff.  If not for the large and rally driving roundabouts of Canberra (Australia’s capital) then Cardiff would be considered its’ Welsh sister town…the biggest public service announcement is how to leave at the end of the game.

Nonetheless…it is THE ASHES!  And we were in position to see the whole day with amazing seats…

From chants like the following (to the tune of I Love You Baby):

     “We love you Ben Stokes,

     And if it’s quite alright we love you Ben Stokes,

     I would let you f..k my wife,

     I want my kids to have ginger hair too”

…it was a great first session.  Time for a beer and as they serve Fosters with lids (cause the English consider it liquid gold, little do they know we wouldn’t serve this to our Kangaroos) we went in search of a better beer.  Like the sun parting through the clouds we saw a Heineken Bar on the yonder…upon arriving we felt like Watson with his bating that day…for they serve no Heineken beer, only brand it a Heineken bar, makes perfect sense.

After lunch and many ‘beers’…we had to end up drinking Fosters… down it mattered little as we were well and truly getting ‘Ashed’.  Kim’s banter to all around became funnier as the sun lowered behind us.

The day’s cricket wasn’t great but the chants, egging on the English fans who went out too early with their drinking and faded in the afternoon and of course seeing them getting sunburned all added up to the experience.

As we left I thought I really had put too many beers away as the signs seemed jumbled up, Kim dealt with my anxiousness by advising they were in Welsh and the English was underneath…that’s what Fosters will do to you.  On the way home we went to the infamous Walkabout to see how Cardiff parties…Canberra would be proud as I have been to church meetings that had more going for them.

The next morning it was a train to London to fly to our next destination, I looked like the Fat Controller and could only think Boony would have been proud!