Tuesday 30 September 2008

My Most Wise Mintor Signs A Great Many Books, Plus: Liverpool Fans Drown My Sorrows

So.

I went to Chester (ish) this weekend for Caroline's signing. I did initially test out the widget to breaking point to see if it indeed have magical powers and could transport me physically, as well as mentally.

But no. It is not yet that magical - perhaps the next one will be.

So I got the train instead with Evil Cake Fiend (she baked, which was lovely. But made me carry them and wouldn't even let me steal one. Not a single one...) at stupid hour in the morning.

Still - the signing was really good. Caroline looked busy and impressively cheerful throughout. I drank coffee and read Black Boxes (so far, so mint - it's a bit rude though so i had to hide it from the families which surrounded me in the coffee shop.) She even signed my copy. Even mentioned Lesbian Nurses for me which made made me proper smile, how.

Then, finally, I got cake. And buns. And more coffee. And most importanly met loads of fellow bloggers. Took me a while to begin to unravel the Blog Names from Real Names and for a time couldn't shake the feeling i was in bizarre suburban based spy thriller. But, as no hencemen appeared, I eventually relaxed into it and quite enjoyed myself.

I resisted the urge to jealously punch Caroline's New Mint, largely because he was actually really nice and quite entertaining. He was also equally awkward about revealing the storyline to his forth coming novel - so that made me feel better. What I did wheedle from him made the book sound pretty interesting too, so I may yet end up hating him (kidding. Or am I? Yes. Maybe. Who knows? No, really, kidding.)

Anyway - I'm back at work doing nothing at all useful now and feeling more like my old self for so shamelessy wasting my time. Soon I will go and steal someone's biscuits or scrounge ket from the kids. Later I will have a coffee. I will breifly consider marking as I make my way home. I will remember that I left my marking at school when I get home. Bugger eh?

Plus:

Liverpool Fans Drown My Sorrows.

Despite my proper mint day on Saturday all was not great. Stupid bloody Toon. Messing up my day. And Caroline's oldest laughed at me when he discovered my dirty footballing secret (he did have the decency to turn away and giggle quietly though, he's obviously well brought up...)

Anyway - there I was, at Liverpool Lime Street waiting for my train, propping up the bar upstairs, when a Liverpool fan spotted the Newcastle Keyring which dangles from my Man's Bag (It is very manly. Honest, like).

So, a very big thank you to the Liverpool fans who insisted on buying me drinks to help ease my supporters pain, and thank you all so much for travelling with me to Leeds and keeping me entertained and the rest of the carriage so obviously irritated. It was mint. how.

4 comments:

MH said...

Ha. Was ace meeting you too, Nik. Perhaps if I'd managed to speak without finding it hard to look at my shoelaces I'd have been even MORE entertaining - and you'd have got some more sense out of my conversation. Perhaps we should never read each other's books all the way through to preserve any kind of mystery; randomly selecting a page every year to piece together what they're ACTUALLY about. But thus far we're winning at ambiguity, and that'll do. Hope the journey back wasn't too grim.

I'd better blog really, and add some folks to my links and all that other stuff bloggers do.

Cheerio!

Caroline said...

You didn't mention my lesbian nurses t-shirt!

Poppy asked why we were all talking about les-buries!

And Matt's novel has no sex in it.

And, you are very very perfect!

Thanks so much for making the journey. It meant very much muchness to me.

x

Beth said...

Ha! I would've let you have a cake, just one, if you'd said 'pretty please can I have a cake'. In fact I meant to have one myself once we'd changed at York. But I forgot. Sorry. I will bring train cake as well next time :)

You even managed not to hide in corners too much!

And if Kiefer has a man-bag in 24, noone's going to take the piss, I reckon.

Good to see you again! and again again :)

DJ Kirkby said...

I think it is so hilarious that you are jealous of Matt, brilliant. I am a bit jealous of Matt's cleverness with words and I am not even one of Caroline's mint! Did Caroline swoon when Trousers walked in? Sure wish I could have met you all, I bet you didn't even save me any cakes did you?