Happy Birthday Skip!

For a 30th birthday not a great dal had been planned. It's funny how those are usually the days that you remember though isn't it? :D

Skip had hired a minibus to take us to the ground for today's game, we all chipped in a fiver to cover costs and then set off to play a league game that we had high hopes for. As the rain hammered onto the metal roof of the bus we all knew the likely outcome of todays match. Shared points and a long journey home. Our league have applied a rule which forces sides to travel to away games before a match can be called off. So we had to make the journey and in an amazing turn of ridiculousness the umpire made us wait until 4:30pm before calling the game off.

A beer or two at the oppos ground whet the appetite so we picked up a few crates for the journey home. 2 of the other players weren't able to join us on the bus so they were treated to some interesting views from the window as they followed or passed us on the motorway!

A detour via a well known local watering hole gave us a chance for the calls of nature to be answered and a few more beers to set us on our way. I think we got back to the Club by 7:00pm by which point we were beyond salvation. The 2nd XI were just wrapping up their match so we all got yet another beer and took a turn around the boundary hurling abuse at both the players we know and those that we didn't. Umpires were not excluded either as we all barracked them for their "poor decisions" :-)

It was a terrible mistake to bring his new girlfriend down to the cricket club on a night like this and Teed had tried to avoid it but she was adamant that she wanted to meet his mates. They walked toward the clubrooms with us all seated outside getting further toward a comatose state and my brother's heart must have sank. I stood up and shouted "F**K OFF!!!" at our club Vice Chairman for no good reason and then when Herman advised me that he wouldn't of known that it directed at him particularly I followed up with "GPS F**K OFF!!! Owzat Herm?". It was at this point that a) GPS ignored me (thankfully) and b) Teed said "Casper, this is my new Girlfriend."

Whoops.

The drinking continued unabated and Teed's new lass didn't let the side down. A new big drinker is just what the family needs. So off to the local nightclub herein referred to as JB's for some crazy dancing and more drinks.

"7th best nightspot in the world..."

It's a lofty claim but one that is made of Newcastle by some residents that I know. "...one place behind Rio." Well I'm glad that Rio pips Newcastle even if it is just for the weather however the comparisons between the two cities are some what closer in other areas. Both have huge constructs with splayed arms, the Angel of the North and the Statue of Christ the Redeemer and both have a buzzing night life.

It was the night life that I got to sample tonight. We headed for Shearer's Bar under St James' Park in order to catch the England match. A win got the night off to a good start and after a few beers there we all headed for The Gate which is like a covered shopping mall rammed to the hilt with pubs and night clubs! The first bar we drifted into I was met by busty young barmaids dressed only in skimpy bikinis! My jaw hit the floor and it took Mawson 3 attempts to get my attention to find out what I wanted to drink. I thought I had died and found heaven when two of the girls climbed the steps from the bar to a small dancefloor and started to gyrate to the heady sounds thumping out of the speakers. This was trully an awesome start to the evening!!!

A serious number of JD's later and we were drifting from pub to pub soaking up the atmosphere as we went. We finished up in a nightclub and spent the night dancing and drinking away with a bevvy of beautiful girls surrounding us. My memory from that point on is a little hazy but I think I remember Stu being cornered by this brute of a woman and being scared to say anything to her; the lads providing her with answers.

I got a taxi back to Sunderland and drifted off to the land of nod almost as soon as my head hit the comfy pillows.