Friday night after work:

went out with Dave and Ben to meet up with Andy, one of the boarding guys, for his birthday. Knowing that I had to get up at 7 am the next day to catch a train and then plane to Berlin, I did the sensible thing and drank twice as quickly to account for the curtailed night.

Dave and I arrived at the Outhouse for Ruth and Katie's bash around 10 or so. "Hello everyone. This is Dave! Dave M! Mad Dave! Ahahaha. [hic]"

The next morning was not what I'd call optimum. We caught the train/sauna in plenty of time and spent an uncomfortably warm couple of hours waiting for Newcastle to arrive so the rolling nausea and headaches could be soothed away by good old fashioned northern gloom.

Lunch was a plastic carbonara and a pint of 80'/- in the warehouse that is Newcastle airport, and then we were off.

[More later. I'm still knackered in that thousand-yard stare kind of way.]