Caught the tube to Vauxhall to meet Rachel for lunch. Rachel is an English girl I met in a free Korean class at a church in Seoul four years ago. I think I was the only atheist in our class at the church, but I got on really well with Rachel and a Canadian guy called Greg so we formed a study group together. Both Rachel and Greg left Korea after completing their one year contracts, but we always make an effort to meet up whenever we happen to be in the same country.
A homeless guy sat next to me on the subway. He smelled a little of booze and didn't seem to have any full teeth, just the bases of them were visible. And his nose was pretty flattened, looking like it had been broken more than once. He was a big guy, but didn't seem aggressive so when he asked about my Kindle, which I was reading from, I explained how it's different from an iPad. For the next four or five stops he talked to me about his old drinking buddy James and how he'd died when he was just 38. He got a bit teary eyed and then started to talk about life in the sixties. He said he was from Manchester originally, and I said I was from Northern Ireland. He mentioned George Best and said he was disappointed that George went back on the booze after his operation. At his stop we shook hands and said good luck. I was pretty pleased with myself for chatting to him because, to be honest, I'd usually feel uncomfortable in this type of situation and try to get out of it.
Rachel and I had some lunch in a pub - quite a fancy lunch actually, which seems to be the trend for pub grub these days. It was great to catch up and to reminisce on the past. She's working for an NGO and oversees fundraising. It sounds like a great job - challenging and creative and she even gets to go on "business trips" to Zimbabwe. Not a bad gig! When Rachel went back to work, I went to a tea house she recommended. A pretty place that the waitress described as Harry Potterish. At 5 or 6 pound for a cup of tea, it would need to be magic.
I met my younger cousin Gerard at about six. He's from the same place as me, but has been living in London for the last few years. I don't know him as well as I know my other cousins so looked forward to spending some time with him. He recently graduated and is working at a Wetherspoon pub in Kingston while looking for a graduate job. His pub serves quite a variety of European beers so it was good to continue to beer sampling tradition tradition of this trip. Gerard seems to be doing great - content, but focused - he looks to have bright future ahead of him. It's good that he's living away from home and in a big city with opportunities. I think doing that broadens people's horizons and gives them confidence to try more challenging things. I know that my time in Korea, surrounded by good people who believed in me, certainly made me feel more confident and optimistic about the future.
Karl came down too and joined us for a few pints. But, as always, a few pints turned into a session and it was another belly-full.
A homeless guy sat next to me on the subway. He smelled a little of booze and didn't seem to have any full teeth, just the bases of them were visible. And his nose was pretty flattened, looking like it had been broken more than once. He was a big guy, but didn't seem aggressive so when he asked about my Kindle, which I was reading from, I explained how it's different from an iPad. For the next four or five stops he talked to me about his old drinking buddy James and how he'd died when he was just 38. He got a bit teary eyed and then started to talk about life in the sixties. He said he was from Manchester originally, and I said I was from Northern Ireland. He mentioned George Best and said he was disappointed that George went back on the booze after his operation. At his stop we shook hands and said good luck. I was pretty pleased with myself for chatting to him because, to be honest, I'd usually feel uncomfortable in this type of situation and try to get out of it.
Rachel and I had some lunch in a pub - quite a fancy lunch actually, which seems to be the trend for pub grub these days. It was great to catch up and to reminisce on the past. She's working for an NGO and oversees fundraising. It sounds like a great job - challenging and creative and she even gets to go on "business trips" to Zimbabwe. Not a bad gig! When Rachel went back to work, I went to a tea house she recommended. A pretty place that the waitress described as Harry Potterish. At 5 or 6 pound for a cup of tea, it would need to be magic.
I met my younger cousin Gerard at about six. He's from the same place as me, but has been living in London for the last few years. I don't know him as well as I know my other cousins so looked forward to spending some time with him. He recently graduated and is working at a Wetherspoon pub in Kingston while looking for a graduate job. His pub serves quite a variety of European beers so it was good to continue to beer sampling tradition tradition of this trip. Gerard seems to be doing great - content, but focused - he looks to have bright future ahead of him. It's good that he's living away from home and in a big city with opportunities. I think doing that broadens people's horizons and gives them confidence to try more challenging things. I know that my time in Korea, surrounded by good people who believed in me, certainly made me feel more confident and optimistic about the future.
Karl came down too and joined us for a few pints. But, as always, a few pints turned into a session and it was another belly-full.
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