Almost a leaving do

One of my best friends leaves work this Friday.
We first worked together on the IT team around ten years ago; I went off and worked on another team for a bit, then I came back and have been sat opposite him for the last three years or so. So it's fair to say that we know each other quite well.
Unfortunately, due to an impending operation for the woman in my life, I won't be in work to see him off on Friday, but a meal was sorted for tonight on Salford Quays so at least a few of us could have some sort of "goodbye" ceremony thing.

Onwards and upwards Chris, you already know that you deserve the new job, the promotion, the better pay, but believe this: you will be missed.

(Not by me though, as I'm sure you understand. We are men, we are blokes. We carry on as we are.)

We had a memorable time in London a few years ago on a training course where one night we went out for a short evening stroll on a balmy London evening and ended up walking around ten miles around London; and the next morning I was propositioned by a very pretty Canadian woman in the hotel lobby just after breakfast, but I instead went on the training course. Chris has never let me forget that I was single, even though I've reminded him that the course cost a few thousand pounds.

241/365

[Other food establishments apart from the one in the photo are available. This just happened to be the one we visited tonight.]