Aberdeen...

Fawlty Towers was probably preferable. The Station Hotel in Aberdeen should be avoided like the plague unless you'd like to be woken at 7am with the pipes banging like Ron Jeremy on Viagra… see you're shuddering at the mere thought! Well rightly so, to say I was cross was mild, I'm not really a morning person. We recorded it… unbelievable, played it back to the receptionist and got the room for half price. Not only was the building badly decorated, in need of a serious scrub and some grout in between the tiles in the lav (ewwww), the bed squealed like a girl under Ron Jeremy when you sat on it never mind slept in it. You know when you have bare feet on a carpet and it's making you cringe just the thought of what you might have stepped on from previous guests… nasty! We were meant to be staying another night… haha… I think not! We left!

I met an old friend for coffee… I like it when you have people in your life who just get you and there's never any awkward moments. I've not seen him in about five years yet we keep in touch fairly regularly by email. It was lovely to see him.

He went back to work and I wandered round Aberdeen University. I managed to make a student fall over… well I don't know if I made him fall over as such, I didn't push him or anything but he was walking towards me and properly staring at me and he tripped. He almost saved himself from the fall… twice… it was like something off You’ve Been Framed, only in slow motion. I did try not to laugh as I stopped to check he was okay when he finally hit the deck and then he did that comedy thing trying to get up again hoping no-one noticed. He was blushing like a schoolboy but confirmed he was okay. He asked if I was impressed at his valiant attempt not to fall over... bless him, I smiled and wandered off! Old enough to be his mother I suspect! Mrs Robinson eat your heart out!

Aberdeen is nice. I liked it a lot but I suspect the beautiful blue sky and the sun shining had something to do with that. Everywhere looks better on a nice day. The Uni is cool… I don't ever feel like I missed out by not going to university. I wanted a real job so I could have a life. I'm sure students have a life but I didn't have any great desire to study. Maybe if I'd done something creative I'd have enjoyed it but academia is not my thing at all. I'd have just been a slacker for an extra couple of years and made my parents pay for it. No regrets about that. Still it was nice to imagine what life would have been like as a student as I wandered round in my duffle coat not having to try too hard to blend in. I think this building is the library.

We were supposed to be staying another night but the lure of home was too great given that we'd at least get a long lie without the pipes singing to us at 7am so we buggered off. We came home via Steptoe's Yard in Montrose and came home with some junk! I can't resist fisheye mirrors, especially when they're a bargain.