Well, this weekend, if you remember, was the weekend that Derek and Kelly came over from London to visit. So, Friday night I was on my way to the bus station to meet them when I realized that I didn't know if they took a regular bus or if they were cheap bastards and took the MegaBus. So I called to find out, since each bus has a different drop-off/pick-up location. Well, they were feeling cheap (which is understandable b/c Derek is in grad school), and they were late. That's what you get when you buy the cheap seats. So I turned around and had a pint at Dobell's up the street, where I got to listen to two drunk blokes harrass the cute bartender for ice after last call.
After the wine at the apartment and the beer at the bar I was feeling good when they arrived. It was 11:30 and all the bars were closing, leaving only nightclubs if we wanted to go out, so we went back to my place and had some drinks there instead. Ended up chatting the night away talking about all the recent no smoking laws creeping up in the States. My new idea: send them all to England. Everyone smokes here anyway.
The next morning I come to find out, from Derek and Kelly of all people, that the Cheltenham Racecourse is hosting a big 3-day race this weekend, second only to the one over St. Patrick's Day, so we decide to do that. My camera starts to act up before heading out the door, which is very disappointing, but also very exciting. After also finding out the the lens kit I bought for my camcorder doesn't even fit, I've now got some good arguments for getting that new camera. I can use the money from returned lens kit to go a long way towards paying for it. Anyway, still nursing a headache we head out and walk up to the racecourse, not really knowing what to expect (I've never been to the horseraces before). We find our way to the ticket booth and are confronted with a choice, a ten pound choice: Tattersalls or Club. Not knowing what the extra cost of the Club ticket will get us, we ask. Apparently you can "go anywhere" with the Club ticket, so we take that, expecting grand things. At 30 pounds a pop we'd better make the most of it.
We head inside and see these strangely outfitted guys with huge backpacks. Turns out they're Carling Guys, and the backpacks are full of beer! You give the guy your money and he grabs a cup from the dispenser and fills your cup with beer from the tap. I'd be so popular at parties if I could snag one of those. Club pass and beer in hand we discuss where to go next. Kelly says, "We've got these tickets, so I want to go somewhere THEY can't go!" So we do. Or, at least, we try, when we're stopped b/c we can't take our beer there. Sucks. But it does afford us some time to decide how to bet and who to bet on. That out of the way we make our way to the field. It was cool. The place was huge, and crowded. Derek wins the first race (and the last race), but the rest of the races we end up big losers. But at 2 pounds a pop it's not so bad. Hey, look who it is at the stand where we're getting our mulled wine. It's ice boy from last night! Still a prick, I see. All in all, the races were great, as was the atmosphere. Don't know if I'd do it again, but probably.Back at the flat (it's like 5PM, though it feels later with the darkness), we have some wine and plan some more of the Glasgow trip. We grab the tickets for the Hogmanay event, as well as our hotel. Solid. I also tell them about the Ceremony of the Keys tickets I got in the mail that same day. Turns out, too, that Derek has my back on doing a Whisky tour. Awesome. And speaking of back I turned them on to Jonathan Coulton's version of "Baby Got Back." Great song.
We head back to "That Mexican Place" so they can try the wings. Unfortunately though, it's a fine line between "crisp" and "burnt" and these crossed it. That was too bad because my first batch was awesome. Derek says it just proves that the English really do cook the hell out of meat in order to kill anything that might be in it (think "Mad Cow"). The queso dip wasn't that good, either, but on the plus side the sangria was great. They put tequila in it. Yum.
After our meal we walk down to "Tailors" to try and catch the rest of the football game, but the game is over and rugby is on instead. The place was wicked crowded so tailors for the game, so we head over to "The Q Bar" instead. From the outside this place looks small, but once you're inside there are 3 levels, with tons of cool couches. These things are all sorts of sizes and shapes. We head to the third level where the pool tables are and relax a bit. It was fun to bounce digital photography concepts and standard photography concepts between Kelly and I. Her background in standard 35mm photography was a good contrast to my understanding of digital photograpy. Good times. To the next bar!
I took them around the corner to a place that my coworker claimed had the cheapest drinks around. There was a reason that "Moon Under Water" had cheap drinks. Other than the cool sculptures of a moon dropping into water, there was no music, no televisions, and no real atmosphere. But the drinks were indeed cheap; it was 2 pounds 50 for a double vodka tonic. Nice. Almost too nice. Kelly's drink knocked her on her ass. Poor girl. We had a brief conversation with some bloke that was born and raised in Cheltenham but often mistaken for Irish b/c of his "accent." I think it was a bit of a ploy on his part because, as the conversation turned to his visit to the States, his accent shifted back toward a standard English accent. Still, it's fun to have people come up to you that are oh so curious about where you are from.
Man, we were really doing the grand bar tour of Cheltenham, weren't we? And it was only like 9:30 or 10 o'clock. From that place we went to some bar called "Slak" virtually across the street. It was a dark, goth-like bar, with candles on the tables and sex machines in the bathroom. Not sex machines like Shaft. Not sex machines like Rob Lowe either (thank God). But vending machines, like this one.
That's right folks, a vibrator machine, and the batteries are included for only 5 pounds! Of course we have to buy one. All is going well, I'm alone in the bathroom as I put the money in, but then the machine takes my money! Bugger. So, there I am, pondering the complexities of life, when Derek walks in. I guess there's no other thing to do but to tell the bartender. Imagine if you will, 2 guys approaching the slightly effeminate bartender, and telling him that the vibrator machine took your money, then being told that he'll need to take down your name and number because they don't have the keys to the machines. Was it a ploy to get my digits? I hope not, because he got them. 
The vodka tonics are going down easy, and Kelly's sex on the beach is good, too, but it's time to go, especially since our candle games have caused the candle to go out. No more fun to be had.From there we head to "J's Vodka Bar" down by the theater. I'd passed it many a time on the way to and from the plays so I decided to try it. Now I wish I hadn't. The allure of the place was it's mystery. The reality was more like a frat house. The place was literally in someone's townhouse, with a bar here or there. We didn't stay long. Actually, we didn't stay at all.
Coming round to closing time now, so we head to "The Conservatory" on the way back to my flat. By the way, it's pronounced "conserve a tree" here. Cute. Kelly buys Derek and I a Guinness Extra Cold, which is delicious. We grab a seat by the back and Kelly immediately launches into a conversation with our table neighbors, telling them how D.C. beats London and New York City hands down. She was really talking that guy's ear off so I bought him a beer, and the three of us B-52 shots. The front bartender must've thought I was a freak when I, for reasons unknown to me, told her about the vibrator adventure. I wonder why. Last call rolls around so we head back to the flat to decide whether we are willing or, more to the point, able to go out to the clubs.
We decide that we are indeed NOT able, so we head across the street to the "Chop Suey House" for some late-night grub. Here Derek practices his Chinese. It's impressive, but the owner speaks Cantonese and Derek is learning Mandarin so there's a bit of a disconnect. I don't know if it still holds true, but it used to be that Cantonese was the language of the lower class and Mandarin was the language of the upper class. Either way it was fun. We took the food back to the flat and chowed down, listening to David Lynch songs, and Dane Cook skits until Kelly started to pass out. Time for bed, Kelly. I read a chapter or two of Harry Potter and followed suit.
The next morning I wake feeling great, which is a pleasant surprise. Please refer to my previous post, "Sunday Morning's Thought," to see what I think about while, um, evacuating the premises. Anyway, I spend the time between my rising and theirs to clean a bit. Good to have that out of the way; it's always a bit depressing to have to do that after everyone is gone. We did some more planning for New Years, officially deciding to make a day trip to Edinburgh. Then it's off to Gloucester. First stop: the Cathedral. It was gorgeous and, as it turns out, the place where many scenes of the Harry Potter films were done. Talk about serendipity. We cruised by the "Historic Docks" after that. It's a good thing they were historic because they really weren't that interesting. We spend a good amount of time tracking down some food, which ends up being very Thanksgiving-like. But that was nice because I'm not coming home for Thanksgiving. Back to Cheltenham we stop off at "Tailors" again, this time for some hot chocolate, and a conversation witht the bartender. She was to go to Baltimore for some internship but was forced to change it to Colorado Springs instead. We assure her that she got the better deal. Another cool vending machine was in this bathroom as well. 
This one was for "chewable toothbrushes." Oddly enough, the U.S. military must have been there as well.Well, all good things must come to an end, and it was time for their visit to do just that. We make our way to Wilkensons for some quick errands and then it's off to the stop for their bus. We pass the time at the book store until the bus gets there, and then it's time to say our good-byes and head to our respective homes. What a great weekend.
Back at the flat I start the process for returning the camcorder lenses and then order my new camera! Can't wait to get home to the States this week to play with it. I finish my day with some light reading, finishing the second Harry Potter book and starting the third. Tomorrow is another day of work. Boo.
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