One minor mishap made the start to my long weekend in Surbiton a bit fraught. Staggering in full from too many pints, I set the alarm for 4.30, drank a pint of water and went to bed. If only I had set the alarm to 4.30 am, instead of 4.30 pm, I wouldn’t have been woken by the miscreant and had to rush my departure for the airport.
Loads of families off on their hols, but only the odd child wailing on the plane. A cup of coffee and I was grand. A bottle of juice on the train and I was even better.
A walk to the Antelope after I had chatted with my mother found me in interesting company. A fellow was sat outside on a bench in the shade with his dog comatose in front of him. I sat down and we nattered away. It turned out he was getting married tomorrow to the woman he has lived with for 30 years, His grandad was reared in Belfast in difficult circumstances. His mother had been committed to a mental hospital after she attacked her husband with a knife. He said that it was probably post natal depression, but the incarceration did her head in and she spent a lifetime locked up.
He was a butcher by trade and knew plenty about the history of the pub. He has been going there for 40 years, so he should. A heart attack 8 years ago made him think about how best to ensure that his partner was well provided for if he died. Hence the wedding.
The Antelope has a beer and cider festival on at the moment, with about 20 different barrels out in the back courtyard. Mum, William and I will be heading there for some quaffing and grub this evening….my pint was called Mad Squirrel and tasted lovely.
odespinner 