It's fine to give yourself several objectives over a weekend but younger readers beware, once you reach a certain age, it gets harder to achieve them!
However, having bought tickets for two concerts on the Friday and Monday, and transport for Exeter and Cheltenham in-between, I expected to last
longer than 24 hours!
Shane MacGowan; a fine looking man
The Pogues Christmas Concert at Brixton Academy, sorry 02 academy(!), is in it's sixth year and after every one the German and I say "that's it", no new stuff from the band while Shane MacGowan looks like he won't last till Christmas Day let alone another 12 months!
And every year we book tickets, mainly because it's a great gig and, well, it could actually be the last time we see the drunken Irishman waltzing around the stage at the end of 'Fairytale of New York', certainly not the last time we see drunken Irishman.
And every year I follow the true tradition of every Pogues fan, and get very, very pissed. Always ending up in the awful Weatherspoons next to the Academy buying large JD's, singing the 'Irish Rover' very badly, I have an Irish brother-in-law I'm allowed, in the middle of a scrum of Celtic shirts and homeless people who have come into the warm and maybe grab a beer off a drunken reveller.
Then there's the 4 quid cans of Strongbow inside that may empty the wallet but keep the heads spinning and the crowd singing, all of this not the best preparation for a 6am alarm call and a 7.30 train from Paddington to Exeter St. David's, let alone the two days after that!
Sadly, so it proved. I felt crap, the weather being minus six didn't help, but I found the train and collapsed in my seat and went through several cups of coffee to keep me alive.
As we arrived in Bath the spa town looked lovely with the early morning sun and the melting snow, then on to Bristol where soon after the train stopped, for a very long time.
Some off track cables we were told were buggered and we pulled into Exeter St. David's nearly an hour late but still before 11am.
My mood had improved a touch if not my overall health, yet there was the No. 1 choice of my pub crawl, the Great Western Hotel, looking splendid so in I fell.
Devon's finest is better on draught but we couldn't find a photo
There was the usual choice of seasonal beers, I was tempted to try the Steaming Santa but at nearly 6% my liver appreciated I'd decided on one of my favourite beers, O'Hanlon's Yellowhammer, brewed in Devon it's a more sociable 4.2% and £2.80, and a bloody good pint when looked after, as it was here. So good I had two, the chair was comfy.
The Old Firehouse; selling tickets for a New Year's Eve party 6pm until 6am as we speak!
I had to make some sort of move so started the trip up St. David's Hill past the Jolly Porter and also the Weatherspoon's Imperial which I'll do on the way back. I was after the pub that could be closed according to the ciderspace website, The Old Firehouse.
A bit of a trek up more hills but found it, very open and several choices, a few in the actual barrells, and there was Yellowhammer again.
Now the night before was starting to catch up with me so better keep to the devil I know, which I have to conclude was better striaght from the source so to speak than pumping out of several yards of piping.
A studenty pub with a welcoming feel to it, the manager called me 'Sir', I'm not used to that, so I stayed for another pint.
2 p.m. now so better find the ground, armed with map I was only a couple of minutes away from Sidwell Street and following a straight line found the Wells Tavern by the ground and could see several Yellow shirts.
Not good enough for me I had to walk up another bloody hill to try the Victoria Inn five minutes away. A pleasant place, another nice landlord, and......Yellowhammer on draft. Oh why not? Pint please.
The game, as ever, is far better described here; www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/rprt/mtch/exeter_city_1_southend_united_0_478050/index.shtml and it's not hopeful reading for this time of year, with some of the lowest marks I've given this season, a fair amount of possession or not. It's what you do with it Tilly old son.
Ibehre was an embarrassment and is clearly not up to trying to rescue his career just yet. Look what Theo did, it got him noticed by the Terriers and a few bob for Watford, who obviously need the dosh as much as we do, and though he's now just scored one goal in 15, and that a penalty, he's getting a decent pay packet every month.
Silly boy, and those chances, if you've missed them, and Jabo certainly did, catch it all here, but you might want to hide behind the sofa; http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8423649.stm.
A small but perfectly formed ground
The ground's acceptable enough, an open terrace for the away fans and though only a couple of degrees it didn't rain. I paid the extra two quid to sit down as after my Yellowhammer tour I needed it, and it was good to hear some different comments for a change amongst the more mature supporters who joined me, though age doesn't always bring wisdom there was some decent wit.
Good Bovril at half time, I enjoyed the day, though getting up for a game against a team in the lower regions to see us lose yet again without scoring, that Laurent goal at Carlisle seems a long, long time ago, is getting a touch tedious.
A Shrimpers supporter is well used to the hard times but these are long and expensive days out and one is starting to tire of the same old excuses, still if the money is not there we have to hope Tills recaptures his magic in the loan market, a Theo and not a Jabo though maybe Walker deserves yet another chance, well they keep trotting out Bell in the England test team!
One of the better Weatherspoons, but stick to the drink!
Two hours to kill I re-found the Imperial ordering a Weatherspoons Fish and Chips, interesting, and a very large glass of Pinot Grigio to wash it down, before it came back up again!
The train was on time and it was good to see that the longer South West trains route back to Waterloo that left 90 minutes earlier, it actually becomes the 18.26 that has been caught the odd time from Yeovil Junction, would only get in 25 minutes before our 18.56, and there were a few Shrimper shirts waiting, I hope they got the £12 singles each way as well.
Back in Paddington on time, very tired, and a trip to Cheltenham to see daughter in the morning, as well as The Pet Shop Boys awaiting on stage on the Monday.
I hope it's a home fixture at this time next year, and I'm not going to the Pogues again, maybe.
Yo Ho Ho!