Prost!!!!

Last night I met up with Herman for drinks, and today I am paying for my wild abandon and unwillingness to do the sensible thing and quit while I was ahead. Shouldn't have had that fourth glass of wine, but you know what, it was completely worth it. It's been years since he and I sat down and had a proper conversation, and in the interim I had forgotten what good friends we used to be. It was fabulous to catch up with him. We started our evening with drinks at the Long Acre on the edge of Covent Garden, filling each other in on our lives since we last spoke. We then went walking around Soho, taking in the sights and smells of London, and looking for a place to eat. We finally decided on Chinese at the Crispy Duck, or something to that effect; only because we happened to be in China Town at the time and couldn't wait any longer for our next drink. Our waitress spoke next to no English, and got quite rattled when Herman orderd the stuffed pig's intestines (no, he was being serious, I thought it was a joke at first too). She kept saying "only for chinese people" rather vehemently - I think she was trying to prevent a silly English ignoramus from ordering a Chinese deliacy and then bitching about his food when he realised what it was. Herman was unphased however - as he said, he's German, he'll eat anything. When they came they didn't look like the bulging, veiny melanoma type sausages I'd been expecting; instead they were cut up into bite size bits that looked a bit like deep fried pork crackling. Against my better judgement, I tried a piece, just to say that I've done it. It wasn't putrid but I wouldn't voluntarily eat it again - it tasted like a super-fatty pork sausage with a crispy skin. After the intestines, we made our way back to Leicester Square and popped into All Bar One for the proverbial "one more". For a change, it really was only one more, as I knew I'd have to leave at about 10:30pm to be home before 12 - something which I try to make a pre-requisite on nights out during the week. I ended up catching the 11:20pm train though, simply because we were having such fun and we procrastinated like mad on our way to the station. I don't feel too bad today actually, although I have this curious sensation that I am on a boat - everything is swaying ever so slightly. I thought this would wear off as the morning went on, but it seems I might have done some permanent damage - I wonder if that's possible? My sense of balance is off - it's like someone poured beer in my ear!