Visiting Mason

Up to Mill Hill this morning. Lorraine gave me a lift in the rain to Preston Park station where I secured a croissant and cup of tea. Slow journey up to Mill Hill, enlivened only by me finding an unattended bag on a seat when I stepped into the carriage at St Pancras. Nobody else bothered much by it, but I spoke to the driver just in case. He told me that things were less likely to be dodgy if they are left in plain sight. It is the hidden away things you need to watch for.

Mum came to collect me from the station, and she drove us up to Barnet Hospital. No parking spaces there, so we had to drive off to park in a Barnet street. Into the hospital, and Mason sitting up and I was relieved to see him looking cheery and fairly well. He'd been talking to all the nurses, and was pleased to see us. Hung around with Mas chatting for a couple of hours, then Mum and I drove off to a pub on the way home for lunch. Mum later visited him again.

Sat outside eating fish and chips with mushy peas, mum drinking Ginger beer and me a pint of bitter. This followed by an interlude of panic, as Mum had lost the car keys. They weren't in the car. Eventually I thought of asking for them behind the bar. We think she left them in the ladies, and they'd been handed in, luckily enough. Mum stressed by the driving generally, and I suggested next time she take the bus.

Mum dropped me off at Stanmore, and I got a note from my lovely French clients, and I popped into a cafe in Kilburn to download the brief, then I talked to Val about it while I travelled from Brondesbury to Gunnersbury. Then walked through the familiar terrain of Strand on the Green, by now all pretty hot and sweaty. To the City Barge, where I had a slow pint waiting for Matt. Had a long-overdue chinwag, and then were joined by Isy, Elsa and young Harry, who is a solid little boy already. Really enjoyable time with them, before the call of the seagull grew strong in me, and I trained back down to Preston Park.

Just leaving the station, Beth phoned having scored a pizza after drinking with her work mates, and I bought another one from Sainnsburys and we sat about with Lorraine, shattered but happy, and scarfed pizza, before everyone sloped off gratefully to bed.

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