Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels

It was about time for our annual sojourn to the countryside to do some clay pigeon shooting, so I was more than ready when J was invited to Holland & Holland by a work colleague. Lucky me, I usually get to tag along to these outings, and I was more than pleased to break out my hunting jacket for the occasion.

I think this could be one of my favourite photos - our best imitation of countryside gentry.



We chilled out in the reception room as our instructor got our shooting equipment ready and warmed up with some hot coffee as some stuffed animals looked on. J got to use a 12 gauge shotgun, while I stuck with a smaller 20 gauge.



We had an hour of shooting scheduled, and we were lucky that they could fit us in as it's currently gaming season and hunters were out in full force with their deer hunting rifles. Our instructor was a former instructor for the US military so he was full of amusing anecdotes in between teaching us how to shoot properly. A bit overqualified to teach a couple of lawyers to shoot for an afternoon, but I wasn't complaining.

I was good enough to hit most things so long as the instructor was telling me when to shoot. Otherwise, I got overexcited and jumped the gun. Sounds about right.

J was disturbingly good. I blame it on all the videogame playing.



We finished the afternoon off with a pub lunch at the Old Orchard on Park Lane. The portions were huge, and the ambience was really cosy especially since they had their Christmas decorations up. Another point in its favour was the roving bloodhound. Dog = win.



It was a great afternoon in the country, but my shoulder's still a bit sore from the shotgun's kickback. J swears up and down that his shoulder feels fine, but I'm happy to report he's sporting a shoulder bruise just like me. We are a couple of badasses. Lol.

Farewell at the Knights Templar

My friend Patrycjya is leaving for Paris tomorrow, and we all got together for one last drink at the Knights Templar at Chancery Lane.

The Knights Templar is part of the Wetherspoons pub chain, and the decor is quite nice with really high ceilings. The bathroom is even nicer and has more lounge seating than actual toilets, believe it or not. Another couple nice things are that the drinks aren't too expensive, and the place was pretty busy but not too packed. They also have a pretty good selection of food, even if the salsa for their nachos did taste like it came out of a jar.

In any case, about twenty of us were there to say farewell to Patrycjya since she's pursuing a much better job opportunity in Paris. I'm happy for her, but at the same time, I'm still sad to see her go.

 

I've promised to visit her in Paris, which is only a 2 1/2 hour train ride away, and she's planning many future trips to London, but it's not the same, especially since she's only recently become my running buddy. But I could always chivvy J to go on runs with me, and it looks like I may be running the Warsaw marathon in Poland with Patrycjya this September, but we'll see if that happens. =)

In any case, I'm off to do one last run with her now!

The Hoop and Grapes

Instead of watching re-runs of the Gilmore Girls and trying to talk myself into going for a run, I met up with my friends for lunch at The Hoop and Grapes, a mellow little pub on Farringdon Road. I decided to live dangerously and ordered the vegetarian lasagna, which came with chips and a side salad. Much to everyone's surprise, it was pretty good!

It was nice catching up on everyone's goings on and getting some tips for Paris. Now I know how to pronounce at least three French words. Mon dieu!

We're happy because we ate lunch. Very happy.

A Holiday Tipple

I've just wandered home from having a holiday pint with my work colleagues, and it turns out that a half cider is about all I can handle before someone has to wheelbarrow me home. I figure this is good information for me to have any future pub trips. In any case, the Cittie of York in Holborn is definitely worth a visit - old building, not too busy, and clean with great decor. What more can a girl looking to get smashed ask for?

Continuing our cultural exchanges, we spent much of yesterday playing with Christmas crackers we got from the canteen workers, wearing crowns and saying jokes and playing with yo-yos that fell out of them. It's too bad that they're regarded as explosives so I can't send some to the States. The terrorists really do ruin it for everybody.

Looks innocuous, doesn't it? Not per the TSA.