Sweet & Sour

Perhaps it was the decision to go out in the vicinity of Old Compton Street but the Flea's drinking antics last night with old uni pals Robbierto, Philippe, Aaronovitch and JLo plus b/f Danski, yielded a new experience. And no, it wasn't anything sexually related (unless you're some kind of fruit and baked products pervert).

The evening started off in the old Molly Moggs pub which would surely win the 'highest density of glitter balls per square metre of ceiling in a pub' award if it existed. This glittery experience was brought to a premature end as most of the beers on offer for sale weren't actually for sale...as they had none left. The embarrassed barman told the Flea upon enquiry as to why 80% of the beers were off, that the delivery hadn't arrived, leaving thirsty punters the grand choice of 2 beers on tap which included the mightily expensive Kronenbourg Blanc at almost £4 a pint (and the Guinness was about to finish as well). After enduring a round or so of the expensive stuff, the Flea scratched a cynical chin as they departed this so-called drinking establishment for one which actually had a choice of drinks.

The chosen venue was The Coach And Horses only a few street corners away, being not so crowded and propping up the bar, our thirst quenchers settled for the evening. The Flea, in usual fashion, got talking to some random character - in this case an antiquated guy wearing the incongruous combination of shirt with bow-tie, winter coat and a manically coloured woollen tea cosy hat (which spawned the initial conversation), at the end of the bar.

It turned out he was an ex-pat Austrian who seemed slightly eccentric but friendly enough. Somehow, at some point in their dialogue the Flea's contempt for sweet things was mentioned as was his equally passionate liking for things sour. Upon hearing this the colourfully-hatted Austrian solemnly raised his palm and told The Flea to wait a moment as he disappeared out through the pub doors, leaving him to exchange quizzical looks with his friends standing a few feet away around the bar.

An unfeasibly short time later he returned and produced two napkins, one of which contained a mince pie and the other, a lemon. The Flea can add no further to convey the strangeness of this odd episode and leaves the readers to draw their own conclusions.

PS - The mince pie was donated to Danski who dispatched it swiftly whilst the lemon was shared between the Flea and JLo. Our benevolent Austrian left shortly after the consumption of said items with words of puzzled gratitude ringing in his ears.

Halloween Prod-uctivity

For this year's Halloween the Flea ventured to the Heavy Load vintage rock clubnight with the Daffodil, Chamone and Blairo. They kicked off at the Ben Crouch Tavern which is a year-round gothic theme pub and so was ready-made for the ghoulish festivities.

Not having made the greatest of efforts to dress-up unlike many of the walking dead traipsing around central London, the Flea had astutely purchased some devil's tridents which were usefully employed as girl-prodding devices in the club (yielding various responses ranging from witchy indignation to spooky sauciness).

Over-enthusiastic prodding meant the Flea had to recycle his broken weapon...

The Flea Goes Down!

He didn't fly, bounce or splat in the end. The abseil ropes were secure and he managed to go over the edge and slide down in usual Flea fashion, surprising one or two office workers on his descent.

Going over the edge was a little hairy as standing on a ledge and leaning out backwards towards a precipitous drop is something your brain tells you is not a good idea. However, once the rope had full tension and with the harness taking support, The Flea slid down like a tub of Haagen-Dazs going down the throat of a Weight Watchers club member having a relapse.

Flea Or Fly?

It is an established fact that he can leap but today the world may find out whether or not the Flea can fly. How so? Well, a while ago he signed up and agreed to abseil 200ft down an office building in the City of London on behalf of the British Red Cross.

The time for contemplating survival landing methods and the discovery of flight should the rope fail is over, as at 1700BST the Flea is going 'over the edge'. Having only done abseiling once as a 10 year old over 15ft, this represents a slight step up in class.

However, the Flea has faith in his bounceability and of course the Red Cross should be nearby...

Belated Sayonara

A farewell mention for Kumicoco who had to leave for Japan a few weeks ago, more hastily than she originally planned due to a diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis. The Flea, the Daffodil, Bodger aka The Bagic were amongst the brave souls who went to share sayonara drinks with her (El Pepino made a brief appearance but had to leave for home early to feed his cat). Well, they weren't so brave actually as the doctor's diagnosis stated it was non-infectious TB.

However, that didn't stop a little internet research by certain members of the party to find out a little bit more about the risks of catching TB. The Flea, on the other hand, didn't share these concerns as he has a natural immunity to TB due to the illness being present in his family when he was younger (when he had the TB Heaf test at school, his grade 4 reaction meant they sent him for an x-ray and check-up thinking that he had the disease).

Whatever the concerns, it didn't stop a good showing for Kumicoco who did very well to meet anybody at all given her obviously ill state. Hopefully, she'll recover soon and maybe come back over to make a guest appearance with Quarterpounder as those boys would just love to boost their rock and roll credibility by having a consumptive chick on their list of collaborators.

The Big Match

A few (!) photos of the wedding of Oscarinho and Miss Uzu for those who couldn't make the journey to Alicante for their match on the 1st July and those who drank too much and can't remember...

On the morning of his wedding, Oscarinho unsuccessfully tries to dress himself (look at his shirt).





Miss Uzu manages to dress herself without mishap and laughs at her soon-to-be husband's shirt-wearing attempt.








Miss Uzu: 'Has anybody seen my passport?'

Oscarinho: 'She won't be needing this anymore'







FIRST HALF: THE CEREMONY

















HALF-TIME: THE PHOTO-SHOOT


SECOND HALF: THE WEDDING FIESTA










POST-MATCH COMMENTARY:

Overall, it was a good match with no major incidents to stop the flow of the game and plenty of support turned out for both sides. With kick-off in the heat of the afternoon, both kept their composure well managing to hold their shape and play hard for possession. Oscarinho almost turned up to the game wearing inappropriate kit (see shirt photo) and Miss Uzu nearly didn't finish the game due to injury when she almost fell down the stairs at the restaurant (she blamed her footwear but the Flea and Oscarinho, the sole witnesses, blamed the alcohol).

Despite having to play through extra-time (the beach party), both sides made it to the end of the match having shown a good account of themselves, content to settle for a deserved draw (and to save the penalty shoot-out for the bedroom). It remains to be seen who will take the role of the domestic sweeper system following this match which ties the two together in a new team:

PS - The Fabras are flanked by the next two protagonists to clash in a derby match, Gran Jose and La Susita.

PPS - Special mention to El Tupe/El Pulpo for attempting to carry on playing as a one man team at Stereo, after all others had left the match. What commitment! Unfortunately, he was red-carded by the barmaid for lack of coordination and sent home for an early shower.

PPPS - Oscarinho scored no penalties on his wedding night because he and his new wife slept in different houses. The Flea confirms he shared a room with Oscarinho on the night in question and that no 'own goals' were scored either.