BEEN getting out and about a bit recently, visiting old pals in Edinburgh and London, and trying to make sense of the world (I know, a forlorn hope ).
I was impressed with Edinburgh. There's a buzz about the place and a general good cheer on the streets that you don't find very often in England any more.
I was there to see friends I used to work alongside in the newspaper industry in Scotland ... the Dark Booth, Big Scott, Wee Alan and a fellow known mysteriously as Stairwell ... plus some of their WAGS.

It was good to see them all again, to have a few drinks, and to introduce them to Posh Boots.
We ate well, and we took in a comedy show as part of the Edinburgh Fringe - an observational comic called Danny Bhoy - who refreshingly didn't pick on and take the p*ss out of members of the audience. (Why do the modern comics do that? Are they simply short of material?)
We had more than a few drinks during our time in Edinburgh - especially on the night we all gave flamboyant karaoke performances in a Rose Street bar.
I did Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart, postively screaming the line "living in a powder keg, giving off sparks!"
It's a great line, of course, and one that sums up how I've felt for much of my time on Earth so far.
I put so much Oohmph! into that song that I was called on to close the evening with Cher's If I Could Hold Back Time. I declined. I was all camped out by then, my passion spent.
My pals, I think, did two songs each. The ones I can remember were Wee Alan's Springsteenian routine to errr, "Dancing in the Dark", I think, and the Dark Booth's "Eye of the Tiger" - the theme to those awful Rocky films, I'm told. Can't remember what Big Scott did, excactly, but I think it was by Glen Campbell.
We also went to a very beautiful and groovy bar called the Voodoo Rooms. Why can't every city have bars as good as that?
Well, the Scottish trip was a few weeks ago, actually, but more recently I went down to London to tidy up my flat at the Angel Islington, and redecorate it with a view to installing new tenants there.
While down there, however, I mainly went out drinking and eating and introducing old friends to Posh Boots.
Among those we visited were two former workmates from the Hull Daily Mail, Graeme Gingerbread and Amanda O'Booze. Plus there was Gentle John from the flats, Bad Gav (formerly lead singer from Bad Gav and the Hellbastards), and Patricia and Diane.
With Diane and her husband John, we had hoped to go to one of our old haunts in the West End - Kettner's restaurant - but were disappointed to find it shut for restoration.
Posh Boots and I also arranged to meet a friend originally from Norfolk journalism days, Lord Vino, who's now a big cheese in political / industrial PR (has a lot of strategy meetings in City wine bars, you know the sort of thing).
I'm afraid, however, that Lord Vino was very, very drunk when we met him (a tiring strategy meeting, I expect!) and he had to be steered to a homeward bound taxi rather earlier than he normally would.
Never mind, it was very nice to see him, and to meet his lovely new girlfriend, Princess Karoline of Norfolk.
We meet them in my favourite Soho pub, the Dog and Duck on the junction of Frith and Bateman Street, and shared a couple of bottles of red wine with them.
(The wine was of great quality and cost only £7.99 a bottle at the bar - amazingly good value for the centre of London. Why can't the bars in impoverished Wallasey sell decent wine at such keen prices? And don't even get me started on the rip-off bar tariffs you get in the bourgeois country pubs near Chester.)
Anyway, after Lord Vino and Princess Karoline went home, Posh Boots and I continued cavorting a while longer "up West". We grabbed a quick cheap meal in the Soho Stockpot (and some more red wine, natch) before heading back to the Angel, stopping for a few late ones en route in the very bohemian and tiny Troy club.
It was good to see everybody, but it was all a bit tiring - as London can be. All things considered, I'm glad I don't live there any more.
After the long journey home on Monday afternoon I was a bit late arriving to run the Bards of New Brighton poets and singers group - and a bit knackered and incoherent to be honest.
But however wrecked one feels, there is always time for poetry, and we had some particularly good readings from Stella, Ieuan, Len Rosso and Ian Nenna.
Plus, we enjoyed a great local sea shanty from Tim Kingdom and some fine singing from the bass voice of Dave Gilbey.
*** If you are interested in coming to the Bards of New Brighton, we meet on the second Monday of each month at the Magazine pub, New Brighton, starting at 8pm. The next meeting is on Monday, October 13. I promise I won't be as tired and narky in hosting it next month.

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit