Kingston

The Minx was going to watch the miniMinx dance, this morning, at the Excel centre, and our plan was that I would take the car down to Tolworth, where we are staying, and have lunch with my old friends, Ange and Keith.

Dan came across this morning to collect a guitar I'd brought down for him, and he opted to join me for the twenty mile drive to Tolworth. And I'm glad he did, as it took one and a half hours and it was a pleasure to have some company. 

Having dropped my car off at the hotel, Dan and I walked around to the station for him to take the train back to London. 

There's a mural on the platform (see Extra) celebrating the now demolished  Toby Jug, which was originally next to the station. Lots of famous bands played there, including Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac, but it's perhaps best known as the venue for the opening night of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust tour. 

Once I'd seen Dan onto the train, I began my walk across to meet Ange and Keith, taking in: Tolworth Broadway, which I cycled along many times when I had a girlfriend in Thames Ditton;, Surbiton Hill, where my friend Issy lived; Surbiton Assembly Rooms, venue for the Kingston Inter Sixthform Society (KISS) discos; The Hermitage, where my friend Gareth lived; The Bishop Out Of Residence, a well-attended pub of my youth; and, finally, Boaters, where my pal Jason Denvir and I once arranged a charity disco.

And it was at Boaters where I had lunch with Ange and Keith. The food wasn't that great, but their company was excellent, as ever.

After that, I did the return walk to Tolworth and grabbed a beer in the bar while I waited for the Minx, and then we took an Uber up to the top of Worcester Park Hill to meet my mum and my brother and his family for a curry.